Water Diplomacy in Action: Restoring the Global Hydrological Cycle

Practical information

1. Composition of the study group
2. Marie-Laurence DRILLON (AD) / Elisabete DIAS (AST)
3. Contact E-mail

Background

Following up on the own-initiative opinion on “Blue Diplomacy and Water cooperation: solutions to relieve the pressure of climate induced migration” the REX section received from the Commission a request to elaborate an exploratory opinion on "Water diplomacy in action: restoring the global hydrological cycle".

Water is the fundamental natural resource that supports life, ecosystems and human society . Water resources are on principle renewable due to their  cyclical nature. However, variability in climate and land surfaces means that the hydrological cycle and water resources are highly heterogeneous in both space and time. Moreover, deforestation in many regions of the world has a negative impact on the global hydrological cycle. Therefore, the link between climate-damaging activities and the hydrological cycle must be analysed, and appropriate adjustments must be made within the framework of global climate policy. 

Green water and terrestrial moisture recycling are not just another issue to add to our crises – but it is our only natural safe solution to all these crises. In fact, it appears that the global hydrological cycle should not only be preserved, but it should be restored, and also seen and governed as a common good. To that end, a systemic water and land-use management should be promoted, with urgent and coordinated actions from all the stakeholders, from local to global level, in the framework of a scientific, practical, and policy collaboration.

The objective of the opinion will be to explore how Water diplomacy can help achieving a change of paradigm in the systemic land-use and water cycle management in order to safeguard water security, restore ecosystems and biodiversity, serve as a vital solution for climate mitigation, and reduce climate-induced migration. The reflection will cover the following aspects: how the hydrological cycle could be strengthened, how green water could be mainstreamed to create systemic water governance frameworks, how water cooperation could be fostered across borders, and how governments, enterprises and citizens could be incentivized to take decisive action.

The opinion will respond to the need to uptake a systematic approach integrating water management into EU diplomacy, humanitarian action and migration foresight. It can pave the way to strengthening transboundary cooperation frameworks, not only in Danube, the Rhine, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Basin, but also in Amazon, Nile, Arctic, and many more vulnerable areas of the world.