22 March is World Water Day. This year, the United Nations celebrate under the motto Water for Peace. It is regrettable that the world still needs reminders like that, but we gladly contribute, as IAWD has done from day one.

IAWD, the International Association of Water Service Companies in the Danube River Catchment Area, wishes all our readers, friends, partners and members a peaceful and safe World Water Day 2024. Let us keep in mind that peace is never a given, and always much more than the absence of armed conflict. Making and keeping peace is an everyday task, made up of millions of small contributions.

We speak from practical experience: IAWD was founded three decades ago as a reaction to the fall of the infamous Iron Curtain which had divided Europe for decades. From day one we have understood our work as a contribution to the historical European peace project.

Back then, IAWD started reaching out across formerly impenetrable borders to promote cooperation and partnerships along the planet’s most international river basin, a region where 79 million people live in 19 different countries. We have supported the working out of international treaties, actively promoting cross-border cooperation in sustainable water use, resource protection, disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation. We engage in capacity building and act as a platform for knowledge exchange.

In this context, it is salutary to remember that during the three decades since the start of the IAWD, seven countries in our region have suffered from armed conflicts, with the unfortunate and enormously destructive war in Ukraine still ongoing.   

The United Nations’ World Water Day message reminds us that while over 3 billion people worldwide depend on water that crosses national borders, only 24 countries have cooperation agreements for all their shared water. Water scarcity, pollution and unequal access to water can create tensions between communities and countries. Water can spark conflict – or create peace.

As climate change impacts increase, and populations grow, there is an urgent need, within and between countries, to unite around protecting and conserving our most precious resource. When we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect – fostering harmony, generating prosperity, and building resilience to shared challenges.

“We must act upon the realization that water is not only a resource to be used and competed over – it is a human right, intrinsic to every aspect of life”, reads the UN message: “This World Water Day, we all need to unite around water and use water for peace, laying the foundations of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow.”

Our community is just one more tiny piece in the giant puzzle of the great European peace project, but we are proud to contribute. We have helped to make our water a common concern and a joint task across borders, cultures and language barriers. We create platforms and events that connect people from all countries of our region in a spirit of mutual appreciation and professionalism, collaborating to actively improve water services everywhere. 

Crises like the recent pandemic have proven the value and potential of our work. All-out war like currently in Ukraine may force us to put important projects on hold, but we are standby and ready to take up our capacity building activities there as soon as possible. 

In this spirit, the IAWD team will spend World Water Day 2024 in Sofia, Bulgaria, working on transboundary knowledge sharing by joining the International Conference on Water Resources as well as on capacity building by organising a module of the multinational Utility Management Training cohort. 

When the stakes are as high as they are today, no single person can do it all. But if we all do our part, the world will be a safer place.

Imagine Peace. Happy World Water Day!