Addressing the Multi-scalar Dimensions of Sectoral Water Conflicts: Lessons from South Asia (WATCON) (2024-2029)

The number and significance of water conflicts occurring at different levels has been increasing rapidly. This is due in part to water scarcity caused, among other things, by growing and changing water use, and climate change, which threatens water security from individuals and communities to the global level. Addressing these conflicts is crucial to the realisation of the human right to water and more broadly to achieving sustainable social and economic development while protecting water sources. 

From a legal perspective, conflicts arising from water allocation between different uses, such as drinking water, irrigation, and industrial use, are one of the least-studied categories of conflicts. WATCON focuses on conflicts linked to allocation of water within one category of use (intra-sectoral) and allocation from one use of water to other uses (inter-sectoral). WATCON’s hypothesis is that water use conflicts are protracted and lack effective solutions because they are often addressed only at specific scales and without considering their inter-sectoral and multi-scalar dimensions. 

WATCON focuses on the legal aspects of water allocation to prevent sectoral water conflicts and to foster their resolution. This is framed around the concept of water security, through which the broader environmental and human dimensions of water conflicts can be examined. WATCON uses a multi-scalar approach that links detailed considerations related to the realisation of the human right to water at the local level and threats posed by climate change from the local to the global level.

The project will contribute to pressing debates around water security and the human right to water. Its scientific contribution will emerge from close engagement with the legal aspects of water conflicts by examining them in their local to global dimensions, with a focus on South Asia and India in particular.

This 5-year project is funded by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council (ERC) awarded to Prof. Philippe Cullet in 2024.