Hague Declaration Progress Tracking

The Hague Declaration on Planetary Security was launched to support concrete steps to advance in the six action areas outlined in the Declaration. This website provides an overview of progress which has been made and presents actions and activities related to the Hague Declaration aiming to encourage further action on climate and security.

A briefing note summarising key results can be downloaded here. 

Khau Phạ Pass, Vietnam, Field
by Doan Tuan/Unsplash
Palm trees in a hurricane
by Photobank gallery/shutterstock
Displaced people carrying their possessions to a camp for Internally Displaced People in Somalia.
by Tobin Jones/UN Photo/flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
i
Somalia 2013. Carrying whatever possessions they can, women arrive at a camp for Internally Displced People (IDP) near Jowahr. Heavy rains in Somalia coupled with recend dashes between clans, have resulted in over four thousand IDPs seeking shelter. | © Tobin Jones/UN Photo
Crowded city
by João Lima/Flickr.com [CC BY-NC 2.0]; Jennifer Salahub/Twitter.com.
Lake Chad Basin, January 2017
by Espen Røst / Bistandsaktuelt/Utenriksdepartementet UD/flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
Walking through fields in Mali
by Curt Carnemark/World Bank/flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
A fishing boat in the Euphrates Southern Iraq
by Aziz1005/Wikimedia [CC BY 4.0]

Action Area 1

Creating an Institutional Home for Climate Security

Action Area 2

Enhancing Coordination on Migration

Action Area 3

Promoting Urban Resilience

Action Area 4

Joint Risk Assessment in Lake Chad

Action Area 5

Climate and Conflict Sensitive Development in Mali

Action Area 6

Supporting Sustainable Water Strategies in Iraq
Creating an Institutional Home for Climate Security
Action Area 1
Enhancing Coordination on Migration
Action Area 2
Promoting Urban Resilience
Action Area 3
Joint Risk Assessment in Lake Chad
Action Area 4
Climate and Conflict Sensitive Development in Mali
Action Area 5
Supporting Sustainable Water Strategies in Iraq
Action Area 6
The Hague Declaration

Methodology

Approach

The progress tracking of actions related to the Hague Declaration on this website wants to show 'what works', good practice and action that could be scaled up in terms of capacity, analysis or funding. This visualisation aims at encouraging more practical engagement on climate and security by illustrating successfully implemented actions. The actions presented here were not necessarily initiated because of the Hague Declaration but contribute to its objectives.

Survey Results

Information on the projects and activities presented on this website has been collected through an online survey. Please see this section for more information on the survey results.

Do you know of a project, approach or activity related to the Hague Declaration which is not yet presented on this website? Get in touch with us before 15 March 2019.

Action Area 6

Supporting Sustainable Water Strategies in Iraq

Decades of armed conflict, conflicts over transboundary water use and the increasingly palpable impacts of climate change are factors contributing to Iraq’s current water crisis. To ensure sustainable development and lasting peace in post-conflict Iraq, access to basic water infrastructure, in addition to climate-sensitive and long-term water strategies, are crucial. The significance of establishing a better water infrastructure was sadly demonstrated during the heat wave in summer 2018. Protests in the southern city of Basra also demanded better provision of public services such as potable water – underlining the link between climate stress and poor governance. This highlights citizens’ expectations that the government should rebuild water infrastructure to ensure access to potable water and sanitation. This approach could pave the way to long-term approaches for Iraq’s water resource management.

Photo by Spc. Charles Gill/DVIDSHUB/flickr [CC BY 2.0]
A family in Baghdad walks through flooded streets caused by a water main break.
Photo by Spc. Charles Gill/DVIDSHUB/flickr [CC BY 2.0]
Terrorist recruiting, water conflicts and climate change in Iraq – what are the links?
Terrorist recruiting, water conflicts and climate change in Iraq – what are the links?

What the Hague Declaration is calling for

The Hague Declaration encourages investment in rebuilding  vital  water  infrastructure  and  stabilisation  and humanitarian  efforts  which promote access to potable water and basic sanitation. The HD also stresses the need for long-term approaches to water security which factor in climate change. This requires strengthening existing local and national institutions for water management, improved knowledge management and building on existing efforts to foster cooperation on transboundary river resources. These steps are a fundamental component of any stabilisation and peacebuilding strategy.

Landscape in central Iraq. | Photo by Adam Lynch/flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0]
Landscape in central Iraq. | Photo by Adam Lynch/flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0]

Overview of progress made on Action Area 6

Despite the standstill in the political process in Iraq, government actors are committed to implementing actions to improve water security.

For example, the Ministry of Water Resources of Iraq showed political willingness and requested an assessment of Iraq's Strategy for Water and Land Resources from the Dutch government. During the UN Security Council debate on climate-related security risks, brought forward by the Swedish government in July 2018, Iraq’s Minister of Water Resources, stressed the impacts rising temperatures and competition for water resources have on the stability of the region.

Action on water strategies in Iraq has been encouraged by signatories of the Hague Declaration, for example through providing assessment and facilitating dialogue, including a meeting in Brussels organised by the PSI to discuss potential EU action to support water resource management in Iraq. But there is still scope for more attention, funding and engagement in this area.

Actions
See the actions
Euphrates River, Iraq. | Photo by Sergant James McCauley/Wikimedia [Public Domain]
Actions
Supporting Sustainable Water Strategies in Iraq

PSI Meeting: What can the EU do for Iraq?

On 21 June 2018, the Planetary Security Initiative organised an informal meeting for PSC Ambassadors at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU to exchange views on how climate change affects the security situation in Iraq and Mali and what this means for EU risk assessments, missions and policies.

The Iraqi ambassador acknowledged the realities of water scarcity in Iraq. The imperative of human security has trumped the capacities to address climate security. What can the EU do address the situation? According to the ambassador, the answer needs to be threefold: diplomatic, political and technical.

Further recommendations can be found in this summary of the meeting and  this PSI Policy Brief on climate-related security risks in Iraq.

 

Security Council Session with Iraq’s Minister for Water Resources

On 11 July 2018, at the Swedish-convened UN Security Council session on climate-related security risks, the Iraqi Water Minister highlighted the impacts of a changing climate on the security situation and availability of water resources in Iraq. He stressed the potential impact the competition for water resources may have on migration from the region to other parts of the world.

 

Report “Climate-related security risk assessment Iraq” 

The Expert Working Group on Climate-related Security Risks, initiated by Hague Declaration signatory, the Swedish MFA and hosted by the Declaration’s signatory SIPRI, published an assessment report on the links between climate and security risks in Iraq. In addition to identifying climate-related security risks for the country, the assessment suggests entry points for the work of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

 

Assessment of Iraq's Strategy for Water and Land Resources

The Ministry of Water Resources of Iraq requested Dutch expertise to assess Iraq's Strategy for Water and Land Resources, and IHE Delft led this project . The report on the assessment provides recommendations on how to potentially adapt the Strategy to the current water security situation and needs. The assessment is understood to reflect the commitment of the former Iraqi Minister of Water Resources as a signatory to the Hague Declaration to support sustainable water strategies and to strengthen water security in Iraq. The project is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.

 

Meeting on “Building a Stable and Prosperous Democracy in Iraq”

On 1 November 2018, the Clingendael Institute and The Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in the Netherlands organized the roundtable meeting entitled “Building a Stable and Prosperous Democracy in Iraq: Food Security, Climate Change and Sustainable Development’’, where participants discussed the political, economic and security situation in Iraq, and opportunities for future engagement.

 

Policy brief on "Water challenges in Iraq"

This PSI policy brief analyses how shrinking water quantities and declining water quality pose tremendous challenges in the process of rebuilding Iraq.

Back to Supporting Sustainable Water Strategies in Iraq
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