Water and war: reflections on ethical dilemmas of research

Seminar speakers emphasised the relevance of scientifically sound and ethically responsible research in conflict-ridden regions. Researchers from Sudan, Palestine and Yemen presented case studies from their countries and shared some ethical challenges and political sensitivities they navigate during their research. 

Their presentations highlighted that destruction of water infrastructure during wartime is often not merely collateral damage: Water infrastructure and access to water have become deeply politicised, and pipelines, treatment plants and distribution networks are often deliberately destroyed to control specific areas and weaken opponents. 

In a plenary session moderated by Jeltsje Kemerink–Seyoum, IHE Delft Associate Professor of Water Governance and Justice and Programme Coordinator, panellists emphasised that, even in seemingly hopeless conflict situations, research is crucial: 

“Research helps to fill important knowledge gaps,” said Bilkis Zabara, Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry from the Inclusive Development Research and Studies Center at Sana'a University in Yemen. She added that researching water in conflict areas brings attention to nuanced water-related issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. 

In Yemen, the deliberate targetting of water facilities during the decade-long civil war has decimated water systems and led to severe shortages and a cholera outbreak that has killed thousands of Yeminis. Research has helped identify alternative water sources such as rainwater harvesting and created an understanding of the scale of the crisis, leading to interventions, added Zabara, who is also the Project Coordinator of the Programme-supported Urban Rainwater Harvesting project. 

In Palestine, documenting the heavy bombing of Gaza has been key to “creating a baseline for water quality before and after the wars in Gaza”, said panellist Monther Shoblaq, General Manager of the Coastal Municipality Water Utility in Gaza.  

Collected data widely publicised in the international community  shows how bombings destroyed key water infrastructure. The bombs also polluted Gaza’s water sources, resulting in major health impacts on Palestinians, including the spread of waterborne diseases, Shoblaq said. 

IHE Delft alumna Aseel Abdulrahman, a Sudanese PhD researcher at Utrecht University, highlighted the risks related to Sudan’s Jebel Aulia Dam,  located in the middle of a battlefield. The fighting stopped maintenance and operation and the large dam is at risk of collapsing, which would cause catastrophic floods. 

Abdulrahman’s research aims to inform decision-makers as they assess risks, and to advocate for interventions that mitigate further harm. The sensitivity of the situation is compounded by the dam’s location in an area controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group fighting against Sudan’s national army, the Sudanese Armed Forces. The national army controls Khartoum, Sudan’s downstream capital. 

This means that research raising alarm about the dam’s instability could lead to paramilitary forces using it as a weapon, deliberately causing flooding to target the government army. At the same time, keeping mum about the dam’s condition may lead to the same disaster, as it would mean that no preventive action—such as opening the gates or implementing emergency evacuation plans—would be taken, warned Abdulrahman.

This ethical burden forces researchers to carefully consider how to share which research findings, with whom and when, Abdulrahman said. In such cases, are scientists sufficiently aware of these responsibilities? Can they anticipate how their research might be used or abused? And what is their responsibility?  

Reliable data sources are scarce in times of war. Though remotely sensed data is important, webinar speakers argued that it is often insufficient. Local researchers can play a key role in gathering in-depth data, but they face serious safety risks. They must be protected as much as possible, and the risks must be mitigated. 

But despite the huge risks involved in conducting research in war-torn areas, even solid, scientific research rarely brings about change: 

“Sudan and Yemen are less studied conflicts, but Gaza shows that even when the devastation is well-documented, it only has minimal impact on the course of the war. The genocide continues before our eyes,” said Kemerink–Seyoum.

Still, seminar speakers argued that war and other disheartening situations still need to be researched, and called on donors to finance such research. Reflecting on the plenary session, Kemerink-Seyoum emphasised that this is why programmes like the one she coordinates must ‘stay with the trouble’, referencing activist-scholar Donna Haraway. Especially when human rights are attacked, we need to continue supporting research, despite ambiguity and messy realties, and deal with the challenges such research causes, she added.

Researchers studying water in times of war must reflect on their positionality, do rigorous research and ensure that the quality does not suffer due to challenging circumstances, Kemerink–Seyoum said. However, “we need to recognise that objectivity in science does not mean that we are or need to be neutral—because neutrality does not exist in times of war,” she said. 

The Water and Development Partnership Programme encourages the researchers it supports to explicitly and openly position themselves, particularly in situations of injustice. As illustrated by the cases presented in the seminar, researchers cannot be detached from the broader political, social and ethical contexts in which they carry out their research. 

International support and long-term partnerships are key in these efforts, as they bring together researchers from war-torn places with those working in less vulnerable contexts, Shoblaq said. 

“We need the latest research insights and new technologies, as well as international collaborations with academia, to rebuild the cities after the war in a better and more sustainable way,” he said. “Even if we cannot stop war from happening, doing research and maintaining relationships are still vital.”