Transboundary Hydro Governance

Download or read book Transboundary Hydro-Governance written by Jacques Ganoulis and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-06 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Attending water security is an important challenge and a major systemic risk humanity faces in the years to come. This is due to population increase, over-consumption of water, especially in agriculture, climate change and various forms of water pollution. The issue becomes more complicated in transboundary water catchments that cover almost half of the world’s land surface, with about 60% of global river flow and 40% of the world’s population. Also, in many parts of the planet, like Saharan Africa, population depends on groundwater resources located in transboundary aquifer systems. These facts illustrate the importance of the book's subject, which is the governance of transboundary waters, both surface and groundwater. The book is written by two distinguished scientists, who, having worked in various international institutions, like UNESCO, GEF, UNEP and at the European Commission, have both an extended expertise on how to bridge the gap between science and political decision-making, which is the main factor for an effective governance of water resources. What is new in the book is the integrated analysis of transboundary governance of both surface water and groundwater, as it occurs in reality. In current literature, groundwater is still often missing for the benefit of surface water or, on the contrary, it is treated separately from surface water. The most important feature of the book is to distinguish between the real and a "good" or an effective transboundary water governance and to provide practical tools, methodologies and examples for its implementation in the field. Published timely during 2018, the book will contribute to address successfully practical problems of governance of transboundary waters that represent a very important part of our precious fresh water resources.

Download or read book Transboundary Water Governance and International Actors in South Asia written by Paula Hanasz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-12 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Inclusive Development and Multilevel Transboundary Water Governance - The Kabul River written by Shakeel Hayat and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The four decades long ideological-based insurgencies and conflict in the Kabul River Basin (KRB) have seriously hampered the relations and foreign policies of both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Consequently, it restricts them to solve various bilateral issues including transboundary waters. This lack of cooperation over shared water resources is one of the barriers to achieve inclusive and sustainable development. Additionally, it has contributed to the prevailing anarchic situation where each country does what it wants. The absence of a formal water-sharing mechanism coupled with poor water management practices within both the riparian counties are resulting various flow and administration-related challenges. Moreover, these challenges are further exacerbated by regional changes in social, political, environmental and economic systems. The scholarly literature suggests that an analytical transboundary water governance framework is essential to address the challenges of water politicisation and securitisation, quality degradation and quantity reduction. Additionally, the literature rarely integrates (a) a multi-level approach, (b) an institutional approach (c) an inclusive development approach, or (d) accounts for the uses of different types of water and their varied ecosystem services for improved transboundary water governance. To enhance human wellbeing and achieve inclusive and sustainable development in the KRB this research indicates that it is essential to: (1) defrost frozen collaboration; (2) bypass border dispute; (3) use biodiversity and ecosystem services approach; (4) address existing and potential natural and anthropogenic challenges; (5) remove contradictions in the policy environment; (6) combat resource limits and dependence by promoting collaboration on long-term cost effective solutions; and (7) enhance knowledge and dialogue on inclusive development.

Download or read book Water as a Catalyst for Peace written by Ahmed Abukhater and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-09-05 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining international water allocation policies in different parts of the world, this book suggests that they can be used as a platform to induce cooperation over larger political issues, ultimately settling conflicts. The main premise is that water can and should be used as a catalyst for peace and cooperation rather than conflict. Evidence is provided to support this claim through detailed case studies from the Middle East and the Lesotho Highlands in Africa. These international cases – including bilateral water treaties and their development and formation process and aftermath – are analyzed to draw conclusions about the outcomes as well as the processes by which these outcomes are achieved. It is demonstrated that the perception of a particular treaty as being equitable and fair is mainly shaped by the negotiation process used to reach certain outcomes, rather than being determined mechanistically by the quantitative allocation of water to each party. The processes and perceptions leading to international water conflict resolutions are emphasized as key issues in advancing cooperation and robust implementation of international water treaties. The key messages of the book are therefore relevant to the geo-political and hydro-political aspects of water resources in the context of bilateral and multilateral conflicts, and the trans-boundary management of water resources, which contributes insights to political ecology, geo-politics, and environmental policy.

Download or read book European Water Law and Hydropolitics written by Gábor Baranyai and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-06-14 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides the first comprehensive assessment of the various issues faced by countries in the European Union, where progressing climate change and urbanization pose significant cooperative challenges in a large number of river basins. Conducting a thorough analysis of the intricate web of EU water governance, it reveals that the hydropolitical stability of the European Union is already at risk. Further, given the structural nature of the shortcomings in EU water policy—e.g. the rigidity of the EU’s founding treaties or the institutional complacency of the European Commission—the book argues that these risks are likely to turn into sources of prolonged conflict, unless EU decision-making bodies take steps to address the new hydrological realities early on.

Download or read book China's International Transboundary Rivers written by Lei Xie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-06 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China has forty major transboundary watercourses with neighbouring countries, and has frequently been accused of harming its downstream neighbours through its domestic water management policies, such as the construction of dams for hydropower. This book provides an understanding of water security in Asia by investigating how shared water resources affect China’s relationships with neighbouring countries in South, East, Southeast and Central Asia. Since China is an upstream state on most of its shared transboundary rivers, the country’s international water policy is at the core of Asia’s water security. These water disputes have had strong implications for China’s interstate relations, and also influenced its international water policy alongside domestic concerns over water resource management. This book investigates China’s policy responses to domestic water crises and examines China’s international water policy as well as its strategy in dealing with international cooperation. The authors describe the key elements of water diplomacy in Asia which demonstrate varying degrees of effectiveness of environmental agreements. It shows how China has established various institutional arrangements with neighbouring countries, primarily in the form of bilateral agreements over hydrological data exchange. Detailed case studies are included of the Mekong, Brahmaputra, Ili and Amur rivers.

Download or read book Transboundary Water Resources Management written by Jacques Ganoulis and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-09-13 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on an international symposium addressing a key issue in global development, this reference includes both the latest methodologies for and practical examples of effective management of transboundary water resources. Its multidisciplinary approach combines hydrology and environmental science with economic and political approaches, in line with new UNESCO and EU recommendations, which have been formulated and implemented with the active involvement of all three editors. By providing a theoretical framework as well as abundant case studies from southern Europe, Africa, Asia and South America, this handbook provides hydrologists, geologists, engineers and decision-makers with all the knowledge they need for their daily work.