Sustainable water management key to security, OSCE Secretary General says on World Water Day

VIENNA, 22 March 2014 - Sustainable water management is key to ensuring peace, stability and security, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said today to mark World Water Day.

Transboundary water resources are of special importance to the OSCE as a regional security organization, the Secretary General said.

“For some time now, we have seen increasing signs that water could potentially trigger conflicts between countries that depend on the same water sources,” Zannier said. “Although we are making progress in identifying and taking advantage of opportunities for water co-operation, much more needs to be done if we want to be serious about preventing conflict.”

Zannier said the OSCE is well placed to foster such efforts thanks to its expertise on environment-security linkages and its comprehensive approach. “The OSCE’s broad membership enables us to support co-operation and share experiences and best practices between OSCE participating States as well as with our Partners for Co-operation.”

He noted that the OSCE has a strong track record of supporting water co-operation across borders in different parts of the OSCE area. Most of these projects are conducted in close collaboration with partners from the Environment and Security Initiative (ENVSEC), for example in the Dniester/Nistru River Basin.

Sustainable water management is a priority of the Swiss and Serbian OSCE Chairmanships in 2014 and 2015. The Organization’s role in enhancing security through water diplomacy will be the focus of an OSCE Security Days event taking place in Vienna in July.