Water, Conflict and Governance in Fragile Contexts: Insights from Yemen and Iraq

Mar 24, 2026 | Berghof Foundation
online
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The ongoing war in the Middle East highlights how water infrastructure functions as a significant pressure point in times of crisis. Attacks on desalination plants can leave large populations without drinking water. Strikes on oil pipelines and fuel storage tankers can cause long-lasting environmental damage, such as groundwater contamination amongst others. When these repercussions affect people’s daily lives, access to water can itself become a source of conflict.

Water management is however not only impacted by wars, but also by internal factors. Weak governance, inequality and conflict legacies can turn water into a source of tension especially when they interact with drought, flooding, groundwater depletion and failing infrastructure. These stressors shape livelihoods, land use and local power relations.

Our research shows how these dynamics play out on the ground. In Abyan, Yemen, disputes over water access are closely linked to falling groundwater levels, the breakdown of water infrastructure, and limited formal capacities for conflict management. At the same time, informal mediation and local governance arrangements play a central role in managing access and preventing escalation.

In Iraq, water scarcity and environmental stress are exacerbating conflict dynamics, reshaping migration patterns and increasing competition on service provision. They are also affecting relations between communities and with state authorities. While large-scale violence directly linked to water remains limited in the areas studied, pressure on water and agricultural livelihoods is driving localised tensions, protests and distrust, particularly where governance responses are fragmented or absent.

At our event, we bring experts from both cases together to discuss water not as a technical problem, but as a political and social issue that shapes both conflict and cooperation. We will compare findings from Yemen and Iraq, identify common dynamics and key differences, and reflect on what these insights mean for climate, peace and resilience in fragile contexts. The discussion will also highlight best practices in environmental peacebuilding from both countries.

Speakers:

• Beatrice Mosello, Senior Research Fellow, Chatham House
• Peshtiwan Al-Dawoudi, Iraq Country Director, Berghof Foundation
• Summer Nasser, Chief Executive Officer, Yemen Aid

Moderated by Nazanine Moshiri, Senior Advisor Climate & Peace, Berghof Foundation.

Event Details:

24 March 2026, 15:00 - 16:00 CET

Online event via Zoom.

This event will be held in English.

Register here