Main page content

Environment
Conflict
Cooperation

Global Issues
Water

Water, peace and conflict: Can water be an entry point for peace? | BCSC 2025

6 November, 2025

By loading the videos you accept the YouTube privacy policy.

Hosted by the Geneva Water Hub, this session examined how climate change amplifies water-related disasters and pressures, from floods in Southeast Asia and Europe to droughts in the Sahel and Western Asia, heightening risks of disputes, damaging water systems in conflict settings, and undermining prospects for peace.

The session then assessed water’s unique potential to foster dialogue, trust, and resilience across political and social boundaries, synthesising insights from expert lightning talks and group discussions to distil practical recommendations for prevention, conflict transformation, and post-conflict peacebuilding.

The seventh edition of the Berlin Climate and Security Conference (BCSC) explored climate, conflict, and cooperation in a turbulent era. Better coordination and innovative collaborations are needed more than ever. Through taking stock of leading practice and convening figures from government, implementation organisations, and research, it advanced actionable climate security solutions amid growing instability.

Speakers:
• Natasha Carmi, Senior Water-Peace Programme Manager, Geneva Water Hub
• Sonja Koeppel, Secretary of the UN Water Convention, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
• Charity Watson, Climate, Peace and Security Advisor, United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
• Moderated by Basilio Ghisletta, Policy and Law Programme Manager, Geneva Water Hub

The production of this video is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.

© adelphi global, all rights reserved

Related content

Women and children collecting water at IDP camp

Global Issues
Water

War and Climate Change Intensify Global Water-related Conflicts

The Pacific Institute recently updated its Water Conflict Chronology—a database of water-conflict events that began to take form in the 1980s. The recent...

Global Issues
Water

Promoting water tenure for food security, climate resilience and equity

Water tenure considers all types of water uses, including those that are not formally recognized by law. A major challenge to improving sustainable water use...

©Matt Hardy/pexels

Global Issues
Water

The Global Challenge of Water’s Weaponization in War: Lessons from Yemen, Ukraine, and Libya

©Matt Hardy/pexels

The world’s water is in trouble. Freshwater pollution, coupled with climate change, population growth, and increasing demand, threatens water quality and...

Global Issues
Water

Water and Conflict: A Toolkit for Programming

This practical toolkit provides guidance for implementing partners, USAID staff, and other stakeholders who support the Global Water Strategy and White House...

Global Issues
Water

Partnerships and cooperation for water

The 2023 United Nations World Water Development Report on Partnerships and Cooperation assesses the nature and role of partnerships and cooperation among...

Global Issues
Water

Water action is climate action: Opportunities for peace post 2023 UN Water Conference

There cannot be climate action without water action. The acknowledgement of this at this year’s UN Water Conference could represent a "once in a generation...

Global Issues
Water

Water is the new carbon

Global water security is increasingly threatened. Accounting for water use and risk ought to have the same urgency with which we address carbon.

Global Issues
Land and Food

State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2021

The climate data for 2021 is now mostly in, and it has proved to be another noteworthy year across the oceans, atmosphere, cryosphere and surface temperature of...

Global Issues
Water

Handbook on water allocation in a transboundary context

The first-ever ‘Handbook on Water Allocation in a Transboundary Context’ explains the various phases, benefits and challenges of transboundary water allocation...

Newsletter subscription Sign up for news on environment, conflict and cooperation.

First name

Surname

Privacy policyWhen you are asked to submit personal information while using our services, you are free to choose whether or not to provide this. Your personal details will be stored and used in accordance with German data protection regulations. Any personal details collected as part of this newsletter subscription will be used for the purpose of processing the subscription and dealing with your enquiries. Your details will not be passed onto third parties. No use will be made of your details for consulting purposes, for advertising or for market research. If you cancel your subscription, all your personal details will be deleted from our database.

I agree with the delivery of the newsletter.

You can revoke your consent to the site operator at any time by unsubscribing from the newsletter. An unsubscribe function is also at the bottom of every newsletter.

Leave this field blank

Go to newsletter archive