WATER COOPERATION AND PEACE Finnish Water Way
THE GOAL
Together with its partners, Finland works to prevent and resolve water-related conflicts in a world of climate change and resource scarcity. Finland assists in finding solutions to challenges that risk aggravating relations over water.
HOW TO REACH IT
Finland brings together two international areas of expertise – peace mediation and water know-how.
Working together towards a water secure world
Water diplomacy refers to the prevention and resolution of political tensions over water and its use by drawing on water expertise and diplomatic tools. The vision of Finland’s international water strategy and the ultimate goal of Finnish water diplomacy efforts is a water secure world. Fair and well-governed management of water resources serves as a platform for cooperation and peacebuilding. Water can act as the starting point for preventive and pro-active peace mediation.
The Finnish approach to water diplomacy combines two of Finland’s strengths, transboundary water cooperation and peace mediation, and builds on national and international networks and partnerships.
The Finnish Water Diplomacy Network consists of experts from ministries, academia and research institutions, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector. The network-based implementation of Finnish water diplomacy activities ensures engagement of relevant peace mediation and water actors and enables utilization of their expertise for both rapid response and longer-term development aims.
Internationally, Finland collaborates with state and non-state actors in developing activities related to water diplomacy. These activities enhance conflict analyses and mediation, joint initiatives, and capacity building, all of which strengthen conflict prevention.
Finnish water diplomacy expertise
Finland has long-standing, successful experience in transboundary water cooperation with its neighbours and partnering countries. Its operating model and technical know-how have played prominent roles in development co-operation projects around the world. This competence now forms the foundation of Finland’s water diplomacy efforts.
• Finland has agreements for transboundary water cooperation with all its neighbouring countries.
• Bilateral cooperation with both Sweden and Norway is fluent and focuses on joint planning at a local scale. Finnish-Russian cooperation is based on post-World War II confidence-building and agreements where the institutional framework has provided for necessary coordination and measures, while activities have varied with the political situation.
• Finland actively promotes regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea, Barents Sea, and Arctic regions.
• Internationally, Finland has supported transboundary water cooperation, especially in the Nile Basin, Mekong region, and Central Asia.
DID YOU KNOW?
Both global conventions on transboundary waters have been initiated by Finland: the 1992 UNECE Water Convention (Helsinki Convention) and the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention. Finland has contributed to various activities within the Helsinki Convention such as reducing inter-sectoral tensions through the water-foodenergy-ecosystems nexus assessments.
Finland as a peace mediator
• Finland has long-standing experience in international peace mediation. Finnish peace mediation is known for its pragmatism, impartiality, and solution-oriented approach.
• Finland has also played an important role in strengthening the normative basis for peace mediation at the multilateral fora, including in the United Nations.
• Equality, local ownership, inclusivity, and transparency are at the core of Finland’s efforts in mediation. The involvement of all parties concerned in the peace process is essential for creating sustainable peace.
• Finland pays special attention to measures that enhance the role of women and youth in peace processes.
Water Cooperation and Peace – Finnish Water Way
Water Cooperation and Peace – Finnish Water Way is a project financed by three ministries in Finland.
The project supports the implementation of Finland’s goal of sustaining peace and ensuring security by making water visible in its peace initiatives as well as its foreign and security policy.
THE PROJECT SEEKS TO
• Strengthen Finnish water diplomacy collaboration internationally
• Strengthen international transboundary agreements and their implementation by supporting active participation and experience sharing of Finnish experts
• Identify and respond to Finnish and international water diplomacy training and competence-building needs
• Deepen cooperation between experts in foreign and security policy, peace mediation, and the water sector
FINNISH WATER DIPLOMACY NETWORK
Finland has established a water diplomacy network to bring together Finnish expertise from the water sector and fields of peace and security. This network comprises a cross-sectoral community of already over one hundred experts.
The project has supported and facilitated the work of the network, including meetings, newsletters, and capacity building opportunities.
Highlights of project achievements so far
EXPERIENCE SHARING AND CAPACITY BUILDING
• A two-day session on water diplomacy and transboundary water cooperation for the officials of the African Union organised together with the AU and Senegal in November 2023
• Online training focusing on water security, international water law, and water diplomacy for the Finnish diplomats and Ministry officials in February 2023
• Comprehensive water diplomacy training for experts and students of various backgrounds in cooperation with Aalto University and the University of Eastern Finland in spring 2022
• Water allocation workshop in Central Asia together with IWAC and other partners in November 2022
• Support for a UNECE regional Workshop on Transboundary Water Allocation, WEFE Nexus and Development of Agreements and other Arrangements in Livingstone, Zambia in April 2024
• Support for Master’s Theses on water diplomacy, participation of young Finnish diplomats in water diplomacy trainings and engagement of junior rapporteurs in international water events and conferences
CONFLICT ANALYSIS TOOL FOR WATER DIPLOMACY
Within the framework of the project, FIIA developed a Conflict Analysis Tool for Water Diplomacy. The tool has been further developed together with partners and applied in different contexts, including Central Asia, Caucasia and Southern Africa.
SUPPORT TO PEACE PROCESSES
The project has provided expertise on water diplomacy to support peace mediation endeavours as well as linked and mobilised experts from the Finnish Water Diplomacy Network to water diplomacy processes. The project has also brought water experts together with professionals of peace and diplomacy.
PROMOTING WATER DIPLOMACY AND TRANSBOUNDARY WATER COOPERATION TOGETHER WITH PARTNERS GLOBALLY
• Promotion of water diplomacy together with international partners and networks globally, in many international fora including UN Water Conference, World Water Forum, World Water Week
• Facilitation of an Expert opinion on Value of Water in Times of Armed Conflicts to the UN Water Conference 2023
• Support and active participation in Women in Water Diplomacy Network and other international networks
• Cooperation with the Finland-Namibia Twinning pilot project to strengthen transboundary water cooperation under UN Water Convention (2023-2025)
• Co-organisation of a session on Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus in the Sarajevo Energy & Climate Week in September 2023
• Support in coordination of international water diplomacy partnerships, including facilitation of the Roadmap of joint activities in water diplomacy between Senegal and Finland
FINANCING:
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Ministry of the Environment
COORDINATOR:
Finnish Environment Institute Syke and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs FIIA
CONTACT:
syke.fi/projects/waterdiplomacy @FinnishWaterDiplomacy #FinnishWaterDiplomacy
MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF FINLAND, CENTRE FOR PEACE MEDIATION: um.fi/peace-mediation
2021-2024
Images: AdobeStock