Institutions and the Stability of Cooperative Arrangements under Scarcity and Variability

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomi Dinar ◽  
Ariel Dinar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Issue Linkage ◽  
Side Payments ◽  
Large N ◽  
The Stability

This chapter focuses on the role of institutions in facilitating treaty effectiveness. It discusses the importance of international agreements in promoting and sustaining cooperation. It considers treaty design to further reflect on the type of treaties, and the various mechanisms stipulated in these agreements, that contribute to treaty effectiveness by assuaging conflict in situations of water scarcity and increased variability. The chapter argues that the design of a treaty seems particularly relevant in regions where climate change and water variability could impact the ability of basin states to effectively manage shared water. The chapter demonstrates how various mechanisms such as different water allocation mechanisms, as well as additional stipulations, such as, side-payments, issue-linkage, benefit-sharing, adaptability, and information exchange, affect the performance of the treaty in the context of water scarcity and variability. These mechanisms are examined from an empirical and large-n perspective, assessing how treaties with such mechanisms fare compared to treaties devoid of these mechanisms.

Emerging Issues and Challenges in Transboundary Freshwater: The Role of Treaties and Treaty Design

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomi Dinar
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
National Development ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Political Conflict ◽  
Conflict And Cooperation ◽  
Emerging Issues ◽  
State Cooperation ◽  
Inter State

Freshwater’s transboundary nature (in the form of rivers, lakes, and underground aquifers) means that it ties countries (or riparians) in a web of interdependence. Combined with water scarcity and increased water variability, and the sheer necessity of water for survival and national development, these interdependencies may often lead to conflict. While such conflict is rarely violent in nature, political conflict over water is quite common as states diverge over how to share water or whether to develop a joint river for hydropower, say, or to use the water for agriculture. For the same reasons that water may be a source of conflict, it is also a source of cooperation. In fact, if the number of documented international agreements over shared water resources is any indication, then water’s cooperative history is a rich one. As the most important and accepted tools for formalizing inter-state cooperation, treaties have become the focus of research and analysis. While treaties do not necessarily guarantee cooperation, they do provide states with a platform for dealing with conflict as well as the means to create benefits for sustained cooperation. This also suggests that the way treaties are designed—in other words, what mechanisms and instruments are included in the agreement—is likewise relevant to analyzing conflict and cooperation.

7. Politics of climate change

2014 ◽  
pp. 114-135
Author(s):  
Mark Maslin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Kyoto Protocol ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Climate Change Negotiations ◽  
The Us ◽  
Accounting Rules ◽  
Kyoto Mechanisms

Climate change can only be solved by having binding international agreements to cut global greenhouse gas emissions. ‘Politics of climate change’ reviews the role of the UNFCC and the regular ‘Conference of the Parties’ (COPs) climate change negotiations beginning with the Kyoto Protocol, which was signed in 1997 by over 190 countries. Failures at COP15 in Copenhagen (2009) due to the introduction by the US and BASIC countries of voluntary pledges set back negotiations. COP18 in Doha (2012) reinstated the Kyoto mechanisms and accounting rules, and encouraged parties to review and, if possible, increase their commitments. It is hoped that a timetable for a binding climate agreement can be finalized at COP21 in Paris in 2015.

Conclusion

2019 ◽  
pp. 260-286
Author(s):  
Kate Purcell
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Legal Limits ◽  
State Practice ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Stability ◽  
State Rights ◽  
International Boundaries ◽  
Coastal Land

This Conclusion brings together the results of the preceding analyses in an account of the limited legal significance of geographical change for maritime jurisdiction. It considers some final instances of State practice that may appear to support the ambulatory thesis. It is demonstrated that while the relevant practice is not unlawful, it does not show that maritime limits must be adjusted in response to geographical change under international law. More broadly, geographical change, including climate-related change, does not threaten the ‘legal order of the seas and oceans’ in the manner that some recent commentary on the implications of climate change for maritime jurisdiction suggests. The existing law does not provide for ambulatory maritime limits or condition continuing entitlement to maritime space on geographical circumstances remaining unchanged. States wishing to retain established entitlement to maritime space and unilaterally established maritime limits in the event of coastal change are permitted to so, unless they no longer possess territorial sovereignty over coastal land (which also depends on whether they intend to give it up). International boundaries, including maritime boundaries, may be fixed or ambulatory, but unless there is clear evidence that an ambulatory boundary was intended, there will be a presumption that established boundaries will not shift with subsequent changes to either the coast or territorial sea baselines. The law was not developed in ignorance of the changeability of coastal geography but makes use of geography in ways that do not leave sovereignty, sovereign rights, or legal limits and boundaries vulnerable to the vicissitudes of nature. The role of geography in the law of the sea contributes to rather than undermines the stability of a spatial and functional division of State rights in the sea. In this regard, it is not necessary to amend the existing law in response to the impacts of climate-related change on the oceans and coasts; instead, it is important to better understand it.

Incentives to Cooperate

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomi Dinar ◽  
Ariel Dinar
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Benefit Sharing ◽  
Issue Linkage ◽  
Side Payments ◽  
Payoff Structure ◽  
Beneficial Outcome

This chapter assesses the mechanisms introduced in Chapter 4 by considering actual cases and evaluating how the mechanism or strategy used contributed to cooperation. In addition to mechanisms such as issue-linkage, side-payments and compensation as well as benefit-sharing, the chapter also examines foreign policy considerations and reciprocity as mechanisms or strategies for promoting cooperation. Mechanisms and strategies such as these aim to incentivize cooperation and shift the payoff structure so that it favors a mutually beneficial outcome.

scholarly journals Cell assemblies in the cortico-hippocampal-reuniens network during slow oscillations

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Angulo-Garcia ◽  
Maëva Ferraris ◽  
Antoine Ghestem ◽  
Lauriane Nallet-Khosrofian ◽  
Christophe Bernard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Nucleus Reuniens ◽  
Slow Oscillations ◽  
Neuronal Assemblies ◽  
Up States ◽  
Sequential Activation ◽  
The Stability

AbstractThe nucleus reuniens (NR) is an important anatomical and functional relay between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the hippocampus (HPC). Whether the NR controls neuronal assemblies, a hallmark of information exchange between the HPC and mPFC for memory transfer/consolidation, is not known. Using simultaneous LFP and unit recordings in NR, HPC and mPFC in rats during slow oscillations under anesthesia, we identified a reliable sequential activation of NR neurons at the beginning of UP states, which preceded mPFC ones. NR sequences were spatially organized, from dorsal to ventral NR. Chemical inactivation of the NR disrupted mPFC sequences at the onset of UP states as well as HPC sequences present during sharp-wave ripples. We conclude that the NR contributes to the coordination and stabilization of mPFC and HPC neuronal sequences during slow oscillations, possibly via the early activation of its own sequences.Significance StatementNeuronal assemblies are believed to be instrumental to code/encode/store information. They can be recorded in different brain regions, suggesting that widely distributed networks of networks are involved in such information processing. The prefrontal cortex, the hippocampus and the thalamic nucleus reuniens constitute a typical example of a complex network involved in memory consolidation. In this study, we show that spatially organized cells assemblies are recruited in the nucleus reuniens at the UP state onset during slow oscillations. Nucleus reuniens activity appears to be necessary to the stability of prefrontal cortex and hippocampal cell assembly formation during slow oscillations. This result further highlights the role of the Nucleus Reuniens as a functional hub for exchanging and processing memories.

Evidence

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomi Dinar ◽  
Ariel Dinar
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Benefit Transfer ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Demand Side ◽  
Income Transfer ◽  
Issue Linkage ◽  
Empirical Results ◽  
Side Payments ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter builds on the empirical results presented in Chapters 3 and 4 that consider the relationship between scarcity, variability and cooperation as well as treaty effectiveness. It also builds on Chapter 5, which examines various arrangements and principles (issue linkage, second-order resources strategies, supply-side solutions, demand-side solutions, income transfer—also regarded as ‘benefit transfer’ or ‘side-payments’—and inter-basin linkages) codified in treaties, by considering other arrangements not yet reviewed. Based on these arrangements and principles, the chapter assesses the effectiveness of a sampling of treaties from a handful of basins. The chapter also includes five case studies to infer the various ways riparian states negotiate treaties under conditions of scarcity and variability. The case studies demonstrate that there are a variety of arrangements developed to deal with water scarcity.

Managing domestic differences in international negotiations: the strategic use of internal side-payments

1992 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 793-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick W. Mayer
Keyword(s):  
National Interest ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
International Negotiations ◽  
Analytic Framework ◽  
Issue Linkage ◽  
Differential Effects ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Side Payments ◽  
Internal Side ◽  
National Perspective

When nations negotiate, often the toughest bargaining is not between nations but within them. The reason is simple: proposed international agreements, no matter how much in the “national interest,” inevitably have differential effects on factional concerns, threatening to make winners of some and losers of others. Potential losers often have the power to prevent agreements not to their liking, thereby limiting what is possible in international negotiations. This article uses a negotiation analytic framework to analyze the consequences of such limits. It argues that limits need not be a liability for a divided country—under some circumstances they may provide a bargaining advantage—and demonstrates circumstances under which intracountry differences are desirable and undesirable from a national perspective. More specifically, the article shows that the effect of domestic differences on international negotiations depends on the configuration of domestic interests, on the nature of domestic political processes, and on characteristics of the international bargain. It then explores a particular dimension of the domestic process: the ability to link issues which allow factions to make internal side-payments. It demonstrates that internal issue linkage can have profound effects on the external bargain and explores the strategic implications of side-payments for those who would manage domestic differences in international negotiations.

scholarly journals The Power of Social Networks: How the UNFCCC Secretariat Creates Momentum for Climate Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 106-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Kolleck ◽  
Mareike Well ◽  
Severin Sperzel ◽  
Helge Jörgens
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Communication Networks ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Social Network Theory ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Research Gap

Despite the relevance of education-specific negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the influential role of the secretariat therein, research in this area is still scarce. We contribute to closing this research gap by exploring how the UNFCCC secretariat becomes involved in and has latent influence on the education-specific debates surrounding global climate conferences and the related information exchange on Twitter. Our analysis extends previous findings by combining theories and methods in novel ways. Specifically, we apply social-network theory and derive data from participant observations and Twitter, which enables us to analyze the role and influence of the UNFCCC treaty secretariat within education-specific negotiations. We find that the secretariat increases its influence by strategically establishing links to actors beyond the negotiating parties and show that it occupies a central and influential position within the education-specific communication networks in UNFCCC negotiations.

scholarly journals An Overview of Water Markets in Southern Africa: An Option for Water Management in Times of Scarcity

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greenwell Matchaya ◽  
Luxon Nhamo ◽  
Sibusiso Nhlengethwa ◽  
Charles Nhemachena
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Imperfect Competition ◽  
Water Markets ◽  
Water Transfers ◽  
The Impact

Southern Africa faces acute water scarcity challenges due to drought recurrence, degradation of surface water resources, and the increasing demand of water from agriculture, which has to meet the growing food demands of an increasing population. These stressors require innovative solutions that ensure the sustainability of water resources, without which the consequences could be dire for a region exposed to a host of vulnerabilities, including climate change. This review outlines the role of water markets in water management in times of water scarcity, highlighting the drivers of water markets in southern Africa, such as water scarcity, transboundary nature of water resources, and their uneven distribution. The review further discusses the role of water markets in climate change adaptation. Related institutional and legal frameworks as well as water allocation mechanisms are explored, aiming at improving water markets governance. The impact of adaptation to new water regimes in the face of scarcity are assessed by considering characteristics of current markets as related to future opportunities. In a diverse region such as southern Africa with unevenly distributed water resources, advancing the concept of water markets could play an important role in mitigating water scarcity challenges and promoting regional integration through coordinated transboundary water transfers. The emergence of water markets in the region is influenced by the continued depletion of water resources, which is resulting in the adoption of innovative water marketing strategies, such as inter-farm sharing or farm joint venture systems and inter-basin and intra-basin water transfers. As the concept is new in the region, it still has challenges that include general market inefficiencies, high transaction costs, market information asymmetries, imperfect competition, and weak or absent robust institutional frameworks that can facilitate market development.

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