TU-BCPS Model United Nations 2023-2024 Debate Scenario
“Water Scarcity and Water Rights”
Water is the foundation of a sustainable future. It is essential for economic growth, food production, healthy ecosystems, and human survival itself. Access to clean water is not just a necessity; it is a human right. As the global population expands, balancing competing demands on this precious resource becomes crucial. States and rival ethnic groups are battling for control of this vital resource, leading to cross-border and civil conflict, civilian deaths, unplanned migration, and economic and social disruption. Commercial demands place strains on water resources, while communities also need enough for their needs. Women and girls, in particular, need safe and private sanitation facilities to ensure their dignity, health, and safety. Water scarcity, driven by factors like rising demand, outdated infrastructure, and inequitable management, is a growing threat to all continents, hitting poorer communities hardest. To build resilience against climate change and serve a growing population, we must embrace a holistic and inclusive approach to managing this vital resource (UN Global Issues: Water; UN: Water Scarcity).
Water-related challenges include: (See UN Global Issues: Water)
2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services.
Almost 2 billion people depend on health care facilities without basic water services
Over half of the global population – 4.2 billion – people lack safely managed sanitation services.
297,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene, or unsafe drinking water.
2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress.
90 per cent of natural disasters are water-related, including floods and droughts.
80 per cent of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused.
Around two-thirds of the world’s transboundary rivers do not have a cooperative water management framework.
Agriculture accounts for 70 per cent of global water withdrawal, while one-third of the world’s food is wasted.
The United Nations explains the following challenges associated with water scarcity:
(quoted from UN: Water Scarcity):
Water scarcity is a relative concept. The amount of water that can be physically accessed varies as supply and demand change. Water scarcity intensifies as demand increases and/or as water supply is affected by decreasing quantity or quality.
Water is a finite resource in growing demand. As the global population increases and resource-intensive economic development continues, many countries’ water resources and infrastructure are failing to meet accelerating demand.
Climate change is making water scarcity worse. The impacts of a changing climate are making water more unpredictable. Terrestrial water storage – the water held in soil, snow, and ice – is diminishing. The result is increased water scarcity, which disrupts societal activity.
Women and girls are among the hardest hit. Poor and marginalized groups are on the frontline of any water scarcity crisis, impacting their ability to maintain good health, protect their families, and earn a living. For many women and girls, water scarcity means more laborious, time-consuming water collection, putting them at increased risk of attack and often precluding them from education or work.
Lack of data means lack of integrated management. Many countries do not have well developed water monitoring systems, which prevents integrated water resource management that can balance the needs of communities and the wider economy, particularly in times of scarcity.
Given that these examples represent only a few of the many challenges associated with water scarcity, please consider the following:
1. What is the connection between human rights violations, corruption, and water scarcity/water rights? What is the relationship between water scarcity/water rights and finance from illicit sources? How does corruption intensify existing issues of water scarcity/water rights? What policies can be instituted that will reduce corruption and also improve access to clean water? How does corruption at border crossings exacerbate problems associated with water scarcity?
2. How do water scarcity and water rights relate to children’s rights? How does water scarcity hinder the educational development of children? What can be done to protect children from conflicts that arise over water rights in developing states? How can the UN address the socioeconomic factors that prevent children from accessing clean water? How are water scarcity and water rights connected to child recruitment as soldiers in terrorist organizations, insurgencies, and other armed conflicts? What measures can be taken to address these factors?
3. How does water scarcity relate to economic and social development? How does water scarcity hinder the economic and social development of a country and its people? How is conflict over water rights related to economic and social development? How does internal or cross-border conflict over water rights hinder the economic and social development of a country? What can the UN do to address these issues? How does water scarcity affect current development programs of the UN and the ability of past and future programs to address economic and social inequality? What measures could be taken to address these effects?
4. How does water scarcity relate to the environment? How is conflict over water rights driven by environmental issues? What kinds of solutions exist or can be created to peacefully and sustainably address water scarcity in impoverished, overpopulated, or polluted areas? What impact might sustainable development initiatives have on improving access to clean water?
5. How does water scarcity relate to health? How do health issues exacerbate conflicts over water rights? How does conflict over water rights worsen health issues? How does water scarcity impact healthcare systems worldwide that already lack the resources and funding to adequately respond to healthcare needs? What can be done to assist populations who lack access to clean water? How is conflict over water rights connected to these issues? What can the UN do to address water scarcity connected to health issues?
6. How is water scarcity connected to human rights? How are water rights connected to human rights? How can the UN protect member states from the negative impacts of water scarcity and conflict over water while also protecting individual human rights? What is the UN doing about water issues connected to human rights problems, such as forced prostitution, slavery, and forced labor? Should water rights be placed above other human rights, such as freedom of movement, the right to life, and the right to pursue economic freedom? Why or why not? Where can/should compromises be made and why?
7. How are water rights related to protecting disadvantaged populations? How can the international community better improve access to clean water for disadvantaged populations? What, if any, actions should the international community do regarding conflict over water rights that target social and economic groups? Should the UN hold states that refuse to keep their agreements related to water rights accountable? If so, how? If not, why not? What about states that ignore or promote conflict over water within their borders?
8. How are water scarcity and water rights related to refugees and forced displacement? How does water scarcity trigger forcible displacement? How does forcible displacement trigger water scarcity? What are the existing water rights issues that force marginalized groups to leave their places of origin? What can the UN do to mitigate the water scarcity and water rights issues associated with forcible displacement?
9. How are water scarcity and water rights connected to sustainable communities? How are farmers in poor countries impacted by water scarcity and conflict over water rights? How are rural, undeveloped areas dependent on access to clean water for their economic survival? How are urban areas’ water access vulnerable? How do water scarcity and conflict over water rights undermine growth and impede social development? How can developing states create sustainable communities with their limited water resources? What should be the role of the UN in all of these situations? Of developed states?
10. What security challenges are connected to water scarcity? How does conflict over water trigger violence? Do current security protocols provide an appropriate response to states and non-state actors that cause conflicts over water rights? Why or why not? What measures might be more effective? How would these measures increase access to water? Does the UN have a role when the conflict over water rights or consequences of water rights conflicts are internal to a state? If so, what is that role and how might it be improved? If not, what can or should the UN do in these cases?
11. How do water scarcity and water rights relate to science and technology? Do science and technology developments lead to more or less water scarcity and why? How can the international community harness science and technology to improve access to water? To decrease conflict associated with water rights? What about the costs of, ownership and operation of, and access to this science and technology?
12. How are water scarcity and water rights connected to trade and development between and within countries and regions? How can the UN increase access to water using trade and development? What trade and development policies can promote increased access to water? What are the challenges of these approaches, and how can they be effectively addressed? How does (or not) promoting trade between developed and developing countries positively or negatively impact issues of water scarcity and water rights?
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