Suchergebnisse

AbstractThis article investigates the effects that attacks during armed conflict which damage water and wastewater services have on the outbreak and transmission of infectious disease. It employs a lens of uncertainty to assess the level of knowledge about the reverberations along this consequential chain and to discuss the relevance to military planning and targeting processes, and to the laws of armed conflict. It draws on data in policy reports and research from a wide variety of contexts, and evidence from protracted armed conflicts in Iraq, Yemen and Gaza. The review finds a strong base of evidence of the impact of attacks on water and wastewater services, and a high level of confidence in information about the transmission of infectious disease. One clear risk identified is when people are exposed to water supplies which are contaminated by untreated wastewater. Obtaining a similar level of confidence about the cause and effect along the full consequential chain is challenged by numerous compounding variables, though there are a number of patterns related to the duration of the armed conflict within which the attacks occur. As the conflict protracts, both the risk of the spread of infectious disease and the evidence base for gauging the reverberating effects becomes stronger, for example. The article concludes that the reverberating effects of damage from an attack can be foreseen in some contexts and can be expected to become more foreseeable over time. The analysis suggests that the most pragmatic path for military institutions and those involved in targeting operations to take this knowledge into account is through a "precautionary approach" which assumes the existence of the reverberating effects, and works them in to the standard information-gathering and planning processes.

AbstractThis article reviews the factors that determine the impact of explosive weapons on urban services in space and time, with a focus on drinking water services. The evidence comes from published and unpublished research and records, as well as experience restoring or maintaining such services. Urban services are seen as interconnected, and each composed of interdependent components of people, consumables and hardware. Elements that make up the components are labelled "upstream", "midstream" and "downstream", to reflect their location and hierarchy in the production and delivery of any urban service. The impact of explosive weapons is broken into the direct effects on any of the components of a service, and the reverberating effects on up- and or downstream components of the same service, or on other services. The effects are most commonly observed in service infrastructure, and determined chiefly by the extent of the damage to the functionality of any component. The spatial extent of the impact is found to be determined primarily by the hierarchy of the component suffering the direct impact, with attacks on upstream components being the furthest-reaching. The duration of the impact is determined primarily by the pre-explosion "baseline resilience" of the service, itself a function of system redundancies and emergency preparedness and response. The analysis suggests that the impact is more reasonably foreseeable than may commonly be thought, in the sense that the direct effects of explosives are well known and that the most important infrastructure is generally identifiable. It follows that proportionality assessments which involve urban services would benefit from (i) the direct and consistent engagement of specialized engineers within the targeting cell, and (ii) greater familiarity of the weapons controller with services, infrastructure and systems in urban areas.

Water Conflicts applies cutting-edge thinking to identify pathways that can transform complex water conflicts. It challenges existing power-blind and politics-lite analysis that is very deeply-held and recurring in debates that suggest causal links between scarcity and violence-or peace. This book presents a much needed revision of transboundary water analysis, leading to a rethink on the way water is used and contested, with a focus on harm experienced both by the most vulnerable water users and the environment. Recognizing that conflicts are never static, Mark Zeitoun, Naho Mirumachi, and Jeroen Warner's "transformative analysis" provides multi-disciplinary tools and perspectives to understand and address the complexities involved. The approach is stress-tested through dozens of examples around the globe, and it incorporates collective evidence and knowledge of the London Water Research Group. The insights on water diplomacy will be most welcome by analysts, activists, diplomats, and all others tackling water conflicts. Seeking to motivate improvement of transboundary water arrangements towards further equity and sustainability as a practical agenda, the book is a fresh antidote to the detached role that researchers and policymakers often play.

Mediante la revisión y combinación de dos grandes cuerpos de investigación —el trabajo crítico sobre la interacción del agua transfronteriza y siglos de pensamiento sobre justicia social— este artículo busca contribuir a la diplomacia y al análisis internacional sobre la interacción del agua transfronteriza. Varias implicaciones para el análisis y la diplomacia transfronteriza suelen relacionarse con cuestiones de equidad, preocupaciones estructurales, y procesos y resultados. Esto incluye deficiencias en los análisis y las políticas basadas en presunciones infundadas de igualdad, así como en opciones que no son consideradas debido a la legitimación de unos conceptos particulares de justicia sobre otros. Debido a que se considera que la asimetría de poder permite o impide esfuerzos relacionados con la resolución de conflictos y la demanda de justicia, se defiende la importancia de garantizar resultados equitativos como prerrequisito para la cooperación. De manera similar, al menos procesualmente, la resolución de conflictos hídricos suele ser vista como más justa que la gestión del conflicto, por lo que, hasta cierto punto, puede estar respaldada por la legislación internacional del agua. Se sugieren una serie de objetivos analíticos para futuras investigaciones y políticas, entre las cuales se incluye un llamado a examinar la fuente de legitimidad de las vertientes de justicia invocadas. Dadas las múltiples perspectivas de justicia que existen en la red de actores relevantes, el potencial sesgo en la investigación y la diplomacia podría reducirse si todos los involucrados reconocieran públicamente los valores morales que sustentan su comprensión de "justicia".

By reviewing and blending two main bodies of research (critical transboundary water interaction analysis and centuries of thought on social justice) this paper seeks to improve international transboundary water interaction analysis and diplomacy. Various implications for transboundary analysis and diplomacy are grouped under themes of equitability, process/outcomes, and structural concerns. These include shortcomings of analysis and policy based on unfounded assumptions of equality, and options excluded from consideration by the legitimisation of particular concepts of justice over others. As power asymmetry is seen to enable or disable justice claims and conflict resolution efforts, the importance of ensuring equitable outcomes as a pre condition for cooperation is asserted. Similarly, water conflict resolution is found to be more fair – procedurally – than is conflict management, and may be supported to a limited extent by international water law. A number of analytical tasks are suggested for future research and policy, including a call to scrutinise the source of legitimacy of strands of justice invoked. Given the very many perspectives on justice that exist in the network of relevant actors, potential bias in research and diplomacy could be reduced if all involved openly stated the morals underpinning their understanding of 'justice'. ; Mediante la revisión y combinación de dos grandes cuerpos de investigación —el trabajo crítico sobre la interacción del agua transfronteriza y siglos de pensamiento sobre justicia social— este artículo busca contribuir a la diplomacia y al análisis internacional sobre la interacción del agua transfronteriza. Varias implicaciones para el análisis y la diplomacia transfronteriza suelen relacionarse con cuestiones de equidad, preocupaciones estructurales, y procesos y resultados. Esto incluye deficiencias en los análisis y las políticas basadas en presunciones infundadas de igualdad, así como en opciones que no son consideradas debido a la legitimación de unos conceptos particulares de justicia sobre otros. Debido a que se considera que la asimetría de poder permite o impide esfuerzos relacionados con la resolución de conflictos y la demanda de justicia, se defiende la importancia de garantizar resultados equitativos como prerrequisito para la cooperación. De manera similar, al menos procesualmente, la resolución de conflictos hídricos suele ser vista como más justa que la gestión del conflicto, por lo que, hasta cierto punto, puede estar respaldada por la legislación internacional del agua. Se sugieren una serie de objetivos analíticos para futuras investigaciones y políticas, entre las cuales se incluye un llamado a examinar la fuente de legitimidad de las vertientes de justicia invocadas. Dadas las múltiples perspectivas de justicia que existen en la red de actores relevantes, el potencial sesgo en la investigación y la diplomacia podría reducirse si todos los involucrados reconocieran públicamente los valores morales que sustentan su comprensión de "justicia".

Global climate change related to natural and anthropogenic processes has been the topic of concern and interest world-wide. One of the most significant impacts of the 'greenhouse effect' is anticipated to be on water resources. Thus, the impact of climate change appears to be an additional component on top of the large number of existing water-related problems. The present paper will identify key climate change actors, evaluate the potential impacts of climate change, review available literature on climate change, and assess the policy-making mechanisms and priorities for Palestine as a case study. Climate adaptation measures, adaptive capacity, gaps in policies, research and other country-specific issues and institutional limitations are also identified

Coping with (and adapting to) climatological hazards is commonly understood in intergovernmental and aid agency fora as a purely technical matter. This article examines the UN Development Programme's stakeholder consultations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in order to challenge the donor-driven technical-managerial framing of Palestinian climate vulnerability by showing how Israeli occupation practices exacerbate environmental stresses. While emphasizing the importance of social, economic, and political contexts in shaping populations' responses to climate change in general, the authors demonstrate the multiple ways in which the occupation specifically compounds hazards reveals it as constitutive of Palestinian climate vulnerability.