Water becomes strategic resource: Switzerland, Italy, and France negotiate over drought

Water scarcity has ignited fierce negotiations between Switzerland, Italy, and France as a severe drought grips northern Italy and parts of France, regions heavily reliant on Swiss water resources for agriculture.

The Po River, a vital artery for Italian agriculture, depends significantly on water from Lake Maggiore, which is shared by Italy and Switzerland. Currently, the lake's water level is just centimeters above its historical minimum. For weeks, the Swiss canton of Ticino has been reducing the amount of water released from its reservoirs to the Italian region of Piedmont.

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It is completely rational that we do not allow so much water to flow from Switzerland, only for it to disappear in canals or inefficient aqueducts.

Authorities in Piedmont are reportedly desperate, but Ticino maintains that its reservoirs are at minimum levels and that the water resources are privately owned. This situation has intensified the struggle over water, a resource increasingly strained by diminishing snowmelt from the mountains.

Klaus W. Lantz, founder and director of the International Water Affairs institute, notes that conflicts over water allocation are becoming more frequent and intense. The Swiss Ministry of Ecology stated that technical details of an agreement are being worked out with Ticino and Italian authorities to prevent future conflicts during both shortages and extreme high water levels. Similar negotiations are underway between Switzerland and France concerning the Doubs River, a tributary of the Saône, a process that has historically taken over a decade to finalize.

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We are currently working with the canton of Ticino and Italian authorities on the technical details of an agreement.