Blue Peace Partners

Central Asia Youth for Water (CAY4W) is a youth network integrating active and initiative-taking water leaders who stand at the gates of improvement of transboundary water resources management in Central Asia and Afghanistan. This multipurpose community provides a platform for strong communication with youth networks around the world, who share the same goal - implementation of ideas and projects aimed at improving the water sector. CAY4W promotes the sharing of enhanced knowledge and skills to assist water leaders from Central Asia and Afghanistan working to improve water conditions in the region.

With the highest number of refugees per capita globally and increasing water scarcity, the Middle East is facing a rapidly changing economic and environmental landscape. In efforts to support innovation and sustainability around these challenges, cewas Middle East empowers young entrepreneurs initiating and implementing high-potential business ideas, enhances the entrepreneurship ecosystem and trains WASH practitioners to generate demand for more sustainable products and services.

GIZ has over 50 years of experience in a wide variety of areas, including economic development and employment promotion, energy and the environment, and peace and security. The diverse expertise of their federal enterprise is in demand around the globe – including the German Government, European Union institutions, the United Nations and the private sector. GIZ works with businesses, civil society actors and research institutions to foster successful interaction between development policy and other policy fields. GIZ believes that it is only by combining social responsibility, ecological balance, political participation and economic capability that current and future generations will be able to lead secure and dignified lives.

Earth Security guides financial and private sector decision-makers to adopt new models to finance nature-based solutions. Through practical research and the active engagement of private sector stakeholders, Earth Security creates and advocates new models and geo-strategic initiatives that can take financing for ecosystem services and resource cooperation to scale. As a key partner to the Blue Peace movement, Earth Security's work is providing a practical entry point to engage and collaborate with the private and finance sectors on new models based on basin-level approaches and the 'water value' of natural assets. From designing and brokering new partnership models for global companies to collaborate with public institutions on transboundary water management, to guiding how global banks can align their policies and portfolios with Blue Peace objectives and the creation of new finance initiatives for this purpose, ES provides and facilitates blueprints for Blue Peace to be embedded into the risk management, impact investment and public engagement that guide private sector investment. These processes have also helped regional multilateral agencies to improve their own strategies and systems for collaborating with the private sector to leverage resources, expertise and influence.

Case study: Investing in water across borders and the value of peace

Earth Security and SDC convene companies to lead 'business diplomacy' for transboundary aquifers

Earth Security delivers keynote address at Blue Peace Central Asia in Kazakhstan

CEO briefing: The finance sector’s contribution to water and peace

CEO briefing: Private Sector Action for Transboundary Aquifers

Earth Security supports the development of WBCSD's new water strategy

Earth Security and SABMiller launch new SDG report at Climate Week in New York

Earth Security moderates dialogue on water security at Dubai's Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) in Dubai

The Geneva Water Hub is a Centre of the University of Geneva, as well as a joint project with the Swiss Confederation (SDC). It develops the hydropolitics agenda to better understand and prevent water-related tensions between competing uses, between public and private actors, and between political entities and countries. It also offers a hydrodiplomacy platform providing facilitation, conciliation and mediation services. This is done through a Geneva Networking platform, an Education and Knowledge component and a think tank. The Geneva Water Hub also acts as Secretariat for the Global High-Level Panel for Water & Peace.

Geneva Water Hub - Youth for Water and Peace

Global High-Level Panel for Water and Peace – A Matter of Survival (2017)

The German Kazakh University is an international university that contributes to the sustainable development of Central Asia by strengthening the scientific expertise of the region. In particular, the master program in "Integrated Water Resources Management for Central Asia” aims to further qualify graduates or undergraduate students from agricultural, engineering and scientific degree programs from the region to become "water managers" with an interdisciplinary thinking. Students from the region are encouraged to take part in this program which fosters water cooperation and integrated management in the region. The focus of the postgraduate course is the presentation of interdisciplinary questions of planning and controlling processes for the provision, distribution and rational use of water resources in the region.

Integrated Water Resources Management – Master programme

The International Secretariat for Water (ISW) and Solidarity Water Europe (SWE) form a movement bringing together citizens and organizations who are committed advocates for water. Their commitment is to ensure that all people have access to drinking water and sanitation. Building on evolving knowledge, innovative partnerships and creativity, ISW-SWE develops initiatives that uphold the universal right to water, while preserving the resources for future generations. The network and its partners build bridges and enable dialogue between all stakeholders — government, civil society, education and the private sector.

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IUCN is a membership Union composed of both government and civil society organisations. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its 1,300+ member organisations and the input of more than 10,000 experts. IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. Their work is organised into six commissions dedicated to species survival, environmental law, protected areas, social and economic policy, ecosystem management, and education and communication. More recently, the IUCN has increasingly focused on transboundary conservation and resources management all the while promoting peace and co-operation between nations through enhancing knowledge and capacity.

IUCN - Women as change-makers in the governance of shared waters (2018)

IUCN - Champions of Water Governance (2018)International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Media in Cooperation and Transition is a German non-profit organisation that implements media development projects in crisis regions. MiCT’s services comprise of training journalists and media producers, programme and content development, radio and film production, magazine and book publishing as well as media research and monitoring in conflict regions. Through its activities, MiCT aims to foster the transformation of conflict towards reconciliation and encourage dialogue among conflicting factions within society. Supporting media cooperation, media networking and development, as well as capacity building in the field of journalism is recognised as the key factor in conflict transition.

MiCT’s toolbox

The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) is an independent, non-political and non-for-profit international organization with a regional mandate to assist Central Asian governments, regional and international stakeholders in addressing environmental and sustainability challenges across the Central Asian region and Afghanistan.

CAREC was established in 2001 and is a joint initiative including all five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), the European Union and the UNDP, following the resolution of the IV Pan-European Conference held in 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark. By promoting dialogue and collaboration among all environmental stakeholders, CAREC has become a leading regional knowledge hub in the field of environment and sustainable development recognized by national, regional and international partners.

Strategic Foresight Group (SFG) is an international think tank based in Mumbai, India. SFG has played a critical role in the recognition of the strategic importance of water by prominent governments. It convened the first ever debate on water, peace and security in the United Nations Security Council and established the Global High Level Panel on Water and Peace, co-convened by 15 countries. It has also helped to create a regional institution for Blue Peace in the Middle East at a time when violent conflicts have engulfed the region.

SFG – Blue Peace in International Finance (2019)

SFG – Blue Peace Bulletins

SUEN, special entity under the authority of the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs of Turkey, is a national think tank established to develop national water policies, provide consultation to decision makers and enhance scientific research and strategic ideas, with a focus on creating a common platform for water management. This organization works in cooperation with national and international water-related institutions on issues such as sustainable water management, sustainable energy, and capacity building for solving local and global water problems.SUEN is currently hosting and coordinating the regional platform for the Blue Peace Middle East Initiative.

The Global Programme Water is a thematic division that helps find solutions to global challenges linked to water management. It engages in global, political dialogue and manages specific projects likely to influence regional and international policy. The division is involved in global policy dialogues, supports innovative projects that meet major challenges like access to drinking water and cross-border cooperation in the management of water resources and works in Switzerland to strengthen and leverage the expertise of water-sector actors.

SDC – Water as an asset for Peace

The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 47 least developed countries (LDCs).With its capital mandate and instruments, UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) was set up in 1947 by ECOSOC. It is one of five regional commissions of the United Nations. The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) aims to ensure the sustainable use of transboundary water resources by facilitating cooperation. The Water Convention was adopted in Helsinki in 1992 and entered into force in 1996. The Water Convention requires Parties to prevent, control and reduce transboundary impact, use transboundary waters in a reasonable and equitable way and ensure their sustainable management.

UNECE - Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention)

The UNESCO Office for Iraq was founded in 2003 to enable the international community to monitor and influence the evolution of Education, Culture, Sciences and Media in the country. UNESCO interventions are designed to support to peace-building and reconciliation. These include strengthening and supporting Iraqi civil society, human rights and freedom of expression, assisting vulnerable groups and targeted professions such as journalists and academics and supporting national capacity to manage urgent sectoral needs.

Founded in 2011, the Water Security Research Centre (WSRC) brings together researchers from across the University of East Anglia to address the theoretical, practical and policy challenges of managing and governing water. The UEA Water Security Research Centre’s approach to water security centres on the need to understand the physical and social drivers and dynamics of contemporary global water challenges and to recognise the multiple uses and benefits of water that need to be managed in any context. Centre members conduct research and consultancy, teaching and training, and outreach and policy engagement to increase awareness of water security issues and to foster positive change.

The UNESCO Chair in Hydropolitics, established at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) through the Institute for Environmental Sciences (ISE) in November 2015, seeks to contribute to the creation of tools for improved understanding of the political challenges relating to water resources (institutional frameworks, regulations, policy dimensions and conflict resolution). It also strengthens international interdisciplinary research on water policy issues by disseminating knowledge resources globally through an internet platform. Integrated into the network of existing UNESCO chairs and building bridges between academic research teams in Northern and Southern countries, this chair is encouraging not only North-South but also South-South collaborations.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 193 Member States and Territories. Established by the ratification of the WMO Convention on 23 March 1950, WMO became the specialised agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences a year later. WMO provides world leadership and expertise in international cooperation in the delivery and use of high-quality, authoritative weather, climate, hydrological and related environmental services by its Members, for the improvement of the well-being of societies of all nations.

These global networks ensure that youth are recognized as legitimate water stakeholders with tangible effects on outcomes, while also taking direct action in over 80 countries. The goal of the Parliaments is to strengthen capacity for successful local youth projects, while influencing decision makers and ensuring the voices of youth are heard. In total, there are 6000 members of all Youth Parliaments for Water globally. Both the WYPW and the EYPW are supported by The International Secretariat for Water and Solidarity Water Europe (ISW-SWE).

YWS is an international non-profit, youth-led organization whose mission is to develop and support the potential of young people to contribute to universal water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and water resources management. It does so by empowering young leaders from low and middle income countries to implement water projects and create water and sanitation start-ups, by providing them with the tools they need to pilot their initiatives. Its flagship programme, the Young Water Fellowship, provides training, mentorship and seed funding as a support package for 'young water entrepreneurs' ranging from 18 to 30 years old.

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