Seventh Annual Water and Peace Seminar begins

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, Mar 26: The seventh Annual Water and Peace Seminar 2025, on "Diplomacy, Dialogue, Discourses: Exploring Potentials and Challenges for Inclusive Water Cooperation," has started in Lalitpur from Wednesday.

The seminar brought together experts, members of civil society, policymakers, and academics from around the world to discuss the future of water diplomacy, with a particular focus on South Asia.

According to the press release from Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE), in the welcome remarks, Vice President (Outreach) of South Asian University Prof. Sanjay Chaturvedi said that the event being held in Nepal is very significant as Nepal is home to the Himalayas, which is the largest source of freshwater in the world; hence Nepal can be a bridge for these types of dialogue and discussions.

Similarly, Associate Professor of South Asia University Medha Bisht said that Water Diplomacy in the Himalayan rivers needs a paradigmatic shift in South Asia. Deliberation on the same will make participants learn about best practices from other regions and understand limitations and challenges on themes around inclusivity and participation.

Head of Department, Water Governance at IHE Delft Netherlands Susanne Schemeir said, "This year we are focusing on inclusivity, a critical topic regarding water sharing and cooperation. Because different actors, such as government actors, civil society representatives, women, youth, and indigenous communities, are involved in the decision-making processes. So we want to bring all of them together and bring out new ideas." 

Research Director of NIICE Pramod Jaiswal, mentioned that water diplomacy is crucial for Himalayan Nepal to address climate-induced glacier melt, transboundary water challenges, and hydropower potential. 

The week-long program is jointly organized by the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Netherlands; South Asian University (SAU),  New Delhi and Nepal Institute for International Cooperation and Engagement (NIICE), Kathmandu where there are around 70 participants from 30 countries in Lalitpur and more than 100 are participating online.