Water Management in Armed Conflict: Improving Collaboration and Joint Knowledge

May 13, 2022 | Juliane Schillinger
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Given the increasingly protracted nature of armed conflicts, the humanitarian needs of local populations are changing. This is true not only for short-term access to basic needs, such as water, food and shelter, but also for the medium- to long-term provision of essential services. As a result, the boundaries between humanitarian and development interventions are increasingly blurred.

A shared body of knowledge on water resources and service provision in times of crisis is also essential, and Pierrehumbert offered the example of the ICRC’s activities in Jordan at the beginning of the Syrian crisis. Based on local water resources data, the ICRC opted to implement demand-side interventions rather than increasing water supply, to limit overextraction of the scarce groundwater resources.

Collaboration with international organizations can help local NGOs build operational capacity, however. Such partnerships also can help smaller groups overcome some of the challenges they face in their work—including managerial difficulties dealing with bureaucratic hurdles and acquiring funds for projects. Nonetheless, the lack of willingness by governmental agencies to work with civil society on environmental topics remains a key challenge. Civil society actors may also face significant personal risks. 

The disconnected and potentially incompatible modes of operation is a central challenge to collaboration between researchers and practitioners in the humanitarian space.