Water and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

Publisher: Routledge

Author(s): Erika Weinthal, Jessica Troell, Mikiyasu Nakayama

Date: 2014

Water is a basic human need, and the provision of safe water is thus among the highest priorities during post-conflict recovery and peacebuilding. Water, sanitation, and the associated delivery infrastructure are also critical to economic development and the recovery of livelihoods in the aftermath of war. And despite predictions of “water wars,” shared waters have proved to be the natural resource with the greatest potential for interstate cooperation and local confidence building. Indeed, water management plays a singularly important role in rebuilding trust after conflict and in preventing a return to conflict.

Featuring nineteen case studies and analyses of experiences from twenty- eight countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Middle East, and drawing on the experiences of thirty-five researchers and practitioners from around the world, this book creates a framework for understanding how decisions governing water resources in post-conflict settings can facilitate or undermine peacebuilding.The lessons will be of value to practitioners in international development and humanitarian initiatives, policy makers, students, and others interested in post-conflict peacebuilding and the nexus between water management and conflict.