Dead Sea, 27 November 2024
Blue Peace Middle East highlighted the importance of dialogue and cooperation to improve regional water management during two sessions at the Sixth Arab Water Conference at the Dead Sea, Jordan.
Members of the regionally owned initiative from Iraq, Jordan, and Türkiye participated in various sessions and high-level panels to discuss how integrated transboundary water management and the WEFE Nexus approach can foster regional cooperation.
The session ‘Blue Peace Middle East: Fostering Regional Cooperation through Integrated Transboundary Water Management’ presented a number of the initiative's efforts to transform water from a source of potential conflict into an instrument for cooperation.
It highlighted recent achievements, including a Political Economy Analysis of Iraq and Jordan, a study on the Azraq Basin aquifer that is shared by Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and a review of international water diplomacy success stories. The studies show how data-driven approaches, joint research, trust-building and dialogue are key to address critical water challenges in the Middle East.
“Water cooperation is not just about allocation of resources,” Dr. Tuğba Evrim Maden, a member of the Managing Committee for Türkiye, said. “It is about building trust, fostering resilience, and securing a sustainable future.”
The session’s high-level panel discussion on the advancement of transboundary water cooperation brought together experts and policymakers from the League of Arab States (LAS), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and members of the Blue Peace Middle East Regional Mechanism from Iraq, Jordan and Türkiye to address critical aspects of shared water management in the Middle East.
Topics included the role of the LAS in advancing transboundary cooperation over groundwater resources, lessons from Switzerland’s approach to transboundary water cooperation for the Middle East, and applying elements of the UN Water Convention to transboundary water management in Blue Peace ME member countries.
Panellists also explored the prioritization of political and economic factors to strengthen cooperation, integrating climate change considerations into regional water agreements, fostering trust through joint research, and how lessons from the Azraq Basin study might advance shared resource management. Their insights underscored the importance of collaboration, innovation, and knowledge exchange in advancing water diplomacy and regional stability.
The session ‘Advancing WEFE Nexus: Insights and Success Stories’ explored how the interconnected management of water, energy, food, and ecosystems – known as the WEFE Nexus – can address pressing challenges in the Middle East.
Organized by Blue Peace Middle East and the Embassy of Switzerland in Jordan, the session showcased Switzerland’s commitment to fostering integrated resource management through regional partnerships and presented key findings from the Blue Peace Middle East WEFE Baseline Study for Jordan that is being conducted by the Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM).
"Switzerland's consistent support and the dedication of our regional partners have allowed us to build strong foundations for dialogue,” Maysoon Al-Zoubi, the Chair of the Managing Committee, said. “We are expanding the scope our work under the WEFE Nexus umbrella, with pilot projects that offer practical regional WEFE solutions. Our aim is to create replicable models for regional implementation, specifically targeting vulnerable communities."
The session also featured the presentation of a WEFE success story in southern Jordan: The Livelihood and Environmental Actions for Development (LEAD) Project, which is funded by SDC and implemented by Mercy Corps.
During the ensuing discussion, experts from the Blue Peace Middle East Regional Mechanism and audience members reflected on strategies for stronger WEFE policy development and ways of overcoming challenges and strengthening WEFE cooperation in the Middle East.