NOTE! The project has ended. The work continues as Finnish Water Way for Peace – Water Diplomacy Platform (syke.fi).
Project background: Working together towards a water secure world
Water diplomacy refers to the prevention and resolution of political tensions over water and its use by drawing on water expertise and diplomatic tools. The vision of Finland's international water strategy and the ultimate goal of Finnish water diplomacy efforts is a water secure world. Fair and well-governed management of water resources serves as a platform for cooperation and peacebuilding. Water can act as the starting point for preventive and proactive peace mediation.
The Finnish approach to water diplomacy combines two of Finland's strengths, transboundary water cooperation and peace mediation, and builds on national and international networks and partnerships.
The Finnish Water Diplomacy Network consists of experts from ministries, academia and research institutions, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector. The network-based implementation of Finnish water diplomacy activities ensures engagement of relevant peace mediation and water actors and enables utilization of their expertise for both rapid response and longer-term development aims.
Internationally, Finland collaborates with state and non-state actors in developing activities related to water diplomacy. These activities enhance conflict analyses and mediation, joint initiatives, and capacity building, all of which strengthen conflict prevention.
The goal: Together with its partners, Finland works to prevent and resolve water-related conflicts in a world of climate change and resource scarcity. Finland assists in finding solutions to challenges that risk aggravating relations over water.
How to reach it: Finland brings together two international areas of expertise – peace mediation and water know-how.
Finnish water diplomacy expertise
Finland has long-standing, successful experience in transboundary water cooperation with its neighbours and partnering countries. Its operating model and technical know-how have played prominent roles in development cooperation projects around the world. This competence now forms the foundation of Finland’s water diplomacy efforts.
- Finland has agreements for transboundary water cooperation with all its neighbouring countries.
- Bilateral state-to-state cooperation with both Sweden and Norway is fluent and focuses on joint planning. Finnish-Russian cooperation is based on post-World War II confidence-building and agreements, under which actual activities evolve with geopolitical changes.
- Finland actively promotes regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea, Barents Sea and Arctic regions.
- Finland has supported transboundary water cooperation, especially in the Nile Basin, Mekong region, and Central Asia.
- Evaluation On Finnish Water Diplomacy (um.fi)
Finnish role in the initiation of the Water Conventions
Both global conventions on transboundary waters have been initiated by Finland: the 1992 UNECE Water Convention (Helsinki Convention) and the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention. Finland has contributed to various activities within the Helsinki Convention such as reducing inter-sectoral tensions through the water-food-energy-ecosystems nexus assessments.
Finland as a peace mediator
Finland has long-standing experience in international peace mediation. Finnish peace mediation is known for its pragmatism, impartiality, and solution-oriented approach. Finland has also played an important role in strengthening the normative basis for peace mediation at the multilateral fora, including in the United Nations.
Equality, local ownership, inclusivity, and transparency are at the core of Finland’s efforts in mediation. The involvement of all parties concerned in the peace process is essential for creating sustainable peace. Finland pays special attention to measures that enhance the role of women and youth in peace processes.
Project goals
Water Cooperation and Peace – Finnish Water Way is a project financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of the Environment.
The project supports implementing Finland’s goal of sustaining peace and ensuring security by making water visible in its peace initiatives as well as its foreign and security policy.
The project seeks to
- Strengthen Finnish water diplomacy collaboration internationally
- Strengthen international transboundary agreements and their implementation by supporting the active participation and experience sharing of Finnish experts
- Identify and respond to Finnish and international water diplomacy training and competence-building needs
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Deepen cooperation between experts in foreign and security policy, peace mediation, and the water sector.
Highlights
Conflict Analysis Tool for Water Diplomacy
Water diplomacy aims at preventing, mitigating, and resolving tensions related to shared water resources by combining the means of diplomacy and water expertise. As climate change, geopolitical tensions, economic crises and other developments increase vulnerability around the world, water diplomacy can offer new cross-sectoral solutions and perspectives. However, as an inherently political endeavour, water diplomacy needs to be based on a thorough analysis of the relevant political, environmental, social, and economic dynamics.
To support the situational awareness and knowledge base needed for practical implementation, the Finnish Water Way project has developed a conflict analysis tool for water diplomacy. Here we provide a guidebook which outlines the rationale and steps for conflict analysis for water diplomacy as a tool to ensure appropriate and high-quality water diplomatic efforts. Conflict analysis provides a necessary approach whenever planning to engage in water diplomatic efforts in a conflict-vulnerable situation. The guidebook addresses questions on why conflict analysis is needed for water diplomatic efforts, what is meant by conflict analysis, and how one can engage with it. The guidebook is meant to clarify concepts and offer practical steps for any actor engaged in water diplomatic efforts.
Conflict analysis tool for water diplomacy – Why, what, how? (helda.helsinki.fi)
Gender and conflict analysis for water diplomacy (pdf, 1.35 MB)More information
Leading Researcher Katariina Mustasilta, firstname.lastname@fiia.fi
Leading Researcher Emma Hakala, firstname.lastname@fiia.fi
Finnish Water Diplomacy Network
The Finnish Water Diplomacy Network, established in spring 2019 as a collaborative initiative of Finnish actors, aims to bring together Finnish expertise relevant for water diplomacy and transboundary water cooperation. The network is hosted by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs' Centre for Peace Mediation and coordinated by the project Water Cooperation and Peace – Finnish Water Way. The network already includes more than 130 experts from ministries, academia and research institutes, CSOs/NGOs and the private sector. The network meets every few months and receives a newsletter on topical water diplomacy issues. The network is informal, based on the interest and activity of its members, and is entirely voluntary. The network members are announced when opportunities to participate in water diplomacy related occasions (events, conferences, trainings, etc.) arise. The network is also the tool to identify and mobilise expertise for Finland’s water diplomacy endeavours.
More information
Coordinator Elina Häkkinen (firstname.a.lastname@syke.fi)
Coordinator Anne Heinola (firstname.lastname@syke.fi)
International collaboration
- Tenth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention (MoP) (unece.org) | 23.-25.10.2024
- World Water Week (um.fi) 25-29 August 2024 in Stockholm | Bridging Borders: Water for a Peaceful and Sustainable Future
- World Water Day Seminar (vesiyhdistys.fi) 22 March 2024 | Leveraging water for peace – Vesi rauhan vipuvartena
- Expert Opinion with partners to be considered at the United Nations 2023 Water Conference Interactive Dialogues (pdf, 288.17 KB)
More information
- Project coordinator Elina Häkkinen, Finnish Environment Institute Syke, firstname.a.lastname@syke.fi, +358 295 251 124 (on leave of absence from the 1st of April 2025)
- Coordinator Anne Heinola, Finnish Environment Institute Syke, firstname.lastname@syke.fi, +358 95 251 343)
- Leading Researcher Suvi Sojamo, Finnish Environment Institute Syke, firstname.lastname@syke.fi, +358 295 251 049
- Head of International Services Tea Törnroos, Finnish Environment Institute Syke, firstname.lastname@syke.fi, +358 295 251 714
- @FinWaterDiplo (x.com), #FinnishWaterDiplomacy (x.com)