The Water Crisis in Crimea

Access to sanitary water is one of the most impactful issues a country may face. According to a 2019 report by the World Economic Forum, the global water crisis is the fourth highest risk worldwide in terms of societal impact. Access to water affects more than just citizens’ health, but it is also key to educational and economic potential. Without clean water, women and children must spend time getting water instead of working, going to school, or caring for their families. Moreover, a water crisis has the potential to affect a country at a more macro level.

Water has the potential to be a trigger, weapon, or casualty of conflicts between or within countries.

These issues related to water can be found in the case study of Crimea. After Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014, Ukraine began to block the flow of water to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal. As a result, the 2.4 million residents of Crimea have gone through a surging price of food due to agricultural failure. The Crimean water situation has become enough of a dire situation to the Crimean people that Russia has accused Ukraine of “genocide”. As of August of 2021, Russia ultimately did decide to sue Ukraine over “ecocide”. Moreover, in addition to the Ukrainian water blockage, in 2020, Crimea faced its driest year in the past century and a half, adding to the urgency of this issue.

As we approach our committee session, it is important for us to understand these issues and ideas in relation to our general focus on territorial sovereignty in post-Soviet states. What are the implications of water scarcity in Crimea and other Soviet annexed territories? What can the Special Political and Decolonization Committee do about this? How can we work to decrease the severity of the consequences?

Best,

Ashley Chung
Assistant Director