KEY TAKEAWAYS
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The weaponization of water resources is among the most devastating tools used in violent conflict. And while this tactic has been pervasive throughout history, it’s on the rise. State and non-state actors across the globe are increasingly exploiting the capture, control and outright destruction of water resources and related infrastructure to inflict indiscriminate human suffering and further their own strategic and military aims. To put this devastating trend into historical context: Out of all the recorded incidents targeting water infrastructure over the last 2,000 years, 41 percent have occurred since 2020.
Three contemporary examples — Ukraine, Somalia and Yemen — reveal the full breadth of consequences associated with the weaponization of water. The water insecurity resulting from attacks on infrastructure in these countries profoundly undermines critical food, energy and socioeconomic systems. And a lack of reliable access to clean water in these places often limits chances for conflict stabilization, peacebuilding and economic recovery efforts.
Consequently, the United States, its allies and the international community writ large should prioritize engagement across the diplomacy, defense, and development nexus to protect civilian water infrastructure during wartime.
While attacks on water infrastructure are often employed as part of military and armed groups’ operations, the consequences extend far beyond the battlefield.
Today, the destruction of water infrastructure is worsening already dire humanitarian crises across Africa, Europe and the Middle East. These attacks have displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians worldwide, contributed to significant health and sanitation crises, deepened environmental insecurity, and reinforced cycles of instability that undo costly development and peacebuilding gains.
Today, the destruction of water infrastructure is worsening already dire humanitarian crises across Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Even further, this destructive and unlawful practice violates fundamental international humanitarian provisions, such as the 1977 Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which prohibits tactics that cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.
Protecting civilian water resources and infrastructure is both a moral and strategic imperative. The deliberate targeting of such resources not only threatens human lives and ecosystems but also risks perpetuating cycles of violence and instability for decades to come.
Water facilities and infrastructure in Ukraine have been consistent targets throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Shortly after the start of the invasion in 2022, Ukrainian forces destroyed the Irpin Dam about 20 miles north of Kyiv, flooding the surrounding plains to impede the Russian military’s march on the capital.
Then in June 2023, the catastrophic Russian bombing of the Kakhovka Dam released a volume of water equivalent to the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The flooding plunged over 700,000 Ukrainians into a deep humanitarian crisis, washing over large swaths of agricultural land and rendering it unusable for years to come. In addition, decades of accumulated industrial sludge flowed downstream into the Black Sea, threatening an already fragile coastal and marine ecosystem. The outbreak of waterborne diseases brought on by the flooding compounded an already dire situation, pushing Ukraine’s fragile health care systems to their limit.
Reports suggest the dam’s destruction did not pose immediate risks to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility 100 miles upstream. However, as Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, it remains a source of concern given the long-term implications for its safety.
Furthermore, the Kakhovka Dam’s destruction has permanently altered regional ecosystems — posing long-term threats to biodiversity, agriculture and food security and causing a staggering $14 billion in losses and damages that directly affected over 100,000 Ukrainians.
Somali farmer and pastoralist clans frequently clash over access to water resources, which have been further limited by relentless multi-year droughts. The violent extremist group al-Shabaab has exploited this dynamic to control crucial water sources as a means to dominate, instill fear and exert control over local populations.
Research commissioned by USIP and conducted by the International Crisis Group in 2023 confirmed that al-Shabaab routinely targets essential water sources and related infrastructure such as boreholes, shallow wells and springs as a form of retaliation, particularly in regions where it has lost influence over communities.
But as the International Crisis Group and others have noted, restoring safe and reliable access to water is one of the most effective ways for the Somali armed forces and partners to earn the trust and support of local communities.
In active combat zones, protecting water resources and infrastructure is considered a “quick win,” especially when it helps vulnerable populations regain access to this vital resource. Restoring water access should be the starting point for stabilization measures in territories newly reclaimed from al-Shabaab or other militant groups as a way to strengthen community perceptions of the Somali federal government’s legitimacy and authority.
Despite having sufficient water to meet its population’s drinking water demand, Yemen is an extremely water-scarce country due in large part to poor water resource management. Compounding the already failing infrastructure and distribution system, Yemen has experienced some of the world’s worst and most widespread destruction of water infrastructure during its decade-long civil war.
According to U.N. estimates in 2019, 18 million out of the country’s 40 million inhabitants lacked access to water — a number that has likely skyrocketed since. As part of the armed conflict, the U.S.-aligned Saudi Arabia-UAE coalition, as well as insurgent Houthi forces, have engaged in the deliberate targeting of water systems and destruction of water infrastructure. The conflict has exacerbated the nation’s dire humanitarian crisis, which has already seen waterborne diseases like cholera reach epidemic proportions. By 2022, the Yemeni water network’s reach had diminished to less than 30 percent of the population.
This incalculable loss of infrastructure will continue to result not only in civilian casualties but will also hinder the prospects for Yemen’s post-conflict recovery. With Yemen’s water infrastructure in shambles, U.S. and international leadership will be critical when it comes to mitigating the ongoing consequences of the conflict and encouraging all armed parties to refrain from further damaging the country’s already devastated water resources and infrastructure.
Water is necessary for survival, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. The deliberate targeting of water resources and infrastructure during armed conflict continues to devastate civilian populations, disrupt ecosystems and undermine stability. The crises unfolding in Ukraine, Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere demonstrate the urgent need to address the weaponization of water and ensure that it remains a resource for peace rather than a tool of war.
The crises unfolding in Ukraine, Somalia, Yemen and elsewhere demonstrate the urgent need to address the weaponization of water.
Emerging multilateral efforts such as the Global Alliance to Spare Water from Armed Conflicts are taking necessary steps to raise awareness of the critical need to protect water infrastructure. These initiatives, underpinned by frameworks like the Geneva Conventions and the Environmental Modification Treaty, offer a platform for strengthening global norms around safeguarding water systems during armed conflict. The Global Alliance is using a multipronged approach to address the barriers to protecting water during armed conflict, such as “lack of awareness, inadequate military training, and the complex nature of conflict situations.” This approach is comprised of the following pillars:
The United States should be at the forefront of promoting a water-secure world. Existing policies like the Global Water Strategy 2022-2027 and the White House Action Plan on Global Water Security were a start. However — while these policies underscored the interconnectedness of water, peace and stability — they did not tackle the issue of water weaponization.
By taking a further step and embedding the protection of civilian water infrastructure across the diplomacy, defense and development nexus — and throughout all peacebuilding and stabilization efforts — Washington can play a central role in mitigating the risks and long-term impacts of weaponizing water in war.
Working across the diplomacy, defense and development nexus enables the U.S. government to put its full weight behind protecting water resources in armed conflict through initiatives such as restricting aid to countries that weaponize water and prioritizing water access in stabilization interventions. Declaring water weaponization a criminal act and prohibiting it in the Global Water Strategy and other similar doctrines would also further enable the United States to stand for the protection of water in diplomatic engagements.
These actions would require a significant paradigm shift in which the United States takes a leadership role in protecting civilian water infrastructure by introducing new policies that specifically prohibit water weaponization and holding accountable those who use this devastating tactic. But given the sharp rise in these attacks — and the risks that their normalization would pose to global peace and security — a U.S. leadership role on protecting water infrastructure would go a long way toward supporting broader U.S. strategic interests in conflict zones around the world.
By working within global frameworks and leveraging its existing tools, the United States can contribute to a world where water remains a source of cooperation and prosperity, even in the most challenging circumstances.