Water Security: genealogy of a new paradigm for water (original) (raw)

Water and International Security

In this paper prepared for the 2nd Meeting of the Study Group on Water Resources and presented to delegates from the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP), I discuss the interactions between International Security and Water Security. My reference point is the Mekong River Basin - in particular the hydropower dams that are planned for, and have already been built on the Mekong mainstream. I argue that the desire to build hydropower dams in order to create foreign income is short-sighted in that it risks negatively impacting on the relationships between the Mekong's riparian states as well as the millions of people who live on and around the river, reliant on its resources for their subsistence and livelihoods.

New International Security Paradigm related to Water and Environmental Security

Strategic threats demand strategic response ABSTRACT Security is constantly changing, which means security professionals need to be proactive, says a former US military Chief Information Officer. Water security has become a central feature of the global policy agenda. Climate change, population growth, and pollution are altering the distribution of water resources and the political control of these resources is becoming increasingly contested. These and other water security threats are a source of conflict not only within countries but across international boundaries. Security is a multidimensional issue, because individual welfare is more central to policy-making than it was fifty years ago. Individual security can no longer be satisfied only through military measures; it needs a multidimensional understanding. Security is elusive; more than ever, it is embedded in the interaction of localizing and globalizing forces. The axes of conflict in the shadow of the Cold War and under the impact of 9/11 are already proven to be more complex, not less, and more difficult to manage, not easier. The Word is in a very fast changing prosess including international security paradigm. Indeed, everything has not changed - but what has changed did so faster than we ever expected.The Cold War superimposed on the international security agenda a political and conceptual framework that simplified most issues while magnifying some and obscuring others. During this period, almost every western government defined national security in excessively narrow military terms. That meant there was an enduring acceptance of the need for a balance of terror, with mutually assured destruction ensuring a stable international system. The end of the Cold War revealed a different set of threats and dangers, not really new but previously kept outside the Cold War context. These new threats are again global in scope, persistent in nature, and potent in their implications [12]. It’s easy to equate “national security” or “global security” with military defense against rogue states and terrorism, but a leading U.S. military expert says that view is far too narrow— and could lead to catastrophe if not changed. The environmental matters had little overall public concern before. It was a reflection of how limited and unstrategic our thinking about security. Environmental change, in general, can lead to a decrease in the quality of life and increased tension, competition, instability and conflict. In parallel to climate change, water security is an issue today closely linked to environmental security. Natural resources, such as water, show a number of threats and risks that may contribute to the amplification of a conflict. Perhaps if we were to pay more attention to the documented effects of particular conditions and events, rather than to the threat- worthiness, we could see the world differently-and more accurately. The question of the water and environmental security is more ominous than that of peace and war. Keywords: New international security; New security paradigm; Water security; Water and securitry; Climate change and security

Water Deficit as a Security Threat

2016

The aim of the article is to explain the key definitions connected with water security and to analyse state relations in the context of water issues. In this context therefore water can be seen to be a precious resource because there it has no substitute. Thus the lack of water security is emerging as one of the major barriers for economic and social growth in developing countries and a source of domestic conflicts. On the other hand, water-related events might result in international cooperation, as Kofi Annan noticed during the celebration of World Water Day: “Fierce national competition over water resources has prompted fears that water issues contain the seeds of violent conflict. [...] If all world’s peoples work together, a secure and sustainable water future can be ours”. What is certain, in the near future any environmental security planning will have to take into consideration the prime issue of water security.

UN Water Analytical Brief on Water Security

The UN-Water Task Force on Water Security would like to thank Harriet Bigas, UNU-INWEH for leading the coordination and development of the Brief, and Stéfanie Neno and James Morgan, FAO for facilitating the design and layout of the Brief. v Foreword It is fitting that the topic of water security, through the launch of this Analytical Brief, figures among the many celebrations marking the 20 th anniversary of World Water Day on 22 March 2013 and the 2013 International Year of Water Coopera-