Baghdad Water Conference Calls for Global Cooperation To Protect Transboundary Waters

The 3rd International Water Conference in Baghdad concluded on Sunday with an appeal for regional and global cooperation to preserve transboundary waters from pollution and the impact of global warming. The conference urged countries in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins to join the 1992 Helsinki Water Convention and the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention to ensure the sustainability of water resources and biodiversity in the region.

The Helsinki Water Convention aims to prevent and control water pollution across national borders and ensure reasonable and equitable use of transboundary waters. The UN Watercourses Convention establishes standards and rules for cooperation between watercourse states on the use, management, and protection of international watercourses.

The conference’s final statement included 16 points, such as supporting Iraq in the field of transboundary water resources sustainability and urging riparian countries to conclude bilateral agreements defining fair and reasonable water resource shares. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani emphasized the urgency of international intervention to save the Tigris and Euphrates rivers during his speech at the opening ceremony, citing water scarcity due to climate change.