In-Conflict Peacebuilding? Water Sharing and Management in Syria
Publisher: Political Ecology
Author(s): Ahmed Haj Asaad, Myriam Saade-Sbeih, and Ronald Jaubert
Date: 2018
Topics: Cooperation, Peace and Security Operations, Renewable Resources
Countries: Syrian Arab Republic
Middle Eastern waters are in turn considered a potential source of conflicts; or resources capable of fostering peace at international and intra-state levels. Under the latter, the cooperation potential is mostly discussed in post-conflict situations. In the case of Syria, water has been regarded as a trigger of the conflict (Robins and Fergusson 2014; Gleick 2014), as well as a weapon used by belligerents. Even though largely publicized through the recent hydrodiplomacy brand (Strategic Forsight Group 2011; Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace 2017), very few initiatives currently explore the effective, in-conflict, cooperation potential of water. This paper assesses the local cooperation dynamics in a water project, the rehabilitation of Ar Ruj irrigation scheme, implemented in the course of the conflict. The project started in January 2017 despite difficulties to attract international funds. This contribution addresses peacebuilding in a continuum between in-conflict and post-conflict periods. Water is a powerful strategic vector linking political, social, economic and environmental issues during and after the conflict. Restricting understandings of peace building to post-conflict reconstruction participates to incapacitate local capacities and networks (Krampe 2007), particularly in the water sector.