9th World Water Forum - Swiss Pavilon Side Event - Promoting local voices for water cooperation in the Sahel crisis

Water is at the heart of socio-economic development and is an important driver for peace and security. In water-stressed regions, such as the Sahel, access to water is the key to enabling rural productive activities and defining possible land uses. In fragile contexts, access to water conditions territorial occupation and military movements by armed forces and non-state armed groups. Forced displacement places the burden of ensuring access to water for all on host communities. Local actors have a crucial role to play in defining solutions to the crisis. In many fragile areas, they have proven their ability to manage basic services in the absence of central state actors. Promoting a bottom-up approach is crucial to rebuild  the relationship between social groups and between citizens and public institutions. Best practices such as those implemented by the Haute Autorité pour la Consolidation de la Paix in Niger could inspire other interventions to deliver  development results when they add value to social cohesion in fragile areas.

The full programme of the Swiss Pavilon is available below.