Guest Lecture - Università di Lund

Filippo Verre - October 8, 2024

On October 8th, 2024, a guest lecture by Dr. Filippo Verre, President of AB AQUA, entitled Water Cooperation in the Middle East was held at the Faculty of Communication of Lund University. The event, organized by Prof. Leysan Storie, attracted the attention of students and teachers, curious to delve deeper into the dynamics of cross-border cooperation on water resources in some of the most complex areas of the Middle East.

During his lecture, Dr. Verre covered four key countries: Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Yemen, each with their own challenges and opportunities related to water management.

Turkey

Dr. Verre began with Turkey, highlighting its strategic role as a nation that controls the sources of crucial rivers such as the Tigris and Euphrates. He explained how Turkey’s geographic location gives it a significant advantage in negotiating water agreements with downstream nations, such as Syria and Iraq. However, water management is also a source of tension, given the increasing pressure on resources due to climate change and agricultural expansion.

Armenia and Azerbaijan

Turning to Armenia and Azerbaijan, Filippo Verre explored the complex relationship between the two countries in relation to shared water resources. He delved into the historical context of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, highlighting how territorial disputes have often involved access to water. Dr. Verre focused on recent efforts to establish water cooperation, although the process remains fragile and subject to geopolitical swings.

Yemen

Finally, Dr. Verre shifted his focus to Yemen, a country ravaged by civil war and a severe water crisis. He described how water in Yemen has become not only a scarce resource, but also a weapon of conflict, with armed groups often controlling access to watersheds. He explained that, despite the challenges, there have been some attempts at local cooperation, especially at community level, to better manage the distribution of water resources in a context of extreme scarcity.

Overall, Filippo Verre offered a thorough and multifaceted overview of the challenges of water cooperation in these regions of the Middle East, highlighting how water management is often intertwined with broader political, social and economic issues. He concluded his lecture by expressing the hope that greater international awareness could lead to more sustainable and cooperative solutions in the not too distant future.

The lecture was followed by a lively question-and-answer session, during which students asked questions about how the international community could intervene to facilitate cooperation in these areas, and how climate change could further impact the situation.

At the following link it is possible to take a look at the slides of the lecture: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L52BQ8wyN7Xk9OIhvRtQr9alYPCNAw0E/view?usp=sharing.