News
All the newsCross-border rivers, a source of conflict or cooperation and peace?
This is the question answered by the book “Water, a vital challenge for international relations” by Kabiné Komara, former Prime Minister of Guinea, former High Commissioner of the Organisation for the Development of the River Senegal (OMVS) and member of IFGR.
For the author, water has become a barometer of national development. If access to this resource is a right, then good management is required to ensure access to it and avoid conflicts between countries in a situation where it is becoming rarer. As emphasised by Erik Orsenna in his introduction to the book, “water marks borders and forms a link between them for often very different cultures, regions and countries, thus becoming a source of opportunities but also the object of many appetites.”
The book presents mechanisms for consultation and sharing capable of preventing conflicts, by encouraging cooperation around cross-border waters, with the example of the OMVS, a model of governance that brings together Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Mauritania.
This book provides reflection so that decision-makers can exploit and share this resource together for the well-being of all and for peace in the world”, underlines Kabiné Komara.