MEDI1TV Afrique : Le point sur le Sommet "One Water" à Riyad - 04/12/2024
Catégorie
🗞
NewsTranscription
00:00Good evening ladies and gentlemen, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Mecca of water, the time
00:17of a summit, the first of its kind, the One Water Summit has brought together world leaders,
00:23business leaders and civil society to raise together the crucial challenges related to
00:29this resource. Co-organized by France, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia, the One Water Summit is
00:35focused on the integration of water management in global programs, on climate in particular,
00:40on biodiversity, on sustainable development. So what actions on water governance, what
00:46realistic means to strengthen cross-border cooperation in the field of water, what geopolitics
00:53of water in times of growing instability and finally what innovative solutions to make
00:58this vital resource accessible for all. Remember that the goal of sustainable development number
01:036, the famous ODD of the UN is around the question of water. By then, according to the UN,
01:12in 2025, that is in a few weeks, nearly 2 billion people will live in countries or regions
01:21that are affected by a shortage of complete water. I welcome for the debate tonight in
01:27distance, Madam Sharafat Afeylal, expert in water resources and also former Minister of Water.
01:34Good evening, Madam Afeylal, thank you for joining us. Thank you for the invitation. Good evening,
01:40everyone. Hello. Join us, it's about geopolitics of water. With us since Abu Dhabi, Dr.
01:48Mohamed Badil Yatioui, who is no longer present. Good evening, of course, at the College of Defense
01:54in Abu Dhabi. Good evening, Dr. Yatioui, thank you for joining us as well. Good evening and thank you
01:59for this invitation. Thank you for accepting it. Let's start, if you like, with the Moroccan case,
02:05under the impulse of His Majesty the King Mohamed VI. Morocco has already adopted an innovative approach
02:11to the hydric challenges exacerbated by this climate change. Note a consequent budget of 14 billion dirhams
02:20dedicated by the Kingdom of Morocco for the implementation of ambitious national programs
02:26aimed at guaranteeing access to drinking water for everyone and also for irrigation water.
02:34We are talking about this Moroccan presence and the Moroccan water programs exposed in Riyadh
02:43by the head of the government, Aziz Akhnouj, who represented His Majesty the King Mohamed VI
02:48at this One Water Summit. I would start with you, Madam Afeylal.
02:52In fact, Morocco has been considered a model for years. For years, Morocco's hydric policy
03:01has benefitted from the interest of His Majesty the King Lefeu Hassan II and continues to become
03:08a priority for His Majesty the King Mohamed VI. So, he himself supervises the implementation
03:14of the priority program for drinking water and irrigation in 2020-2027.
03:18And this program came following critical situations that Morocco is going through.
03:25We are practically in the sixth year of drought, with difficulties in terms of precipitation
03:31which has impacted mainly on the state of our resources in terms of large developments.
03:35As a result, the government has reacted in an effective way to deal with this situation
03:44by implementing budgets that are very important and by also accelerating investment
03:51in the infrastructure of drinking water, whether it is the large development of dams,
03:56the encouragement and promotion of the use of unconventional resources,
04:01without forgetting the aspect, the management of demand and mainly the water economy.
04:07So, Morocco continues to be a model in terms of hydric policy.
04:16And it is not surprising that the heads of state are now congratulating Morocco
04:22on the answers that have been put in place to deal with this alarming situation
04:28which is becoming more and more alarming and even critical.
04:31Dr. Badiliatje, yes, as Sharaf Attafah just mentioned,
04:36the management of water resources is a strategic issue for Morocco
04:40which is followed very closely, personally and permanently by the highest authority in the country,
04:48by His Majesty the King Mohammed VI.
04:49But this national model is also at the service of a global ambition.
04:54How does the national response not limit itself to the hydric strategy at the level of Morocco,
05:02but it is part of a dynamic of regional and international leadership?
05:07So yes, as my colleague explained very well, there is a will,
05:12and you also repeated it very well, of His Majesty the King to follow this case personally.
05:17Like any strategic issue, it is carried out, defended and promoted at the highest level of the state and at the top.
05:24What we also see is that within the African continent,
05:28Morocco has an expertise that is a strong expertise and a different expertise.
05:33There is a historian, His Majesty Hassan II, who initiated this dam policy.
05:40His Majesty Mohammed VI continued on the same path,
05:43with of course a need for adaptation to issues that are increasingly complex and increasingly new.
05:50And here we see that at the African level, we need a common governance,
05:53and I even want to say that what happened in Riyadh, the discussions in Riyadh,
05:57have proven a global governance on these issues.
06:01We see that more and more places, which before were not necessarily affected by these issues, are.
06:07And then there are also tensions that exist, especially in Africa, I think,
06:12between Ethiopia and Egypt, in the Middle East, between Turkey and Iraq.
06:17We also think that between Palestine and Israel, water is one of the issues that is a problem.
06:22And Morocco has developed on its own a total expertise that is its own, different,
06:27related to its geography, also related to its own constraints and its needs in an agricultural country.
06:33And Morocco also has a lot to share at this level.
06:36In Africa, and perhaps even beyond, the fact that this is a strategic file followed by His Majesty the King,
06:42of course, opens up a lot more perspectives and gives a lot more credibility to the Moroccan file.
06:49And the French president, moreover, cited the Moroccan model as an example in Riyadh.
06:54Absolutely. Emmanuel Macron congratulated Morocco and cited Morocco, as you said, as an example.
07:02I quote him, what Morocco has achieved in the field of the water highways project
07:07has been a resounding success because it has managed to mobilize all the technologies
07:11and to meet the challenges in rural areas and in the cities.
07:14Sharafat Zafaila has the word on these famous water highways
07:19and how they have been able to respond to a water emergency at the moment
07:24and how these projects have literally come out of the ground in a record time frame.
07:32In fact, this water highway or the transfer of excess water is not a subject that has come to light overnight.
07:41But for years, technical studies and in-depth studies have been carried out within the Department of Water.
07:48We were just waiting for the political decision to transfer water.
07:52As Ander said, the transfer can also create some tensions in areas where water will be transferred.
07:58But Morocco reacted in an extraordinary way in a time frame that is very record in eight months.
08:05The project was carried out by 100% Moroccan companies with 100% Moroccan expertise.
08:13To relieve the pressure and the tension around non-resourceful resources at the dam level,
08:19at the Bourg-Grec basin, as well as the Omorbe basin,
08:23which recorded a very, very low rate following several years of drought.
08:29We are transferring only the volume of water that is lost in the sea.
08:34As we know, the Sbous basin is an excedentary basin.
08:37There are enough resources that are not used, unfortunately, that are not valued.
08:42So, they are transferred and lost in the Atlantic Ocean.
08:46This water highway has allowed to transfer this excess water to basins that are suffering,
08:51notably the Bourg-Grec basin and the Omorbe basin.
08:54So, we rejoice in this flowering, as I said, which has had a very significant success.
09:04So, in a very short time, with 100% Moroccan expertise, with giant facilities.
09:12And I followed a little bit, with some Moroccan companies,
09:15the difficulties to transport pumps, to transport conduits of 40 meters in diameter.
09:22And we can only congratulate ourselves on this project.
09:26And I would like to congratulate all the stakeholders who have contributed to the success
09:31and also who have provided rescue solutions in the Casablanca region,
09:37and in the Rabat region as well,
09:39who knew about the deficiencies in non-mobilizable resources at the hydraulic development level.
09:47Mohamed Badiliati, yes, the vision of His Majesty the King
09:50is that of an international cooperation of water.
09:54So, I would like to ask you about this.
09:56How to set up an international water alliance,
09:59knowing that it is in Morocco that the first forum on water took place.
10:05It was in the 90s in Marrakech,
10:08which also gave birth to this international water organization.
10:17How can we set up the foundations of a solidary cooperation
10:22in the face of global challenges on water?
10:26So, the mechanisms of cooperation exist.
10:29They must be strengthened.
10:30We have, as I said earlier, problems that are new
10:34and that will intensify, accelerate,
10:37both by global warming
10:40and on the other hand also by the geopolitical tensions that may exist here or there.
10:46So, we have to create common institutions,
10:49mechanisms of regulation and governance,
10:53have funding,
10:54and one of the elements that is, of course, beyond all this,
10:59I want to say, is leadership.
11:01We need international leaders, heads of state, heads of government,
11:05who are interested in these subjects,
11:08who have a particular interest in these subjects,
11:11who also understand the importance of these subjects.
11:14The Kingdom is lucky to have a head of state
11:17who is directly involved in this subject,
11:20who is interested in this subject,
11:22who has raised it to the rank of strategic priority.
11:25So, of course, it facilitates a lot of things internally,
11:28from a national point of view,
11:30to implement the projects, evaluate them,
11:33and put them back in line with the new realities.
11:37At the international level,
11:39we are, let's say, an alliance between heads of state and heads of government
11:44who really have this ambition,
11:47who want to implement mechanisms of regulation,
11:50mechanisms of governance,
11:52and who also put a certain amount of funding for projects,
11:56an established expertise,
11:59and also priorities.
12:00That is, we will not be able to manage everything,
12:02from an international point of view, all together.
12:04We will have to implement a certain number of programs
12:07and, above all, set priorities,
12:09this time strategic, but at the regional or global level.
12:13And continental, Mohamedou Badi Eliatri, yes,
12:16there are regions today in the world
12:18that are threatened by water-related conflicts.
12:20And first, let's start with our continent,
12:23with the African continent.
12:24Is it that, beyond the displacement of populations
12:28because of climate change,
12:29because they have to travel much longer distances
12:34than ten or twenty years ago
12:37to have access to water,
12:38but today we see that there are trans-frontal conflicts over resources.
12:42Is it that, because of climate change,
12:44these conflicts are at risk of growing?
12:48And if so, what answers can be provided,
12:51perhaps upstream,
12:53and perhaps even to prevent this kind of conflict in the future?
12:59The problem at the international level is that,
13:03at the beginning, there is an unequal distribution of water,
13:07but it is nature that has made it so.
13:10And I was talking earlier, for example, about Ethiopia and Egypt.
13:13There is an old agreement dating back to 1959
13:15that imposed on the Ethiopians
13:18the fact of having to submit to the Egyptians,
13:22to have the downfall of Egypt,
13:24before any transformation of the dam system.
13:28And here we have an Ethiopian government
13:30that wants to come back to it.
13:32The Egyptian Marshal Sisi is even ready to raise arms,
13:37because in Egypt, the Nile is really, let's say,
13:40the central element of the Egyptian geography and economy.
13:44We are talking about a country with a population of 110 million inhabitants,
13:48and the consequences could be disastrous,
13:50beyond the socio-economic consequences,
13:52the major political consequences for Egypt,
13:55which has experienced a lot of trouble in the last 15 years.
13:58So we see that there is a real need at the African level
14:02to have discussion forums,
14:04to have debates, let's say, at a very high level
14:08between heads of state and heads of government,
14:10in order to set a goal for,
14:13not two or three years, but for several decades.
14:15Because we see that, at the same time,
14:17the Ethiopians need water to modernize,
14:20I want to say, their economic structure,
14:22the Egyptians also need it.
14:24So, in the end, we can see very well
14:27that there is an unequal starting point
14:29between those who have the source
14:31and those who have the arrival, in a way.
14:34But we see that, in reality,
14:36there is a need for coordination,
14:38a need for discussion, dialogue and diplomacy.
14:41Because without fixed diplomacy on the issue of water,
14:46there is a gap that is clear,
14:48with regulation mechanisms, negotiations,
14:50and maybe, I want to say,
14:52like President Trump,
14:54who will soon return to power,
14:56he will say that transactional diplomacy must be done.
14:58On the issue of water, it will be more than necessary.
15:01– There is today, what do you think,
15:03Mohamed Badiliatoui,
15:05tell us about this concept
15:07that we are talking about here and there,
15:09of hydro-diplomacy.
15:11What is it worth today?
15:13What does it mean in this sphere
15:15of great global diplomacy
15:17or in the chessboard of global geopolitics?
15:20– The concept of hydro-diplomacy
15:22will take up more and more space
15:24because the consequences are for everyone
15:26and we see that there is an acceleration of problems,
15:29an intensification and an acceleration of problems.
15:32So there will be the need to train
15:34more and more diplomats
15:36on this issue of hydro-diplomacy,
15:38which is a technical part.
15:40And so, obviously, only people
15:42really specialized on the issue of water
15:44from a technical point of view,
15:46for example, in relation to waste,
15:48a whole bunch of technical issues
15:50to desalinate the water,
15:52since it also pollutes,
15:54so it generates other problems.
15:56At that point, we will need to have
15:58both people who are diplomats
16:00and people who are experts on the issue.
16:02And here we will arrive at a point
16:04where we will have to train these people
16:06as quickly as possible on these issues.
16:08They already exist, there are already many,
16:10but from an international point of view,
16:12we see that there are countries
16:14that have taken a certain number of delays.
16:16Some have been affected more than others.
16:18I am thinking in particular of the North Africa
16:20and the Middle East, the MENA region,
16:22as it is generally called.
16:24We see that there is a lack,
16:26in some countries,
16:28of priorities.
16:30They have other priorities
16:32and do not necessarily
16:34care about these issues.
16:36And we see other countries,
16:38like the ones I am in,
16:40the Gulf countries,
16:42there is a need for adaptation.
16:44We see, for example, a country like Saudi Arabia,
16:46which consumes a lot more water
16:48than the average.
16:50So it is between 5 and 10 times more,
16:52for example, than European countries,
16:54while they are forced to go fishing
16:56in phreatic swamps and somehow
16:58reach their own environment.
17:00So we see that these issues,
17:02with the acceleration of economic diversification
17:04projects in the Gulf,
17:06with development in Africa,
17:08all these issues,
17:10which have positive aspects,
17:12economic, tourist, etc.,
17:14will end up
17:16being impacted by the issue of water.
17:18And we will really need people
17:20who will be able to negotiate
17:22on the international level,
17:24both the diplomatic part,
17:26the pure negotiation,
17:28and the technical part.
17:30And also represent the states at the highest level
17:32and take into account all the other aspects
17:34that will result directly or indirectly,
17:36and also all the aspects
17:38that could be directly or indirectly impacted.
17:40This is why it is not only a technical issue,
17:42it is really a political issue.
17:44Exactly.
17:46The aspects that could be impacted,
17:48food security, to mention only this one,
17:50economic diversification, you mentioned it,
17:52Mohamed Badiliatiboui,
17:54I turn to Vachara Fatafailal to call you.
17:56There is also the demographic evolution.
17:58So people today,
18:00especially on the African continent,
18:02on an increase in demography
18:04which is significant.
18:06It is good to think about water policies,
18:08but it is better
18:10if we can finance them.
18:12What is the position of the international community
18:14regarding the funding
18:16dedicated to this water problem,
18:18which does not only affect
18:20access to drinking water,
18:22but also to food security.
18:24And here we are talking about nearly 2 billion people
18:26in the next decade.
18:28Excuse me,
18:30just to rebound on the question
18:32of diplomacy as a concept
18:34and an emerging approach
18:36which brings together several technical,
18:38political and diplomatic processes.
18:40It is not only an approach
18:42for the resolution of cross-border water
18:44and shared water between countries,
18:46but it is a concept
18:48that can also be adapted
18:50for the resolution of conflicts
18:52and tensions within countries.
18:54Especially in times of drought
18:56where tensions are established
18:58between users,
19:00between different sectors,
19:02whether it is drinking water, irrigation
19:04or energy.
19:06It is a concept that can also be adapted
19:08and assimilated
19:10for the resolution of conflicts
19:12and tensions within a single country.
19:14As far as finance is concerned,
19:16of course,
19:18finance constitutes the nerve
19:20of the water security war
19:22and, of course, food security.
19:24There are several
19:26international platforms
19:28that debate
19:30and
19:32that challenge
19:34the issue of water issues.
19:36There is the World Water Forum.
19:38There is also the United Nations Conference
19:40on Water.
19:42There are also COPs
19:44that deal with this issue.
19:46There is also
19:48the nomination of a special envoy
19:50in charge of water at the United Nations level.
19:52There is the United Nations Conference
19:54in 2026 on the issue of water.
19:56We want
19:58this water agenda
20:00to continue
20:02to be a priority
20:04on a global scale.
20:06We also need
20:08to mobilize funding.
20:10We also need
20:12this blackout
20:14of adaptation funds
20:16to be assimilated
20:18so that countries
20:20that are still suffering,
20:22that have not yet completed
20:24the generalization of drinking water,
20:26of course, the African continent,
20:28have access to these funds
20:30so that they can promote
20:32the infrastructure,
20:34accelerate investments
20:36whose infrastructure is then generalized,
20:38access to drinking water.
20:40There are always challenges.
20:42There is always a kind of blackout,
20:44so to speak,
20:46to access these funds.
20:48There must be some kind of justice
20:50and a kind of sharing
20:52of information
20:54and also a level of expertise
20:56so that these countries
20:58that have not yet reached the level
21:00of generalization of access to drinking water
21:02desirable
21:04have access to different
21:06financing tools,
21:08mainly adaptation tools,
21:10so that they can
21:12invest and accelerate
21:14investments in the infrastructure,
21:16in the caldification and
21:18reinforcement of human capital capacity.
21:20We cannot go at two speeds
21:22on an international scale.
21:24We must recognize that
21:26the climatic challenges are
21:28mainly the challenges of water security
21:30and food security.
21:32There must be
21:34a kind of awareness
21:36that is instilled
21:38within the international community
21:40to mobilize the necessary funding
21:42mainly for the countries
21:44that still suffer from water shortages
21:46and from the lack of drinking water
21:48mainly for human consumption.
21:50What governance?
21:52How is governance anchored
21:54in the sustainable management
21:56of water resources?
22:00Governance is indeed
22:02the critical point
22:04of water resource management.
22:06Due to its composition,
22:08the water sector is quite complex
22:10and complicated at the same time
22:12due to the multitude of stakeholders.
22:14In Morocco alone,
22:16we have almost a dozen
22:18institutions that are concerned
22:20with water resource management.
22:22International governance
22:24is the integrated management
22:26of water resources,
22:28which includes the involvement,
22:30the participation, the consultation
22:32between all stakeholders
22:34and mainly the convergence
22:36of public policies.
22:38It is therefore necessary to recognize
22:40that in the design and elaboration
22:42of water development policies
22:44in the different sectors,
22:46the dimension of water resource
22:48and water resources must be
22:50adapted to design these policies.
22:52In fact, it is necessary to change
22:54the paradigm and see again
22:56certain political choices
22:58that are no longer adapted
23:00to the climate and water contexts.
23:02This is the difficulty
23:04of water policy management,
23:06to be able to reconcile
23:08between the different sectors
23:10and adapt to the climate context
23:12and also take into account
23:14the water capital of each country
23:16and political choices
23:18that are not adapted
23:20and that will compromise
23:22the rights of future generations.
23:24Thank you very much,
23:26Maud Laffin, Mohamed Badiliatoui.
23:28Yes, there are new issues,
23:30a need to create
23:32mechanisms of governance
23:34that are also new
23:36and adapted to the circumstances
23:38and also the need
23:40within certain countries,
23:42both on the side of the leaders
23:44and on the side of civil society,
23:46to understand the issues
23:48that will arise from this issue of water,
23:50either from a food security point of view,
23:52migration or others,
23:54which unfortunately risks,
23:56if not the case,
23:58to accentuate the geopolitical problems
24:00that may exist in different parts of the world.
24:02So it is an emergency
24:04and the event that took place in Riyadh
24:06is a very important event
24:08that I hope will make a certain number of people react.
24:10Exactly, thank you very much
24:12especially for the countries of the south
24:14of which we are part.
24:16Thank you, Mohamed Badiliatoui.
24:18I reiterate
24:20my thanks to Sharafat Safailal.
24:22Thank you for being with us
24:24tonight.
24:26This is the end of this episode.
24:28Good evening.