The relation between water and armed conflicts can be seen from many perspectives and it should be analyzed under different angles: water can be the object of negotiations and become a vehicle for cooperation and peace or it may be one of the causes of armed conflicts. In time of armed conflicts, water is both a means of survival for the civilians and used by the belligerents as a method or means of warfare. History is full of examples showing that water resources have been used as a method of warfare. In 1503, Leonardo de Vinci plotted with Machiavelli to divert the course of Arno River in the war between Pisa and Florence. In the sixteenth century, during the eighty-year war against Spain, the Dutch flooded their land to protect their towns from Spanish troops. This strategy became known as the “Dutch Water Line” and it was frequently used for defense in later years. In contemporary armed conflicts, water infrastructure have often been targeted by the belligerents. The disaster of the Nova Kavokha Dam in Ukraine[1] and the significant damage to civilian infrastructure including essential water services in Gaza[2] exemplify the extent of the negative impacts to the life of civilians caused by the attacks against water.
Whereas it is difficult to support the argument that wars arise simply over water, access to water resources remains an element of tensions and disputes at the local, regional or international level. The relationship between water scarcity and conflict is complex. As a high number of international watercourses, and even more groundwater resources, are shared between countries, water and its use are undoubtedly a cause of tension and often strains relations between States. Furthermore, water has often been used as a method or means of warfare and water infrastructure have often been targeted during armed conflicts which have had directly nothing to do with water. However, water may also foster cooperation and bring peace. The great number of water-related treaties signed shows that, historically, water has been a source of cooperation far more often than a source of conflict.
Leaving aside considerations pertaining to ius ad bellum where water may be a source of armed conflict, it is important to stress that access to water is a fundamental human right for all and must be protected and respected in armed conflicts according to Human Rights Law. Access to water is also protected under the laws of armed conflicts (or international humanitarian law (IHL)). Already, in 1862, Henry Dunant, in his book on the Memories of the Battle of Solferino described the tragedy not to have access to water for the wounded and sick victims of wars in the battlefield. Since the 1929 Geneva Convention[3] on the prisoners of wars, IHL protects the access to water for specific categories of people. Under current IHL, access to water must be ensured to all the civilians as well as prisoners of war, wounded and sick. The intentional deprivation of water services and the provision of unhealthy drinking water to the civilians should be considered as one of the elements constituting genocide and a crime against humanity[4]. The pollution of water resources by parties to an armed conflict could also be considered as an ecocide[5].
Under IHL, there are two main prohibitions protecting water: the prohibition to “attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population”[6] and the ban on attacking works or installations containing dangerous forces such as dams and dykes[7]. Apart from these rules, the provisions of the 1977 First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions dealing with the protection of the environment are also worth noting to ensure the protection of water resources[8]. International humanitarian law safeguards water resources if this protection meets its objectives, namely the regulation of the conduct of hostilities and the safeguard of the civilian population. The resort to other sets of areas, such as those provided under International Water Law and Human Rights Law, may provide a more comprehensive protection to water resources during armed conflicts and ensure a protection to water for its own value.
