The Impact of Armed Conflict on Urban Water Services · 2018-04-11 · Mark Zeitoun The Impact of Armed Conflict on Urban Water Services (protracted armed conflict and explosive weapons)Experts’

MarkZeitoun

TheImpactofArmedConflictonUrbanWaterServices

(protractedarmedconflictandexplosiveweapons)

Experts’Workshop- WaterinPost-ConflictSituationsandtheRoleoftheSecurityCouncil

LundUniversity,15February2018

www.zan

stud

io.com

ExplosiveWeapons• Impactcanbedirectand/orreverberating• Extentinspacedependsonthecomponentoftheservice

thatisdamaged• Durationdependsonthepre-attackconditionoftheservice

Protractedarmedconflict• Impactcanbedirect,indirect,orcumulative• Indirectimpactaremoredifficulttodealwiththandirect• Cumulativeimpactarethemostdifficulttodealwith

Implications• StrengthenIHL• Makefundingmechanismsmoreadaptable• Increasetechnicalcapacity• Re-worktherelief-rehabilitation-developmentcontinuum

https://www.icrc.org/en/document/urban-services-protracted-conflict-report

Summary

1.WaterServicebasics2.ImpactofExplosiveWeapons

3.ImpactofProtractedArmedConflict4.Implications

Urbanservicesaremorethanjustinfrastructure

ICRC

FoodElectricity

HealthWater

Wastewater

Finance

Interdependentservices

Urbanservicesareinter-dependent

1.WaterServicebasics2.ImpactofExplosiveWeapons

3.ImpactofProtractedArmedConflict4.Implications

ICRC

Explosiveweapons- directandreverberatingeffects

WaterSource

Reservoir andBooster Station

Distribution

networkWater Treatment

Plant

Upstream

Downstream

Mid-stream

Electrical PowerPlant

Upstream DownstreamMid-stream

Blast WaveFragmentation

Thermal Energy

Explosion Direct effects... + Reverberating effects...... on people, hardware,and consumables.

... on up, mid, or downstream components of the same service;... on other services (the ‘domino effect’);... far from the impact zone; and... long after the detonation has occured.

Explosiveweapons- directandreverberatingeffects

‘hierarchyofservicecomponents’(up,mid,ordownstream)

Spatialextent:f’n ofhierarchyofcomponent

Duration:f’n ofthe‘baselineresilience’(i.e.redundanciesandpreparedness)

Explosiveweapons- directandreverberatingeffects

1.WaterServicebasics2.ImpactofExplosiveWeapons

3.ImpactofProtractedArmedConflict4.Implications

Ruth MacDougall

Hardwarepressuredropsinwaternetworks

Consumableslootingofwarehousespricespikesà rationing

Peoplebrain-draintrauma

Indirect impact>directimpactICRC

ICRC

ICRC

Directandindirectimpactcanaccumulate

1.WaterServicebasics2.ImpactofExplosiveWeapons

3.ImpactofProtractedArmedConflict4.Implications

IHL• Directimpactofexplosiveweaponsare‘reasonably

foreseeable’,bothinspaceandintime• Proportionalityassessmentsshouldincludeengineers

withinthetargetingcell• Reverberating,indirect,andcumulativeimpactshouldbe

betterdocumentedandcommunicated– sothattheybecome‘reasonablyforeseeable’

Programming(forprotractedconflicts):• Donorstomakefundingmechanismsmoreadaptable• Agenciestoincreasetechnicalcapacity

Conceptual• Re-worktherelief-rehabilitation-developmentcontinuum

Thank–you

Implications

m.zeitoun@uea.ac.uk

INSTEADOF

TRY