What are the major challenges to water security in the South Caucasus region? And is there a role for third-party involvement in water diplomacy?
Join us at this workshop as we investigate these questions.
- Date
- Tuesday 18 Jun 2024, 15:30 - 19:00
- Type
- Workshop
- Spoken Language
- English
- Room
- Room 4.26
- Ticket information
Please register to attend before 7 June. Due to space limitations, we only have room for 40 participants.
Water security in the South Caucasus region is under great threat. There is an increased pace of new reservoirs being built on the major rivers – a potential source of tensions between the riparian states. Climate change makes precipitation much less regular, and the levels of the Caspian Sea have been dropping dramatically, partly to climate change and to a great extent due to increased water abstractions. Furthermore, the political situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and the broader region has been tense since the Second Karabakh War in 2020 and the Russia-Ukraine war since 2021. These threats have a potential to further de-stabilise the region and lead to longer term negative political as well as socio-economic impacts.
External (or third-party) water diplomacy, both political and economic, has proved effective in fostering dialogue and creating trade and economic ties that shift attention to benefit-sharing and away from resource-sharing. Third parties have a serious presence in the region, both governmental and through the private sector companies from e.g. the US, Netherlands, Germany, Turkey. However, there are also serious dilemmas in the activities of third-party actors related to potential contradictions in their objectives, challenges of organising a sustainable development cooperation programme, and broader issues of managing donor-recipient relations.
This workshop is the first event to connect the discussion on water governance and diplomacy in the South Caucasus with the broader debates around third-party involvement with water to promote global security and solidarity. We look forward to a dynamic and interactive event where we can critically interrogate the previous attempts to improve water governance and diplomacy in the region and sketch avenues for better engagement in that area..
Two-part discussion into water security
This workshop will consist of two parts
Roundtable on the South Caucasus (15:30-17:15):
Short interventions by panelists from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, US and Kazakhstan:
- Alen Gasparian Amirkhanian, American University of Armenia
- Shahana Bilalova, Leuphana University Lüneburg
- Lasha Nakashidze, South Caucasus Regional Water Management Program
- Jeanene Mitchell, South Caucasus Regional Water Management Program
- Bota Sharipova, IHE Delft
This session will be chaired by Farhad Mukhtarov.
Coffee/tea break at the Butterfly Bar (17.00-17.30):
The Butterfly Bar can be found on the first floor of the ISS campus to the left of the staircase and elevator.
Fishbowl discussion on commodification and mobility of water diplomacy expertise (17:15-19:00):
Organizers will present a few major questions and debates in the literature and case studies as a provocation – maximum 5 minutes.
We invite ideas on what can help, what works, what does not and why.
Participants from the Dutch Water Sector and from the South Caucasus will debate issues in third-party water diplomacy, commodification and the politics of expertise related to it.
The workshop will be followed by a reception with drinks and snacks.
