Peace, sustainable development, and prosperity: it’s all about “Water Diplomacy”
At the Raisina Dialogue, the ongoing geopolitical forum in New Delhi (this year in collaboration with G20 India), sustainable futures are being discussed in an era characterized, the event’s official emphasizes, by “provocation, uncertainty, turbulence” with the gathering of 250 selected invitees, including heads of state and experts, as a “beacon in the storm.”
No spin, no alibi, no procrastination. Realizing that humanity is sailing in a storm of unmitigated emergencies is clear to all. Therefore, at the table of solutions, we start with priorities. The first one is life on Earth, on the blue marble, the blue sphere. Whose surface is precisely covered 70 percent by water, 96.5 percent of which is in the oceans, just like we humans live in bodies that are, on average, 70 percent water. Clearly, the number one priority is water, which is life.
In India, the water emergency is an increasingly urgent challenge due to rapid urbanization, sustained population growth, and rudimentary agricultural practices in large parts of the country. Access to clean water is a priority for the government, a process that necessarily passes through education and needs a profound cultural transition that sees women playing a crucial role, being primarily involved in agricultural work. Their active participation in water resource management could generate positive impacts on health, food security, and rural prosperity.
“India’s Beacon: Water for All” is the name of the discussion I took part in, along with Maria Shaw-Barragan of EIB (European Investment Bank); Auguste Tano Kouamé, World Bank; Rohan Mishra, Coca-Cola; Hadas Mamane, Tel Aviv University; and Bharat Lal, India’s National Center for Good Governance.
A strategic theme, in line with Italy’s adherence to the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, launched by the Indian government in 2015 and based on the concept of “security and growth for all in the region,” featured prominently on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s agenda during her meetings with Indian Prime Minister Modi.
It is an issue, a priority for our country as well, as evidenced by the recent decree-law on the drought emergency that establishes an inter-ministerial steering committee, also aimed at adopting new technologies, and the national awareness campaign on the responsible use of water.
During the course of my speech, I talked about water diplomacy. I focused on water as a common good and human right, on models of integral ecological development capable of holding together all its dimensions: human, related to the quality of the water resource and thus health; social; cultural; economic; environmental, and political dimensions. On this last point, local policy in Italy is studded with virtuous measures. Just think of the implementation of PUCs (municipal urban plans) that, especially in marginal areas, have at their heart the protection of the soil resource, biodiversity and the prevention of hydrogeological disruptions through incentives aimed primarily at recovering abandoned farmland, as in the case of the “Foodscape” model of the Municipality of Pollica (UNESCO Emblematic Community of the Mediterranean Diet). Or again, think of territorial system projects such as “RE.S.TO.RE.” promoted by the CUGRI (Inter-University Consortium for the Forecasting and Prevention of Major RIsks) of Salerno, which aims at the “RE-functionalization of Minor Water Schemes finalized to the REcuperation and enhancement of the landscape heritage and agri-food productions,” especially in areas, such as parts of the Campania Region, that have been facing a water emergency for years, with solid repercussions even for the most iconic productions.
During the panel, I emphasized how much good practices need innovation, mainly when referring to the agricultural sector, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of water consumption.
Efficient management of the entire water cycle value chain needs effective integration with new digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, IOT (internet of things), and the cloud, with technologies enabling predictive analytics and innovative storage systems precision irrigation models. These technologies affect all stages of the water supply chain: from infrastructure management and monitoring of the quality of the resource; to business processes; to embracing new regenerative agricultural models.
Finally, a key issue is education, not only for women and youth, in managing scarce natural resources. We must equip ourselves with a completely different mindset from which led us to generate the storm we are in, valuing dormant resources and adopting more responsible behaviors in our daily lives.
That is, I told how the implementation of a Mediterranean, integral ecological model today represents principles that can be borrowed globally to light a “beacon in the storm” and respond with concrete solutions to the imperative of a sustainable future, the only option to ensure life on the Planet.
This article has been published in Italian in the newspaper: https://www.lastampa.it/esteri/2023/03/04/news/pace_sviluppo_sostenibile_e_prosperita_e_questione_di_water_diplomacy-12676270/
Sara Roversi, President of the Future Food Institute
The Future Food Institute is an international ecosystem that believes climate change is at the end of your fork. By harnessing the power of its global ecosystem of partners, innovators, researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs, FFI aims to sustainably improve life on Earth through transformation of global food systems.
FFI catalyzes progress towards the UN Agenda 2030 of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by training the next generation of changemakers, empowering communities, and engaging government and industry in actionable impact-driven innovation grounded in integral ecological regeneration.
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