Drops of Change: The missing link between US global water policy and climate
This post is part of a monthly series called “Drops of Change” by the North American Youth Parliament for Water (NAYPW), a chapter of the World Youth Parliament for Water (WYPW). For more information on the NAYPW, you can explore their website or contact NAYPW at outreachnaypw@gmail.com.
All opinions or thoughts expressed in this post do not reflect the views of the State Department or the US Government. These thoughts are solely those of the writer; for any questions regarding the views of the State Department, please visit state.gov for more information.
Written by Jordan Reed-Estes, undergraduate student studying Environmental Science and Policy at Hood College and former intern with the Water Team in the Office of Conservation and Water at the US Department of State
The linkage between climate change and water resource management is heavily recognized by water and climate professionals as being necessary for effective global water strategy. However, politics in the US limits the implementation of this linkage into the creation of water policy, preferring to focus on pollution and mismanagement. However, much national-level decision making on water policy ignores these links, and instead substitutes other factors as the root cause of water insecurity. The US Department of State (DOS), in particular, heavily engages effective water management as a tool to ensure global security on a national level and follows this narrative. During my time working for the DOS as an intern on capacity building and global water strategies in river basins and watersheds, I witnessed several policy opportunities by the DOS to engage in this arena. These opportunities were largely missed or undervalued. Whether it was developing concepts for informational programs for the MENA region or creating proposals for water reuse education in a foreign leadership program, this linkage between climate and resulting water issues was not recognized as a contributing factor to these issues. Instead, policies placed greater focus on mismanagement and meeting sanitation needs. In other words, these policies focused on the quality of the water versus the quantity of the water that they are supposedly addressing.
Strategies failing us
The misfocus of US global water strategy would, at first, seem to be the fault of the political officers executing water policy in other countries; after all, they are responsible for organizing and working with foreign governments to alter existing water resource management practices. However, it is rather the strategies that are the basis of these objectives that are at fault for this misfocus. Throughout the US’s Global Water Strategy and National Security Strategy, among others, water objectives are designed to include many causes of water insecurity, such as poor sanitation, poor implementation of freshwater resources, and poor water management techniques employed as examples. These are all suitable causes of water insecurity and deserve focus. However, the link between climate and water is missing from all of these objectives. Many of the objectives do not connect back to climate objectives entirely, creating the illusion that these two environmental characteristics are separate from each other. This simply is not accurate. This link pertains to many high-priority countries identified by the DOS and in ignoring the link, there is no way to address problems in the future. This can cause missed opportunities for developing countries contracting with the US government for assistance in water resource management. The climate-water connection, therefore, should be put front and center in US foreign water policy to make sure this aspect is addressed. This is imperative for young water professionals to incorporate as they tackle global water policy concerns; otherwise, stammered development of sustainable sanitation and drinking water resources will continue to occur in the targeted high-priority countries and US global water policy will continue to fail on its intentions. US global water policy, in comparison to other developed countries, falls far behind on recognizing this linkage and procuring any solutions to address this concern, leaving it to young US water specialists and professionals of the future to be responsible for changing these security strategies to better emphasize the climate/water resource link. It could take a changeover as older professionals retire and younger ones take their place in orchestrating global water policy for strategy changes to occur.
The road ahead for young water professionals
As a young professional who recently worked with established professionals and leaders in global water policy, many current professionals and leaders in the water sector recognize this climate/water linkage and its importance but are bound by the limitations of policy objectives. This disregard in incorporating the linkage between climate and water will leave young water professionals and the rising generation of leaders to deal with incorporating this linkage into future policy decisions and the impacts of the initial delay to do so. Otherwise, the connection between climate and water will continue to be a policy weakness and could jeopardize the efficiency and effectiveness of water policy on a global scale. This will have catastrophic impacts on how the US can continue to address global water management crises in the future.
If you have to build a house, you do not buy the bricks, drywall, and caulk without the cement. That metaphor fits with the case of tackling water resource issues with policy; you have to have all of the contributors considered before trying to find the solution. This is what current US global water policies lack by excluding this link and therefore leave it to the next generation of US water professionals to incorporate into future political water strategy. My aspiration is that young water professionals, globally, make the effort and advocate for the inclusion of this climate-water link in future water strategies as only then will there be progress in protecting and managing our water resources permanently.