The Water Mirage - Understanding Crisis Narratives around Water

Apr 21, 2017 | Charlotte Grech-Madin
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Given the existential value of water for all, it is perhaps unsurprising that water is embedded in discourses of security and crisis. The field of water security is broadly conceived by academics and practitioners to encompass matters of human health and livelihood, food production, ecosystem protection (ecohydrology), economic growth and development, and political stability, among others. Despite its breadth, however, water security can be distilled into two main types of crisis for humanity. The first is a crisis of development. Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) places special focus on the global water crisis, and emphasizes the urgent need to enhance water access and quality for all. The second type of water crisis is violent conflict over the quantity, quality or control of water. The logic here is that in an era of heightened resource competition and rising demand for water, shared water sources could be causal to militarised conflict among water users.

It is important to recognize the conflict potential of water so as to develop initiatives to protect water and those dependent on it. For all its potential risks, however, the nature of this second crisis is often misconceived in two ways: 1. Water is seen as highly conflict-prone; and 2. Water conflicts are seen as highly threatening and invariably ‘bad’. These two views warrant reconsideration. There is a risk that discourse of water wars may become a self-fulfilling prophecy, whereby if states perceive water to be conflict-ridden, they may well come to act in a conflictive manner. Perhaps in recognition of this, former Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon appealed to the international community to focus on the “shift from conflict to synergy” around water.