Voices from the 2025 International Water, Peace and Security Conference

Over two days of discussions and dialogue, the International Water, Peace and Security (WPS) Conference (27-28 October) convened with a mission: to break the vicious cycle of water conflict — turning water into a driver of peace, resilience and cooperation. The gathering was held in Nairobi, Kenya, to bring together policymakers, scientists, peacebuilders, youth and women’s groups, local community leaders and NGOs from across Africa and beyond, to give lesser heard voices a platform. From the opening session, speakers underscored a shared conviction: how can we govern water to dissolve tensions and act as a catalyst for peace.

Creating a peace agenda

The conference opened with a keynote address by former President of Ghana H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who described water as “the defining test of Africa’s governance, resilience and shared humanity.” He warned that droughts, shrinking rivers, degraded pastures and rising urban water tension illustrate how water insecurity has become a clear and present danger—shaping whether families can grow food, whether children can attend school and whether peace can hold.

Yet H.E. Akufo-Addo reminded delegates that Africa also holds powerful examples of cooperation: the joint management of the Niger River Basin; the equitable governance of East Africa’s lake systems; watershed restoration in Rwanda; and the shared stewardship of the Bagre Dam between Ghana and Burkina Faso. These, he said, show that “when Africa works together, water ceases to divide—it connects, it heals and it builds peace.”

He called for an African Water Peace Initiative to integrate water governance directly into peace and security frameworks across the continent.

Speaking on behalf of Finland – cosponsors of the conference, Ambassador Outi Holopainen reaffirmed water’s role as a foundation of global security. In an era marked by conflict, climate instability and biodiversity loss, she noted, water governance is central to preventing crises and fostering cooperation.

Holopainen shared the three guiding principles of Finland’s “Finnish Water Way”: water for sustainable development, for people and for peace. She emphasized transboundary cooperation, gender inclusion, climate resilience and the strengthening of international legal frameworks such as the UN Water Conventions. Finland intends to raise water higher on the global peace agenda at the 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by Senegal and the UAE.

Water inspiring hope

Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Water and Irrigation, Korir Julius, urged participants to ensure that every child, farmer, herder and mother “can look to water not as a source of fear, but as a foundation for peace and security.” He called on experts to become champions of water security within their fields, arguing that success would transform one of humanity’s greatest challenges into one of its greatest opportunities.

Abraha Adugna of the Nile Basin Initiative stressed that shared waters offer opportunities for cooperation, trust-building and regional stability. In a session on climate justice, Naomi Kurgat of International Alert noted that environmental stewardship entails justice, adding that when water flows, justice grows.

Lessons from Lake Turkana

In a powerful session on unlocking the potential of Lake Turkana, researcher Achiba Gargule of Tufts University reflected on decades of visiting Lake Turkana. He lamented that the Omolo community still lacks political representation, and climate pressures continue to intensify. Gargule called for the empowerment of local leadership, integration of indigenous knowledge into programme design, an end to short-term reactive projects and nature-based solutions for long-term resilience.

“Water should not be a source of division,” he warned. “Together we can unlock water bodies like Lake Turkana for peace.”

Insights from Somalia

A parallel session examined the case of Somalia, where 30 years without effective government have left deep institutional and social fractures. UN Climate Security Advisor Christoph Hodder and community leader Badra Yusuf highlighted how water access has become weaponized in conflict areas, with women disproportionately affected—fetching water while men control water enterprises.

Their solutions included reforming community water committees to include more women; ensuring associations survive beyond project cycles and strengthening early-warning systems for drought. Despite the challenges, Somalia shows resilience: early warning messages, flood maps and community-driven responses have saved lives. Hodder noted: “Somalis appreciate the value of water”—because everyone understands its scarcity and is willing to pay for it.

Gender, youth and indigenous leadership

Women’s, youth and indigenous leaders also made their voices heard at the conference, highlighting the need for inclusive leadership, integration of indigenous knowledge, equitable access to clean water and climate adaptation resources.

June Bartuin of the Indigenous Peoples’ for Peace and Climate Justice stressed that indigenous women hold key environmental knowledge. Youth leaders such as Abdoul Aziz Alhousseini of Voice4Thought emphasized that young Africans have the highest stake in the future — yet are “rarely in the boardrooms where decisions are made.” He stated that trust begins with shared interests not politics — such as access to wells in drought-hit regions of Mali.

Community Realities

Day two opened with Violet Matiru of the Millenium Community Development Initiatives (MCDI), who asked: “If we have one bottle of water and we are both thirsty, how do we negotiate that?”

She illustrated how household water burdens deepen gender inequality and how cartels in Nairobi have diverted water through illegal barriers — until community action demolished those structures.

Her message: water justice begins at the household level. But it must also address systemic issues such as the over-harvesting of sand, saline intrusion from salt extraction, human rights abuses in water-dependent industries, increasing water privatization. Asking the question whether water is a human right or a commodity? Or both? She also confronted conference go-ers of their own responsibility towards water consumption in their luxury hotels.

Diplomacy, policy and science

Discussions on the political complexity of the Nile Basin, emphasized the need for diplomacy, innovative governance and shared scientific knowledge. As Pieter van der Zaag of IHE Delft noted, “We have learnt the importance of linking policy with science.”

The conference was wrapped up by Yasir Mohamed of IHE Delft who presented the vision the future for next phase of the Water, Peace and Security programme (2026–2030), including:

• Scaling work into new regions across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East
• Deepening partnerships, especially in the Global South
• Strengthening political commitment to peace and cooperation
• Updating theories of change based on lessons learned
• Transforming water conflict into peace and cooperation as a collective endeavour

“The WPS partnership is open to all working on the water-peace-security nexus,” Yasir said.

Water Peace Fund

In his closing words, the First Secretary for Water, Food Security and Climate of the Netherlands Embassy in Kenya Jelmer van Veen called for the creation of a Peace Fund for Water, noting the potential demonstrated in places like the Omo-Gibe Basin, where hydrological modelling reduced flood risk for communities. He said, “Let us be advocates for turning water into a catalyst for peace and cooperation.”

In Nairobi, participants agreed: water can only act as a catalyst for peace, if nations, communities and leaders choose cooperation over conflict, equity over exclusion, and justice over scarcity.