Could water scarcity lead to international tension?

With one in seven Europeans still denied access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, a rise in international conflicts and disputes over water resources would seem inevitable. According to Kaj Bärlund, Environment Director at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), "a number of European countries abstract at least as much surface water as they generate. Ten receive almost half their total water resources from neighbouring countries. Five others, with large rivers, receive more than three quarters of their water from river flows from upstream countries." Yet international cooperation on water management can be a means to prevent conflict and settle disputes. This was one of the conclusions of the Second International Conference on the Sustainable Management of Transboundary Waters in Europe.

The Conference brought together decision makers, scientists, water managers, hydraulic engineers and NGOs in Miedzyzdroje (Poland) from 21 to 24 April. It was organized by the Environment Ministry of Poland, the Environment Ministry of Finland, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany, and the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management of the Netherlands under the auspices of UNECE.

Equitable access to an adequate supply of freshwater is becoming more of an issue, even in Europe. Consequently, the more than 150 participants at the Conference underlined the need to integrate transboundary water management with the management of surface and groundwater, coastal waters and marine resources. They also called for closer cooperation among national governments, UN agencies and other international organizations, research centres and NGOs to ensure that all aspects of transboundary water management are dealt with, including the social and economic ones.

They also took stock of several pilot projects under the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes that had helped to improve the management of international rivers (Bug, Morava, Ipoly, Mures, Latorica/Uzh, Tobol, Kura and Severski Donets). Finally, the participants pointed out that even though there was much information available for transboundary water management, more needed to be done to tailor this information to its target audience.

The Conference coincided with the tenth anniversary of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, which was adopted in Helsinki on 17 March 1992 and entered into force on 6 October 1996. The Convention now has 33 Parties. Its Protocol on Water and Health was adopted in London on 17 June 1999. It was signed by 36 countries and has so far been ratified by 7.

For more information, please contact:

Rainer ENDERLEIN

UNECE Environment Division

Palais des Nations, Office 313

CH - 1211 Geneva 10

Phone: +41(0)22 917 23 73

Fax: +41(0)22 917 01 07

E-mail: rainer.enderlein@unece.org

Or visit the Convention's web site on
http://www.unece.org/env/water

 

Ref: ECE/ENV/02/03