Water, Climate, and Peacebuilding through a Gender Lens

Feb 16, 2023 | Marisa O. Ensor

Climate change is affecting water access for people around the world, causing more severe droughts, floods, and unpredictable weather patterns. Rising water insecurity endangers livelihoods and the communities and economies they support. Improving water security requires promoting gender equality. Globally, women and girls bear the burden of water collection in 80 percent of households without water access directly on the premises. While women are usually responsible for water management at the household level, and even though their participation as water leaders at the community level has increased in recent years, they remain grossly underrepresented in water governance and water negotiations, both during peace and in times of conflict. Water decisions are not sustainable if the needs and experiences of half of the population are not taken into consideration.

Climate Change and Water (In)security

The United Nations defines water security as “the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability”. The constituent components of water security – i.e., water access, available water quantity or quality, livelihoods and development, water-related disasters, and political processes – are often compromised by the negative impacts of climate change. Moreover, the first global report produced by the High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) concludes that water-related disasters have comprised 90 percent of the 1,000 most severe disasters that have occurred since 1990.

These impacts threaten to exacerbate water resource challenges, affecting both demand and supply. On the demand side, global warming is already increasing water claims for industrial cooling and household use. Rising temperatures are reducing crop yields and increasing irrigation demands. Estimates of the additional water needed to meet growing agricultural needs in a warming world vary from 40 percent to 100 percent more than what would be required absent climate impacts. Compounding the effects of climate change, additional strains on world water resources are also rising. The global population surged past the 8 billion mark in November of last year, and is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050. Global models estimate that freshwater withdrawals will increase by 33 percent by 2050, propelled by surging demands from manufacturing, power production, and domestic use.  Women and girls are disproportionately affected. They are also well situated to identify viable strategies to improve the myriad ways in which water affects their lives, and participate in water governance, diplomacy, and peacebuilding efforts.

Water Diplomacy and Environmental Peacebuilding

Water deprivation is increasingly recognized as a security concern. Water insecurity can undermine regional and global partnerships and hinder foreign policy and geopolitical objectives. Tensions resulting from the growing imbalance between global water demand and supply can escalate into conflict. Conversely, water diplomacy has also been recognized as a potentially powerful tool for long-lasting international cooperation and peacebuilding. The Global Water Forum defines water diplomacy as “the use of diplomatic instruments to existing or emerging disagreements and conflicts over shared water resources with the aim to solve or mitigate those for the sake of cooperation, regional stability, and peace”.

As David Michel reminded us in his report for the US Institute of Peace, “no modern states have ever declared war over water”. Nations dependent on shared water sources have collaborated far more frequently than they have clashed. Under the right circumstances, water sources can fuel greater interdependence. By coming together to jointly manage their shared water resources, countries can build trust and prevent conflict. Cooperative water management therefore offers an avenue for dialogue between nations potentially leading to cooperation and peace. Furthermore, because weather events such as floods and droughts – which climate change has rendered more frequent and more severe – are not constrained by political boundaries, managing water effectively requires international collaboration. In these cases, water can serve as a negotiating tool for environmental peacebuilding, as it offers a communication lifeline connecting countries in the midst of crisis. Water resource management, nevertheless, remains a largely untapped and gender-blind diplomatic strategy. Despite the disproportionate impacts of water insecurity on women and girls, efforts to solve water-related conflicts and promote water cooperation for peace continue to be male-dominated.  This needs to change.

Gender Considerations

More than 2 billion people around the world do not currently have clean water at home. Due to changes in climate and population, the UN estimates that, in less than 10 years, 1.8 billion people will live in water-stressed areas.  As water sources dwindle, conditions are deteriorating, both in terms of restricted access to clean water and in terms of gender equality. Women around the world already spend a collective 200 million hours collecting water. If current patterns continue, this will disproportionately impact women and girls who will be forced to spend even larger amounts of time and energy searching for and retrieving water.

Furthermore, unsafe and insufficient water supplies account for 9 percent of the global disease burden and more than 6 percent of all deaths worldwide. As UN Water notes, “without safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, women and girls are more vulnerable to abuse, attack and ill-health, affecting their ability to study, work and live in dignity”. Conversely improving women’s water access and their meaningful participation in water governance support gender equality. As an essential factor in a country’s security and stability, gender equality is a key ally in the prevention of violent conflict.  Since water management is conflict management, failing to include women as key stakeholders and decision-makers is a significant missed opportunity. The rapidly growing fields of climate-smart security, water diplomacy and environmental peacebuilding are demonstrating that the gender-inclusive management of natural resources, especially water, can strengthen local communities and reduce conflict risks.

The Way Forward

The UN estimates that at least one-quarter of the world’s population will live in water-scarce regions by 2050. Climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, exacerbating water scarcity, and making water availability less predictable. These and related issues have global and national security implications. Women’s leadership in water governance and environmental peacebuilding has become even more critical given each of these current challenges. Women’s contributions can help policymakers, development practitioners, and peacebuilders mitigate the risks of environmental insecurity and promote resilient, inclusive, and peaceful societies.

It is imperative to ensure that women from a diversity of backgrounds are able to participate in water negotiations and contribute to the design and implementation of water-related programs on an equal footing with their male counterparts. Empirical evidence shows that a balanced gender representation in peace processes results in agreements that are more durable and less likely to relapse.  More needs to be done to promote participatory decision-making, including empowering women to increase their involvement in water governance and environmental peacebuilding. Responding to this imperative, the  Women in Water Diplomacy Network in the Nile is promoting women’s participation in high-level water diplomacy processes, thereby contributing to building trust and facilitating cooperation.  The side events on Women in Water Diplomacy planned in conjunction with the upcoming UN Water Conference (22-24 March 2023) provide further evidence of the increasing global recognition of the vital role of women in this sector.

Dr. Marisa O. Ensor is an applied environmental and legal anthropologist currently based at Georgetown University’s Justice and Peace Studies Program. She is also the current Chair of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association’s Gender Interest Group (“EnPAx-GIG”).