Pacific Institute Reflects on World Water Day Theme: Water for Peace 

Pacific Institute Reflects on World Water Day Theme: Water for Peace 

March 21, 2024 April 10, 2024

By: Dr. Amanda Bielawski, Heather Cooley, Jason Morrison, Morgan Shimabuku, and Dr. Peter Gleick 

Key Takeaways 

  • This year, World Water Day focuses on leveraging water for peace. At the Pacific Institute, we approach every day focused on water. 
  • We provide the world’s most comprehensive open-source database and analysis on water-related conflicts. 
  • We are also proud to be at the forefront of advancing water-resilience solutions and multi-sector convenings that can help prevent conflicts and support collaboration. 
  • A new visionary funding model is being built to support the Pacific Institute’s ambitious 2030 goal to catalyze the transformation to water resilience. 

Throughout history, water has been embedded in conflicts around the world. At times, water is a trigger of conflict or used as a weapon. At other times, it is a target or casualty of conflict. According to recent Pacific Institute research, water-related conflict has increased globally during recent decades, with a notable escalation during the past several years. War, growing water scarcity, regional violence, and the impacts of climate change contribute to these challenges, adding pressure and complexity to an already water insecure world.  

Each March 22, we pause to mark World Water Day. This year’s theme, “Water for Peace,” encourages the world to focus not only on the conflicts, but also on how water can be at the center of peacebuilding. Water can act as a medium for collaboration and cooperation, uniting communities and decision makers around equitable and resilient water solutions. 

The Pacific Institute’s work is foundational to these efforts, providing evidence-based research and identifying levers of change that can support on-the-ground solutions. It’s work that is deeply needed given the sheer scope of the challenge. 

Realities of the data 

The numbers on water insecurity and conflict paint a bleak picture. More than 2 billion people globally lack safely managed drinking water, about half of the people on Earth experience severe water scarcity at some point during the year, and about 10% of recent increases in global migration have been linked to water deficits. There are more than 300 transboundary water basins globally. But about three-fourths of them lack cooperation agreements for at least 90% of their waters shared across countries.  

These realities continue to create conflicts. They also establish a monumental need for solutions for a more water-resilient world. 

Leading on water conflict research 

For more than 20 years, the Pacific Institute’s Water Conflict Chronology has been a central source of global data on water conflicts. Launched during the 1980s, this resource is the world’s most comprehensive open-source database on water-related violence.  

Launched during the 1980s, this resource is the world’s most comprehensive open-source database on water-related violence.

In November, the Pacific Institute released our latest major update to the Water Conflict Chronology, adding more than 350 new verified incidents when water has been a trigger, weapon, target, or casualty of violence. These data highlight a trend of increasing water-related conflicts over the past two decades. 

This work, led by two of us—Pacific Institute Co-Founder and Senior Fellow Dr. Peter Gleick and Senior Researcher Morgan Shimabuku —was cited as a key resource in the United Nations’ 2024 World Water Day materials. During 2023 alone, the Pacific Institute’s work in this area was mentioned in more than 400 media reports, including extensive coverage in the The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, and other major outlets. 

Part of the broader water equity lens 

The study of water-related conflict at the Pacific Institute is part of a broader tradition of work situated at the intersection of water, justice, and peace—all around the world. 

The study of water-related conflict at the Pacific Institute is part of a broader tradition of work situated at the intersection of water, justice, and peace—all around the world. 

Throughout the years, Pacific Institute leaders have collaborated on human right to water discussions with the post-apartheid government in South Africa, published work on the need to base water reallocation in California on sustainability and justice principles, and participated in discussions on transboundary water resources between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.  

In 1999, Dr. Peter Gleick published “The Human Right to Water,” which ultimately was acknowledged as a foundational body of work when the United Nations established the Human Right to Water as international law in 2010.  Later, the Pacific Institute brought the Human Right to Water to the private sector, providing guidance to large water-using companies on how to respect this right in practice. Read more about the Pacific Institute’s history of work on equity and justice starting in 1987 here. 

More recently, in 2022, we launched a Water and Climate Equity research strategy aimed to bring light to equitable water resilience solutions for frontline communities across the United States amidst the intensifying impacts of climate change. Read the latest report in the series here.  

Inclusive, cross-sectoral, and action-oriented solutions 

This year’s World Water Day highlights three principles for cooperating on water: solutions should be inclusive, cross-sectoral, and action-oriented.  

At the Pacific Institute, we are proud to center these principles in our work. 

Innovative solutions, like water efficiency and reuse, offer important – yet underutilized – opportunities. They can help ensure adequate water for human needs, while also supporting ecosystem health and ultimately making societies less vulnerable to conflict and instability.  

New research 

For example, new Pacific Institute research shows there are significant opportunities to expand water efficiency and reuse strategies. In turn, these can reduce pressures on water resources—and reduce the risk of conflict. 

Research launched last month found there is substantial opportunity to capture more urban stormwater across the United States, thus enhancing communities’ water resilience. The pivotal study found the US average annual urban stormwater runoff exceeds 59.5 million acre-feet (73.5 cubic kilometers) annually, equivalent to 93% of municipal and industrial water withdrawals. This equates to more than 53 billion gallons per day using an annual average! 

New approaches like increasing stormwater capture can help urban communities address water scarcity risks, more severe and frequent flooding and drought due to climate change, and constraints on traditional water supplies. Pacific Institute research highlights how such water efficiency and reuse strategies can play a major role—both in the United States and globally—meeting key UN Sustainable Development Goal targets, while reducing pressures on water resources and the risk of conflict. 

Multi-sector collaboration 

We are also working to catalyze a cross-sectoral movement to build water resilience across 100 water-stressed basins by 2030.

We are also working to catalyze a cross-sectoral movement to build water resilience across 100 water-stressed basins by 2030. The Water Resilience Coalition, part of the CEO Water Mandate partnership between the Pacific Institute and the United Nations Global Compact, is taking on-the-ground action. The Coalition has united businesses with non-profit organizations at the regional level to improve water availability, water quality, and water access through collective action.  

There are now 21 collective action projects underway in 15 water-stressed river basins across Asia, Africa, South America, and North America. Since launching in 2020, the Water Resilience Coalition has grown to include 35 global companies across multiple sectors with operations in more than 140 countries.  

By 2030, the Water Resilience Coalition aims to include 150 of the world’s most influential companies with a potential to influence one-third of global water withdrawals, contributing to water security for 3 billion people and enabling equitable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for more than 300 million people. 

By improving water resilience and reducing water stress, this work also contributes to reducing the risk of water-related conflicts. 

Take action: 

Each March 22 since 1993, the world has marked World Water Day. At the Pacific Institute, we are proud to approach each day like it’s World Water Day. 

If you are inspired by the work of the Pacific Institute to identify, track, and analyze water-related conflicts and forge equitable solutions for water resilience, please consider financially supporting this work.  

To learn more about how you can make a difference, contact Nicole Wickenhauser, Director of Development, here. Read more about the new visionary funding model being built at the Pacific Institute to support long-term growth and reaching our ambitious 2030 water resilience goal here. 

Further reading: 

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