Hydro-diplomacy “constitutes a tool of anticipation in the service of peace and this through the simulation of the inter-country space in a common hydraulic space where water constitutes a bridge of peace, fraternity and solidarity”, said the minister who spoke at the work of the Side Event devoted to peace in the basins through an optimistic and climate-resilient hydro-diplomacy, organized as part of the program of the 9th edition of the World Water Forum which is being held in Senegal from March 21 to 26, under the theme “Water security for peace and development.
Mr. Baraka, who chairs the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), explained that Hydro-diplomacy helps facilitate the assessment and monitoring of water resources between technicians, facilitates the assessment of the risk of climate change and can help in the establishment of an adaptation plan, as well as avoid the militarization of water-related conflicts, particularly through the establishment of Win-Win conventions.
Hydro-diplomacy fully finds its notoriety by basing itself among other things on the conventions of the United Nations and its Resolution 63/124 which “encourages the States concerned to take appropriate bilateral or regional measures for the good management of their transboundary aquifers (…)”, noted the minister, who leads a large delegation to this world forum, composed of officials and experts representing various organizations.
In his speech, the minister stressed that water is a vital resource that has always been the basis of civilizations, noting that the living conditions and income of populations, especially in rural areas, depend directly on the availability of this commodity.
The minister cited some figures that show the importance of shared waters. Indeed, he said, water is among the most “shared” resources in the world. 46% of the surface of the continents are in shared river basins and lakes, more than 260 watersheds are shared between two or more countries and about 40% of the world’s population lives in river or lake basins shared between states, the Moroccan official said.
Globally, about 2 billion people depend on groundwater, of which 300 aquifers are transboundary. As the 2006 United Nations Development Programme report notes, managing this hydrological interdependence is “one of the greatest human development challenges facing the international community,” it said.
The minister continued that access to transboundary water resources is always a potential source of conflict between upstream and downstream countries, noting that these tensions are all the more acute, even explosive, in regions where the resource is scarce and which risk being further aggravated by climate change. “This is the case everywhere in the world, in Europe, in Africa and even more in the Middle East,” Mr. Baraka observed during this meeting.
“Our African continent is not spared from this issue of sharing basins and water resources between several States, the illustrations are numerous enough that we cannot mention them all today.” This includes the Senegal River which is 1,800 km long and its basin extends over an area of approximately 300,000 km2 shared by Guinea, Mali, Mauritania and Senegal, said the minister.
In this context, he stressed that hydro-diplomacy has enabled the establishment of joint management of this river between the signatory states, indicating that this method is often cited as a model.
The Congo River watershed is the largest in Africa and the second largest in the world in terms of area, covering approximately 3,800,000 km² and extending over ten countries in Central Africa: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia. The main tributaries of the Congo are the Oubangui, the Sangha and the Kasai.
The Volta is a 1,850 km long river with a basin of 400,000 km2, which extends over six West African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali and Togo.
In the Minister’s opinion, “this multitude of stakeholders requires the definition of the most appropriate management methods for these basins”.
He also noted that this sharing of water also concerns groundwater, the example of the Nubian aquifer is striking. Indeed, this aquifer is one of the most important aquifers in the world, and it is shared between two countries located in the MENA region known for significant water stress, he emphasizes.
The minister considered that “in such a climatic and political context, good communication through the establishment of an adequate management method allowing the conservation of the rights of each country to this resource, diplomacy being an effective means to resolve this problem which sometimes proves too complex”.
Referring to the case of Morocco, the minister indicated that water resources are almost renewable and originate within the country, and border exchanges are negligible.
“Morocco, a country of peace and tolerance, is campaigning for an anticipatory and shared hydro-diplomacy to establish a common management of this rare commodity between the brothers of our African continent and the organization by Morocco of the 1st World Water Forum in March 1997 in Marrakech is a witness to this as well as the institution of the Hassan II World Water Grand Prize”, he affirmed during this meeting.
He noted that the awarding of the Hassan II World Water Prize in its 7th edition on the occasion of the 9th World Water Forum to the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS), based in Dakar, “is clear proof of this”, specifying that “this institution not only acts in favor of achieving water and food security in the large transboundary basin, but also promotes peace, prosperity and territorial development in its member countries”.
This meeting was marked by the interventions of foreign experts who were unanimous in emphasizing in their presentations the importance of the concept of Hydro-diplomacy in the management of conflicts linked to water management.
2024-08-24 06:55:31