About The Water Diplomat
Origins
"The Water Diplomat" (TWD), launched in August 2019, is a free monthly news and intelligence magazine resource initiated by the Geneva Water Hub in partnership with OOSKAnews. The publication was developed to contribute to awareness raising on current affairs related to hydropolitical challenges and emerging solutions to those challenges.
In June 2022, The Water Diplomat became an independent new entity with the central aim of mainstreaming water news. It seeks to provide a balanced geographical coverage of current affairs in the water sector from across the world, and following the closure of its parent organisation OOSKAnews, will strive to remain the world’s premier source of water news.
Vision
Public awareness of water diplomacy is crucial to the achievement of global objectives on water and peace. Media, particularly news media, are key to calling global attention to water issues, stimulating public debate, and contributing to constructive dialogues.
Media can act as a knowledge broker, building bridges, facilitating new flows of information, shifting narratives towards collaboration and increasing awareness of co-dependency on shared resources rather than viewing water conflicts as a zero-sum game.
For instance, society’s understanding of the network of stakeholders involved in conflicts is largely informed by information provided in mass media.
Global Observatory on Water and Peace
In its coverage, TWD focuses on the intersects between water, peace, conflict, and diplomacy. It takes its lead from the recommendations of the report of the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace (GHLPWP) entitled “A Matter of Survival”, published in 2017.
Following the publication of the report, a Global Observatory on Water and Peace was established, which is currently working with a series of regional and thematic groups or ‘nodes’ around the world to follow up on the recommendations of the report. As a ‘node’ within GWH’s Global Observatory for Water and Peace (GOWP), The Water Diplomat contributes to the analytical and knowledge sharing capabilities of the Observatory. In particular, TWD seeks to (a). improve public understanding of the prevention and reduction of conflicts related to water and (b). increase the visibility of hydro-political issues and hydrodiplomatic engagement. [1]
Capacity Building
Since the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal in March 2022, The Water Diplomat is working together with UNDP Cap Net and the Global Water Partnership to conduct regional trainings of journalist on water issues. The ambition is to build a global platform of journalists providing constant high quality reporting on water issues.
[1] In its structure, the publication mirrors the chapter subdivision of the 2017 GHLPWP report “A Matter of Survival”: each issue of TWD provides news and intelligence related to the themes, and sub-themes, of the panel’s report, contributing to the awareness of current affairs related to hydropolitical challenges around the world and engaging readers in the nexus between water, peace, cooperation, and diplomacy.