Access
to water is a continuing source of instability and conflict around the world. The
modern world has
already witnessed the
use of water resources and infrastructure as a weapon of war in violent
conflicts. The role of water diplomacy is to prevent and mitigate such tensions
in order to sustain the link between water, security and peace. It aims to promote
transboundary and integrated water management as well as effective water
governance.
Water
plays a cross-sectoral role in many other policies such as security, human
rights, climate change, food security or energy. Therefore, water as a foreign
policy issue requires an integrated approach. Water diplomacy has been a
regular feature on EU Foreign Ministers’ agenda, where the link between water
and climate diplomacy is stressed, as is the implementation of the 2030 Agenda,
with particular reference to SDG6. Gender also plays a role since women are
thought to be most affected by water scarcity. Although several issues
involving water conflicts involve political solutions, multilateral cooperation
is essential to facilitate research and innovative solutions, and to promote partnerships.
Water
features frequently in Malta’s bilateral diplomacy thanks to our expertise in
water management – this same expertise is also increasingly becoming important within our multilateral
diplomacy as we seek to promote effective models of water management within
international and regional fora. We are currently actively involved in the
informal Group of Friends of Water in New York. Multilateral fora are important platforms
for us to be able to share valuable experience and know how particularly in the
context of our relations with SIDS, who are important partners for us on
climate and ocean matters, as well as other coastal states in neighbouring
Africa and the Middle East, and
other regions of the world where water scarcity remains a challenge.
M. Micallef
Officer in Scale
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