The Earth is urging a call to action. Nature and the environment are suffering increasingly from pollution, overuse, and rising temperatures, causing disastrous effects on people’s livelihoods. Thus environmental degradation and climate change increasingly interact with threats to peace and stability worldwide.
For Earth Day 2023, YPI wants to emphasize the increasing importance of the role of water in peace and conflict. Water can be a trigger of conflict, water could serve as a weapon in conflict, and could be a casualty of wars. There is increasing competition over the availability of freshwater sources, both on a transboundary and national scale. Scarcity can be a source of tension and conflict, but it can further be a source of peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.
On the 11th of May, YPI will dive into the water-peace-and-conflict-nexus with the help of four experts in the field. Together, we will discover the different roles of water in conflict and its effects on a transboundary and national scale. We will dive into how water can also be a source of peace and cooperation in different stages: prevention and risk mitigation, during the eruption of conflict, and on the road towards peace. For more information: https://youthpeaceinitiative.net/is-water-a-driver-of-peace-and-conflict/