Defining Effective Transboundary Water Cooperation

Defining Effective Transboundary Water Cooperation

Author: Melissa McCracken

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-03-31

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1000549801

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This book establishes a framework for defining transboundary water cooperation and a methodology for evaluating its effectiveness, which will contribute to more effective and therefore successful cooperation processes. With the increasing focus on transboundary cooperation as a part of the Sustainable Development Goal Framework, there is global recognition of transboundary water cooperation as a tool for improved governance and management of transboundary surface and groundwaters. However, there is not an agreed upon definition of transboundary water cooperation in the literature or in practice. This book develops the Four Frames of Transboundary Water Cooperation, which is a neutral modular framework for developing context-specific explanatory definitions of transboundary water cooperation in basins and aquifers. The Four Frames of Cooperation are legal, institutional, relational, and outcome. However, we need to move beyond defining cooperation to understand better measures of the quality and effectiveness of cooperative processes. The Weighted Model of Effective Cooperation presents a first step in qualitatively evaluating the effectiveness of transboundary water cooperation. This model defines effective transboundary water cooperation and operationalizes a method to evaluate the effectiveness of cooperative processes over internationally shared waters. Effective cooperation emphasizes the relational and outcome frames of cooperation while working towards equitability and sustainability. Together, the Four Frames of Cooperation and the Weighted Model of Effective Cooperation will improve the understanding of cooperation and encourage a detailed evaluation of the quality, success, and effectiveness of cooperative processes. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of water resource management, water governance, and environmental politics. It will also appeal to policymakers and professionals working in the fields of water conflict, water diplomacy, and international cooperation.


Measuring Transboundary Water Cooperation

Measuring Transboundary Water Cooperation

Author: Saruchera, D.

Publisher: International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Published: 2015-12-31

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 9290908270

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Water cooperation has received prominent focus in the post-2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While proposals for measuring water cooperation appear to be converging toward a small set of indicators, the degree to which these proposed indicators draw on past work is unclear. This paper mines relevant past work to generate guidance for monitoring the proposed SDG target related to transboundary water cooperation. Potential measures of water cooperation were identified, filtered and applied in three countries (Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe). Six indicators were ultimately determined as being suitable for measuring water cooperation. As the SDG process turns its focus to the selection of indicators, the indicators proposed in this paper may merit consideration


The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes

The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes

Author: Attila Tanzi

Publisher: Hotei Publishing

Published: 2015-04-21

Total Pages: 575

ISBN-13: 900429158X

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The UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes provides invaluable insights into the contribution of this international agreement towards transboundary water cooperation via its legal provisions, accompanying institutional arrangements and subsidiary policy mechanisms. Contributing authors - experts on key aspects of the Convention - address a broad range of issues, primarily concerning its: development and evolution; relationship with other multi-lateral agreements; regulatory framework and general principles; tools for arresting transboundary pollution; procedural rules; compliance and liability provisions; and select issues including its Protocol on Water and Health.


Transboundary Water Politics in the Developing World

Transboundary Water Politics in the Developing World

Author: Naho Mirumachi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-03-05

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 1135082839

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This book examines the political economy that governs the management of international transboundary river basins in the developing world. These shared rivers are the setting for irrigation, hydropower and flood management projects as well as water transfer schemes. Often, these projects attempt to engineer the river basin with deep political, socio-economic and environmental implications. The politics of transboundary river basin management sheds light on the challenges concerning sustainable development, water allocation and utilization between sovereign states. Advancing conceptual thinking beyond simplistic analyses of river basins in conflict or cooperation, the author proposes a new analytical framework. The Transboundary Waters Interaction NexuS (TWINS) examines the coexistence of conflict and cooperation in riparian interaction. This framework highlights the importance of power relations between basin states that determine negotiation processes and institutions of water resources management. The analysis illustrates the way river basin management is framed by powerful elite decision-makers, combined with geopolitical factors and geographical imaginations. In addition, the book explains how national development strategies and water resources demands have a significant role in shaping the intensities of conflict and cooperation at the international level. The book draws on detailed case studies from the Ganges River basin in South Asia, the Orange–Senqu River basin in Southern Africa and the Mekong River basin in Southeast Asia, providing key insights on equity and power asymmetry applicable to other basins in the developing world.


Transboundary Water Management

Transboundary Water Management

Author: Anton Earle

Publisher: Earthscan

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 184977658X

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The management of water resources across boundaries, whether sub-national or international, is one of the most difficult challenges facing water managers today. The upstream exploitation or diversion of groundwater or rivers can have devastating consequences for those living downstream, and transboundary rivers can provide a source of conflict between nations or states, particularly where water resources are scarce. Similarly, water based-pollution can spread across borders and create disputes and a need for sound governance.This book is the first to bring together in a concise and accessible way all of the main topics to be considered when managing transboundary waters. It will raise the awareness of practitioners of the various issues needed to be taken into account when making water management decisions and provide a practically-based overview for advanced students. The authors show clearly how vital it is to cooperate effectively over the management of shared waters to unlock their contribution to regional sustainable development. The book is largely based on a long-running and tested international training programme, run by the Stockholm International Water Institute and Ramboll Natura, and supported by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), where the respective authors have presented modules on the programmes. It addresses issues not only of conflict, but also of managing power asymmetries, benefit-sharing, stakeholder participation, international water law, environmental water requirements and regional development. It will be particularly useful for those with a background in hydrology or engineering who wish to broaden their management skills.


Bridges Over Water: Understanding Transboundary Water Conflict, Negotiation And Cooperation (Second Edition)

Bridges Over Water: Understanding Transboundary Water Conflict, Negotiation And Cooperation (Second Edition)

Author: Ariel Dinar

Publisher: World Scientific Publishing Company

Published: 2013-02-21

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 9814436674

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Bridges over Water places the study of transboundary water conflicts, negotiation, and cooperation in the context of various disciplines, such as international relations, international law, international negotiations, and economics. It demonstrates their application, using various quantitative approaches, such as river basin modeling, quantitative negotiation theory, and game theory. Case-studies of particular transboundary river basins, lakes, and aquifers are also considered.This second edition updates the literature on international water and in-depth analyses on political developments and cooperation between riparian states. With an appended chapter on principles and practices of negotiation, and a new case study on the La Plata Basin, this edition is a timely update to the field of transboundary water studies.


Transboundary Water Governance and International Actors in South Asia

Transboundary Water Governance and International Actors in South Asia

Author: Paula Hanasz

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-12

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1351599313

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International organisations such as the World Bank began to intervene in the transboundary water governance of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basin in the mid-2000s, and the South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI) is its most ambitious project in this regard. Yet neither SAWI nor other international initiatives, such as those of the Australian and UK governments, have been able to significantly improve transboundary water interaction between India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. This book identifies factors that contribute to water conflicts and that detract from water cooperation in this region. It sheds light on how international organisations affect these transboundary water interactions. The book discusses how donor-led initiatives can better engage with transboundary hydropolitics to increase cooperation and decrease conflict over shared freshwater resources. It is shown that there are several challenges: addressing transboundary water issues is not a top priority for the riparian states; there is concern about India’s hydro-hegemony and China's influence; and international actors in general do not have substantial support of the local elites. However, the book suggests some ways forward for improving transboundary water interaction. These include: addressing the political context and historical grievances; building trust and reducing power asymmetry between riparian states; creating political will for cooperation; de-securitising water; taking a problemshed view; strengthening water sharing institutions; and moving beyond narratives of water scarcity and supply-side solutions.