With two dedicated sessions and a number of mentions throughout other presentations, the Nile Basin took the center stage during the conference, with a strong focus on the representations and framing of the Nile and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in the media and political rhetoric.

Throughout history, the Nile River has been Egypt’s main artery of transport and communication as well as the source of its fertility and wealth. At one time, the river provided sufficient clean water for a variety of purposes, including domestic use,

Economic growth is also threatening the quantity and quality of Egypt’s water resources, exacerbating the existing issue of shallow groundwater contamination from industrial chemicals and excessive fertilizer and pesticide

The Nile is a significant source of drinking water. However, the consequences of anthropogenic activity, including agricultural runoff and industrial and municipal waste, are causing increasing pollution.

The year 2018 was marked by a severe drought in Iraq, a formerly water-rich country. The water crisis is complex, however, with multiple causes and the potential for future conflicts. A group of young Iraqi activists is trying to raise awareness about the issue.

Held from 6-8 April 2019 at the University of Sulaimani, the forum set out to address some of these challenges in the 21st century and to promote water as a tool for sustainable peace along the Euphrates and Tigris.

Transboundary water management in the Jordan River basin and the Blue Nile basin has historically been difficult. While water diplomacy surrounding the Jordan River is obstructed by decades of geopolitical conflicts between the riparians and unilateral infrastructure projects, cooperation over the Blue Nile has been hampered by conflicting views on water ownership and resource utilization for most of the 20th and 21st century.

What makes this particularly painful for that residents of Khuzestan is that the dams on the Karun are not only used for generating energy and irrigating agricultural land, they are also used to channel water via tunnels to other provinces, notably Isfahan in central Iran, which is politically more power. Many residents in Khuzestan feel that their water is being stolen.

The ultimate goal of the programme is to create a generation of young professionals who are dedicated to solving the current water problems by applying communication, collaboration and co-creation approaches that cut across political, practical and scientific domains.

In 2016, Fanack, Land Life Company (LLC) and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) initiated a pilot project to bring the innovative COCOON planting technology to Palestine