Tríplice Fronteira, where the three borders of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil converge, separated by the Iguazú and Paraná Rivers. Image by Jan Schneckenhaus. The Transboundary Water Cooperation team consists of experts in environmental peacebuilding, conflict resolution, water diplomacy and cooperative resource management.
Interest is growing in the complex relationship between water and peace. It is well known that environmental degradation can destabilize vulnerable communities, but also that water can be a tool for peaceful cooperation and for strengthening regional stability.
Working together with governments and regional stakeholders, SIWI’s Transboundary Water Cooperation team facilitates inclusive dialogues and collective capacity building. The aim is to help establish cooperative relationships and governance structures for transboundary water management that are inclusive, transparent, and equitable.
The Transboundary Water Cooperation team offers a broad range of expertise, including environmental peacebuilding, water diplomacy, climate and security, cooperative water management and water governance. The team supports conflict resolution, including by facilitating dialogues.
The Transboundary Water Cooperation team works closely with other departments at SIWI to support water governance and the provision of basic services in fragile contexts.
For water diplomacy to be effective, it must be inclusive. In addition to formal processes involving state actors, it is important to strengthen informal relationship building and trust-building activities that introduce new ideas and perspectives and support the enabling environment around water diplomacy processes. Gender equality, youth empowerment and a human rights-based approach are of crucial importance.
The Transboundary Water Cooperation team shares and generates knowledge on the Water and Peace theme. Focus is on inclusive processes to elevate local and basin knowledge and expertise such as through the annual High-Level Panel on Water Diplomacy. Much of the work is carried out through two SIWI-hosted flagship programmes, the International Centre for Water Cooperation and the Shared Waters Partnership.
Members of the Transboundary team facilitate water dialogues and meetings where different actors can work to overcome political, social, and capacity barriers to cooperation. The aim is to promote information and experience sharing, collaborative knowledge building, and joint problem-solving. Through dialogue and exchange, it is possible to gradually identify new opportunities for human and national security to support development, resilience, and peace.
