Strategic Foresight Group/SFG: water cooperation in the ME phase 2, 2014-17.

The Strategic Foresight Group has managed to carry out all planned activities within expected time frames and with expected results. At times there have also been unexpected positive results, such as widespread media coverage in several countries. The six reports produced by SFG met their respective deadlines, contained relevant information, knowledge and have been well received by immediate stakeholders and readers beyond that. The sustained impact of the Blue Peace as a cooperation process, originally facilitated by SFG and regional partners, remains as an option and possibility for regional stakeholders to continue. In due course and with joint efforts - possibly supported by external donors - the process may become owned and institutionalised by regional partners. This would be a future scenario that lies beyond the scope of this development project and cooperation. At the point of time of July 2018, and following the expiry of the last Sida-agreement with SFG, Sida has continued to support the process of bringing together the Blue Peace community, in a joint effort with the Swiss Development Cooperation, SDC. As a result, a conference on the Blue Peace and hosted by the Global Water Partnership secretariat, will take place in Stockholm on 29-31 August. The conference will discuss ways forward and present a proposal for future cooperation for blue peace in the region. The event will gather approximately 40 participants, with an interest to continue to support technical cooperation and peace around shared water in the MENA region, including the representatives from the immediate countries of Turkey, Iraq (and KRG), Lebanon and Syria as well as from Sida and SDC. 

The SFG intervention overall objective is to create a social infrastructure, based on networks and learning groups, for shared water resources management in the MENA region. The objective aligns to previous works that SFG has received both Sida funds for and gained international recognition for, such as the experience exchange work 2012-2014 and the break-through work of The Blue Peace, where pathways and links between water resources collaboration between riparian states and peace, were explored and demonstrated.In the current proposal of Experience Exchange for regional water cooperation in the Middle East, phase 2 (2014-2017), this work is both expanded and deepened following explicit demands from stakeholders in the region. The project continues to strengthen networks and to increase learning exchanges for transboundary water collaboration among opinion makers in the region, but it also aims to create vertical integration in the water discourse in the Middle East from high end policy concerns to grassroot level concerns. The outreach work of SFG to further strengthen and expand the Blue Peace community of media leaders, parliamentarians, former ministers, government officials, water experts and others, remains.