About us

This Waternet website is online since 1997. Its initial focus was mainly on water issues in Israel and Palestine - at that time the topic of my research.
The website is now undergoing a very thorough update and redesign, with a more regional approach to the political hydrology of water scarcity.

Personal details

Stefan Deconinck

• I am a consultant with experience in policy-oriented research and analysis
  Areas of interest:
  
  • water diplomacy and environmental peacebuidling · environmental change and security · political economy of water scarcity
  • political security in Eastern Africa and the Middle East
    
• Ma in Modern History, Ma in International Relations
• Past research and teaching positions: Ghent University, Catholic University of Brussels, Royal High Institute of Defence - Brussels
• Research experience in Palestine, Jordan and Israel; resident in Kenya (2010-2017), Uganda (2017-2020) and Jordan (2020- 2022)
• See also profiles on LinkedIn and ResearchGate

Contact: Stefan.Deconinck(at)gmail.com

Selected presentations, training and interviews on water politics, environmental conflicts, Middle East

• "Het is gelijkaardig aan een ziekenhuis aanvallen": worden ontziltingsinstallaties doelwit bij oorlog in Iran?. Interview voor VRT NWS Terzake, 31/03/26.
• Water als wapen in het verleden en het heden. Interview for VPRO OVT - NPO 1, 15/3/26.
• Waarom naast olie ook drinkwater een kopzorg is voor de Golfstaten. Interview for VRT-Radio, 6/3/26.
• Het waterpeil van de Dode Zee daalt steeds verder, en daar zit ook het conflict in het Midden-Oosten voor iets tussen. Interview for VRT-Radio, 14/05/25.
• L'eau manque cruellement dans la bande de Gaza. Interview for Radio Télévision Suisse, 25/10/23.
• La guerre de l'eau est une autre facette de l'affrontementr entre Israël et les Palestiniens. Interview for Novethic, 10/10/23.
• EcoPeace Middle East, Training on water diplomacy for Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian actors, 2022.
• ‘The future of water resources in Palestine, Israel and Jordan’, G-STIC World Expo conference – Dubai, January 2022.
• International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC), Nairobi, 2011, 2012. Governance and Diplomacy for Peace and Security training for East African senior civilian and military officials.
• Royal Military Academy, Belgium, Formation for Senior Officers. Lectures on global jihadi terrorism; climate change and security challenges; international water resources.
• Royal Higher Institute for Defence, High Studies for Security and Defence, March 2005. Seminar on factors of instability: lecture on environmental degradation as a potential source of conflict.
• WES, Bruges, 2005. Training for governmental water professionals from Middle Eastern and Asian countries, on water resources management.
• Middle Eastern Technical University conference on water in the Middle East, Ankara, May 2007. Presentation on "Water, ideology and security persceptions in Israel".
• NATO Parliamentary Assembly, seminar on "Recent developments and new political perspectives in the broader Middle East region", Jordan, May 2005. Moderator of session on management of water resources. See also: seminar report.
• UNCCD Global Mechanism meeting, Brussels, 2003. Presentation on indicators for sustainable development and the importance of linking human security in combating desertification.
• World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES), Mainz, September 2002. Presentation on water policies in Israël and the West Bank.
• UNESCO conference "From conflict to co-operation in international water resources management: challenges and opportunities", Delft, November 2002. Presentation on "Israeli long term water policy and prospects for sustainable development".
• Professional development for teachers on water resources and water scarcity in the world; water conflicts in the Middle East; Israeli-Palestinain conflict. Vereniging Leraars Aardrijkskunde (VLA), Vereniging Vlaamse Leerkrachten (VVL) - Belgian teacher associations.
• Guest lectures at Belgian and Dutch universities on international water resources, environmental conflicts.
• Various lectures on international water issues, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, history of Jerusalem for Belgian cultural societies (Actueel Denken en Leven, Davidsfonds, Willemsfonds, ElckerIck).

Selected publications on water politics, environmental conflicts, Middle East

Tip: also check the publications longlist for an overview of my article on various other topics.

• Climate change, ecosystems and DPSIR: a strategy on protecting water resources. Internal report, Join For Water, 2021.
• Understanding the hydrological cycle in the Anthropocene, technical note, 2021.
• Shooting in your own foot: Kenya’s approach to the ‘war on terror’, in: Vrede, 2014.
• Waterconflicten in de 21ste eeuw: kiezen tussen “veiligheid” en ontwikkeling [Water conflicts in the 21st century: choosing for security or development]. In: Internationale Spectator, 3, 2012.
• Klimaatverandering en veiligheid: het Belgische en Europese beleid (Climate change and security: European and Belgian policies). Brussels: Royal High Institute for Defence, 2010 (Focus Paper 16).
• ‘Water en conflict: een kwestie van veiligheid of kwetsbaarheid’ [Water and conflict: a matter of development or vulnerability]. In: Willems P., Maes F., Water in de wereld, Vereniging voor de Verenigde Naties, 2010.
• Security as a threat to development in the Nile River Basin. Brussels: Royal High Institute for Defence, 2009 (Focus Paper 13).
• 'Water, ideology and international security in the Middle East', in: Madarat Garbiye, Fall 2006 (Arabic).
• Editor of the brochure "Water and conflict. Water scarcity threatens peace", Gent, Protos, 2005.
• 'Water policies and security in Israel', in: Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitschrift (Swiss Military Review), March 2004.
• 'Israeli water policy in a regional context of conflict: prospects for sustainable development for Israelis and Palestinians', in: Ferragina E., Water Resources and Development in the Mediterranean Basin, Naples, 2004.
• 'Israelisch-Palästinensischer Wasserkonflikt', in: Agrarische Rundschau, 7, 2001, pp. 12-15.
• 'L'eau dans le conflit Israélo-Palestinien', in: Med Intelligence, 9 November 2001.
• Öl ins Feuer - Wasser im israelisch-palästinensischen Konflikt, Deutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Internationale Politik (Mai 2001).
• 'Olie op het vuur - water, conflict en vrede in het Midden-Oosten', in : Doom R. (ed.), De structuur van de waanzin - conflicten in de periferie, Gent, Academia Press, 2001.
• 'Le processus de paix israélo-palestinien, perspectives de cooperation ou de conflit', in: L'eau, source de conflits ou vecteur de paix, Bruxelles, CNAPD, 2001, pp. 30-37.
• 'Water en het Israëlisch-Palestijnse vredesproces', in: Internationale Spectator, 51, 1, 1997, pp. 17-22.

Linked by

• The Economist, "Millennium issue: The World This Millennium", 25 December 1999.
• Reference in the article 'Water and peace in the Middle East' of National Geographic News (14/07/2000)
• Reference in Time magazine: "Water, water, everywehere", 10 November 2000.