This Symposium is being organized in the framework of 30 years University for Peace. The topic is very timely: in the face of global changes, what role can law play in safeguarding basic needs and rights, including that of water? Can law be more effectively mobilized to better protect vulnerable communities against droughts, floods and other climate related disasters? In so doing, to what extend can it contribute to world peace? As laws tend to be rigid, how can they play a more progressive role in a rapidly changing world? Currently water management is stepping away from the idea of stationarity – but what about legal issues? Are they set in stone?