Freshwater Lab founder and director Professor Rachel Havrelock spent decades researching water in the Middle East.  Through a fellowship with the U.S. Department of State and on the ground training with the trilateral (Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli) NGO Ecopeace Middle East, Havrelock developed skills in water diplomacy.  Where water wars are often predicted, the Freshwater Lab seeks to establish durable water peace.

Theory

The premise of water diplomacy rests on the irreducible fact that people who share a common source of water have shared interests and de facto interdependence.  Even in scenarios of pitched conflict, communities experience better health and economic outcomes when they find a way to collaborate around water quality and quantity.  

Our working theory maintains that because water constitutes a universal human need, cross-community management and conservation of water can provide the basis for enduring relationships whose very material outcomes provide the basis for the long-term resolution of conflict.

The Freshwater Lab hosts two tracks of water diplomacy:

1. Within the Great Lakes:

The Great Lakes watershed is the unparalleled site of over 20% of the earth’s freshwater.  It spans the United States, Canada, and the lands of indigenous nations.  The five lakes and their interconnected rivers sustain eight US states and two Canadian provinces.  Their waters join native, rural, and urban communities whose residents have a vast range of backgrounds.  All are dependent on this water.  

The Freshwater Lab researches and promotes diplomatic relationships and collaborative efforts among Great Lakes communities by hosting summits, workshops, and shared projects.  The Lab aspires to build on this work and establish cross-basin policy and its implementation, youth programming, and workforce development.

2. Between the Great Lakes and other transboundary watersheds:

As the site of leading binational and bipartisan legislation, the world looks to the Great Lakes basin for models of transboundary water policy.  In this regard, the Great Lakes basin has much to offer other regions.

The Freshwater Lab showcases the innovation of Great Lakes organizations on the international stage and facilitates cooperation between the Great Lakes and other transboundary watersheds. 

A signature effort in this regard was the 2015 Water after Borders summit and facilitation of the Memorandum of Understanding to Create a “Sister Waters” Partnership between the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the Ecopeace Middle East Good Water Neighbors Program Mayors.

Practice

Sister Water Partnership

Representing the Jordan River and the Dead Sea:

• Mr. Hassan Jirmi, Mayor of Zubeidat, Palestine
• Mr. Khalifah Suliman Mohammad Aldayyat, Mayor of Dier Allah, Jordan
• Mr. Ran Molho, Israeli Kinerret (Sea of Galilee) Drainage Authority, on behalf of Yossi Vardi, Mayor of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, Israel

Sister Waters Partnership between Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and

EcoPeace Middle East (Good Water Program Mayors/Municipalities)

Memorandum of Understanding

Affirmation of the Amman-Chicago Sister City Relationship

Representing Amman, Jordan:

• Eng. Munir Oweis, City Council Member and CEO of Jordan Water Company – Miyahuna

Representing Chicago, Illinois, United States:

• President Mariyana Spyropoulos, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Representing the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River:

• Mayor John Dickert (Racine, Wisconsin, USA), Chair – GLSL Cities Initiative
• Mayor Mitch Twolan (Huron-Kinloss, Ontario, Canada), Vice Chair – GLSL Cities
• Mayor Denis Lapointe (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, Canada), Past Chair and current board member – GLSL Cities Initiative

Mr. Hassan Jirmi (left), Mayor of Zubeidat, Palestine & Mr. Ran Molho (right), on behalf of Yossi Vardi, Mayor of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, Israel

The Freshwater Lab’s 2015 Water after Borders summit also brought water leaders from Amman, Jordan and Chicago together to affirm the Amman-Chicago Sister City Relationship

Representing Amman, Jordan:

• Eng. Munir Oweis, City Council Member and CEO of Jordan Water Company – Miyahuna

Representing Chicago, Illinois, United States:

• President Mariyana Spyropoulos, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago