Eco Comment – Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future

This is not going to be a political comment, although water could be considered a very political hot potato at the moment.  

Last week I was writing about watering an allotment and on returning home I realised that my own garden was in dire need of the wet stuff too. A potted hydrangea was definitely wilting along with other smaller plants, but I was fortunate in that a neighbour had been round the indoor plants, so they were possibly looking better cared for than when I’m home!

We are so fortunate in this country to have water on tap to the extent that we just accept it. We use it, possibly with more care now that we might have a water meter and are more conscious of how much it costs us, but it’s (almost) always there. It’s probably only when the weather turns hot for greater stretches of time that we really consider the ramifications of there not being enough. If I travel to Manchester over the moors via Penistone and Glossop I have always looked at the reservoir levels as being an indicator of the supply chain. I can imagine that they are quite low currently, but we haven’t been given a hosepipe ban so all must be well. I have a vague memory of filling buckets from standpipes in the road from a summer many years ago, but generally I have lived through a time of plenty. Others are not so lucky. As ever, it’s that accident of birth. 

‘World Water Week 2024’ focuses on water cooperation, for peace and security in its broadest sense: human security, food and nutrition security, ecosystem security, energy security, etc. – and the relationship between all of these. The breaking down of all forms of silos is a key component for successful cooperation, as captured in the title “Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future”. This year’s World Water Week provides the forum to identify and promote opportunities for effective water cooperation. It aims, as it always has, at true global interconnectivity. Fragmentation is the enemy of positive and constructive change, which is why bridging all possible borders – real as well as perceived, imaginable as well as unimaginable – is key. In this, World Water Week reaches beyond the water sector, catering – through water cooperation – for the peace and security of the entire global community.’  

‘Water is crucial to all the Sustainable Development Goals but is often forgotten in conversations about climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, and poverty. World Water Week works to change this by bringing together many different stakeholders and offering a platform for collaboration across various global agendas. An essential part of the annual water agenda, World Water Week is a recurring arena that connects international processes: a space to implement the commitments made at the UN 2023 Water Conference and a link to the annual Conference of the Parties (COP)’ www.worldwaterweek.org 

World Water Week is an annual event on global water issues hosted by the Stockholm International Water Institute and the amazing thing is that we can all attend. All of the events, with the exception of three workshops, will be livestreamed and recorded. You can participate online for FREE! ‘Every year, we (WWW)  invite key collaborating partners to support World Water Week by providing input to the programme, participating in the Scientific Programme Committee (SPC), and widening the event’s reach. For World Water Week 2024, we are proud to highlight our four key collaborators: the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, The World Bank, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and the World Youth Parliament for Water.’

The participating group that interests me the most is the World Youth Parliament for Water. After all, it’s the next generation that is going to have to work with whatever the current governments of the world have ‘done’ to our earth. They have a vested interest. Young people should be empowered to join in with current discussions and voice their opinions even if they are unformed. After all, unless given the opportunity to learn and develop their knowledge and ideas they will grow up in ignorance and not realise that the issues that we adults are currently trying to work through will affect them to a much greater degree than they do us. Let us pray for their involvement and ultimate success. 

Susan Morgan
Eco Group