Conflict analysts rarely place water at the centre of peace discussions, yet its influence is pervasive. Obanor’s work intersects with this overlooked space. In regions where competition over scarce resources already strains social cohesion, reliable water access reduces one of the most persistent sources of tension. It does not eliminate conflict, but it lowers the daily stressors that escalate disputes.
Across many fragile regions, water scarcity is not only an environmental challenge but a social one. When communities must compete for limited water sources, long-standing grievances—rooted in ethnicity, livelihood, or land use—are easily inflamed. Farmers and pastoralists clash over access points, women and children face heightened risks while traveling long distances to collect water, and local authorities struggle to mediate disputes with limited infrastructure. In such contexts, water becomes both a trigger and a multiplier of instability.
Obanor’s initiatives operate on the premise that peace is not only negotiated in conference rooms. It is sustained through systems that allow daily life to function without constant friction. A functioning borehole, a maintained pipeline, or a fair water management committee can quietly transform relationships within a community. These interventions create predictable routines, reduce time burdens, and allow residents to redirect energy toward education, livelihoods, and civic participation rather than survival.
This perspective aligns with emerging global research linking water security to stability indicators, from reduced migration pressure to improved local governance. When water access is reliable, communities are less likely to resort to displacement during droughts, easing pressure on neighboring regions and urban centers. Local institutions, when involved in managing shared water resources, often gain legitimacy and trust, reinforcing social contracts between citizens and authorities.
Importantly, water initiatives can also foster cooperation across dividing lines. Shared infrastructure requires coordination, maintenance, and negotiation—processes that encourage dialogue even among groups with historical tensions. In this way, water becomes a platform for practical collaboration, offering tangible benefits that reinforce the value of peaceful coexistence. These everyday forms of cooperation are rarely captured in formal peace metrics, yet they play a critical role in long-term stability.
While water projects alone cannot deliver peace, their absence often undermines it. Neglecting water access in post-conflict or fragile settings risks entrenching inequality and resentment, creating fertile ground for renewed violence. Conversely, integrating water security into broader peace-building and development strategies acknowledges the interconnected nature of environmental, social, and political systems.
By situating water within a peace-building framework, Obanor’s work challenges conventional boundaries between humanitarian action and security policy. It suggests that investments in basic infrastructure should be viewed not merely as relief or development efforts, but as strategic contributions to stability. In doing so, it reframes peace as something built incrementally—through pipes, pumps, and shared responsibility—as much as through treaties and negotiations.
By situating water within a peace-building framework, Obanor’s work challenges conventional boundaries between humanitarian action and security policy. It suggests that investments in basic infrastructure should be viewed not merely as relief or development efforts, but as strategic contributions to stability. In doing so, it reframes peace as something built incrementally—through pipes, pumps, and shared responsibility—as much as through treaties and negotiations.
