WG 6: Water Security

Water Security: Conflicts and Tensions in the Past, Present and Future

The objective of this working group is to bridge communities working on ‘hard security’ and on ‘environmental changes and stressors’ taking water security issues as focus. Various experts will share analyses on the relations between the physical system, human security and (geo)political security. These insights will be discussed in an interactive discussion on the main drivers and importance of different types of information for ‘early warning’ concerning resource scarcity and competition, human security and tensions in society. A specific point will be on how to make better use of future scenarios in early warning instruments in order to reduce conflict risk in an uncertain future.

Objectives

Bridge communities working on ‘hard security’ and on ‘environmental changes and stressors’ taking water security issues as focus
Build on a common knowledge base between the ‘environmental community’ and ‘hard security’ community by sharing analyses on the relations between the physical system, human security and (geo)political security
Discuss the main drivers and importance of different types of information for ‘early warning’ concerning increasing resource scarcity, resource competition, human security, and political tensions and conflicts
Develop recommendations on how to make better use of future scenarios as early warning instruments and connect the findings of these assessments with the security communities in order to reduce risks of conflicts in an uncertain future

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