Page 18 - NYY Muscat Call 2022 April 24

two or more countries, not to speak of the world’s oceans, which we all rely on. A range of
factors spur growing tensions around water management of various sorts, including climate

change, population growth, overfishing, pollution, and so forth.

The very perception that water is taken away, or mismanaged, may cause severe grievances

and sow mistrust, especially where people are poor and suffer from multiple sources of stress.
Access to water is inherently uneven and problematic. One party appearing taking advantage

of better access will easily be viewed as unfair by the other side.

Attaining agreement on how to define ‘fairness’ is generally hard to achieve, within societies
as well as among countries - reflecting differences in cultures, financial resources, population

sizes, and water consumption requirements. Uncertainty and ambivalence about what
conditions and rights actually apply, amplify the complexity. Opportunistic leaders may

actively aggravate a state of confusion and resentment to distract attention from other issues

and thus gain an advantage for themselves.

Best practice experience on how to resolve water conflict could help counter the challenges

and inspire solutions. It is proposed to frame a toolbox made available and structed on terms
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that allow for matching and adaptation to specific cases. This should be organised and
diffused so as to feed competences in support of collaborative water management coupled

with conflict resolution. Soft skills that underpin cultural understanding and ability to handle

conflicting interests should be honed and appreciated side-by-side with engineering, technical
and economic proficiency.

When a water conflict emerges, viable solutions may be found only when the arena for

exchange, negotiation, and working out the ground for common interest is broadened –

outside the realm of water itself. Communication and learning schemes may have to underpin
parallel governance reform at multiple levels – locally, regionally, nationally, and cross-

border. Enabling experiences of this kind exist, in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and

18 Such work, initiated on the basis of practical cross-border experience of water diplomacy, was proposed by
Mr. Étienne Montbarom-Jalade, Chef de secteur – Dynamique de l'eau, République et Canton de Genève.
Other contributions on the way forward were made by Mr. Sanith de S. Wijeyeratne, Climate and
Conservation Consortium, Colombo, Mr. Roberto Ordonez, Alkimya Catalyst, UAE, Prof. Marcela
Brugnach, BC3, Bilbao, and Dr. Alexandre Hedjazi; University of Geneva.

www.waterandhumanity.com 18