To mark World Water Day on 22 March, an alliance of environmental and development organisations as well as representatives of the public water sector are calling on the German government to better protect the human right to water as an important basis for peace. This increasingly scarce resource is fuelling conflict, displacement and forced migration. In order to combat the potential for conflict, safe and equitable access to water must be more strongly integrated into foreign and development policy.

Alliance calls for the protection of the human right to water

"Protected and sufficient access to clean drinking water is the basis for peace and a human right that is violated millions of times around the world every day. The German government has a part to play in this," emphasises Gertrud Falk from the human rights organisation FIAN. "With its foreign trade promotion, it repeatedly supports economic projects at the expense of the water supply for the population in the Global South."

Climate change intensifies conflicts over water

Jutta Himmelsbach, an expert on water and sanitation at Misereor, warns of a sharp increase in conflicts over water worldwide. "Climate change is causing more weather extremes with more intense droughts or floods. Water scarcity increases tensions between the affected population groups." Misereor partner organisations are therefore working intensively on sustainable water infrastructure, for example in Uganda. Here, conflicting parties were able to jointly find technical solutions for a sustainable water supply and at the same time build relationships with each other. In this way, conflicts can be avoided or at least minimised.

Heike Drillisch from GegenStrömung adds: "In many regions of the world, hydropower plays a major role as a source of energy. However, this can lead to or intensify conflicts over the scarce resource of water, as the necessary construction of dams or the diversion of rivers is always accompanied by control over the course of the river. Especially in times of increasing drought, the damming of a river can quickly lead to a lack of water downstream. Anyone who wants peace and access to water for all should therefore ask critical questions when planning hydropower for energy supply."

Fee Schreier, Resource Justice Officer at the Weltfriedensdienst, uses the example of northern Kenya to illustrate the pressing problems: "The effects of climate change are exacerbating old conflicts that particularly affect smallholder communities, poor families and people who move their livestock to grazing grounds following the rainfall. The competition for grazing land and water has become an open conflict."

More focus on nature and the common good

But it is not only in the Global South that conflicts over water are increasing. Johanna Erdmann from the Berlin Water Table explains: "The fight for water begins locally when it is a question of the interests of business, such as Tesla, versus the needs of the population. Prioritising people's water needs is a prerequisite for peaceful coexistence worldwide. And for Berlin, we are sticking to our demand: our water charges should only be used for water-related tasks!"

The protection of freshwater ecosystems is essential to avoid conflicts over water. "According to the Living Planet Index, the recorded population of freshwater-dependent vertebrates has declined by around 83 per cent worldwide since 1970. We must stop this downward trend and reverse it!" says Michael Bender, summarising the central water protection concerns of the Living Rivers Foundation and the GREEN LIGA. "With the adoption of the Nature Restoration Law in the European Parliament, which we supported, an important goal in the restoration of natural habitats has been achieved."

"Water undoubtedly plays a central role in promoting peace and securing our livelihoods. In the face of multiple conflicts, it is necessary to politically recognise water as a peace-building element. To this end, it is essential that the use of water is based on human rights and the common good. Responsibility for the protection and utilisation of water lies in the hands of states. We are therefore committed to ensuring that this responsibility is exercised in public hands and in the interests of the common good," explained Durmuş Ünlü, Managing Director of the Alliance of Public Water Management and Coordinator of the Water Working Group in the Forum on Environment and Development.