‘Sustainable water sharing key to common prosperity’.
With the rising tide of global warming creating greater uncertainties over our water management, developed and developing countries should come together to prevent the tragedy of the commons and search for sustainable solutions affecting their common future, according to a renowned academic expert on the issue.
“The problems are manifold, but fundamentally speaking we are not using water the way we should be,” said professor Ashok Swain of Uppsala University in Sweden in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on June 29.
The problem lies in our understanding of how to manage water.” Many powerful countries like the US, China and India — the so-called “hydro hegemons” — exploit their power and upstream locations to use water disproportionately and sow instability in regional politics to their advantage, he said, calling it “a very selfish and nearsighted approach.” Swain is the director of the Centre for International Water Cooperation and Department of Peace and Conflict Research at the university.
“It’s going against sustainable development.
It is also critical to create water-specific legal and institutional frameworks to enforce adherence to principles, the professor advised.
The first step would be creating a river basin-based or basin-specific agreement, as water-sharing accords have generally been successful and resilient over time, even between hostile parties.
Nevertheless, a global principle will help.
The Baltic Sea had been polluted from contaminants flowing from Russia and former Soviet Republic countries.
Swain also pinned his hope on the next generation of diplomats, whom he viewed as more regionally and globally minded, as opposed to being tunnel-visioned by national interests.