Water scarcity, conflict resolution, and adaptive governance in federal transboundary river basins

Water is unevenly distributed globally. This uneven distribution is the reason behind the differences among geographical areas in terms of their water footprint of consumption and production. This gives the global trade of goods a unique feature. This characteristic of the water footprint might be used to address water scarcity and conflicts because water availability also has the same trend. Transboundary river basins are freshwater resources with a high probability of water scarcity and conflict because the water is claimed by multiple sovereign countries. In order to design sharing mechanisms for transboundary river basins that incorporate virtual water concept, it is key to identify the virtual water balance of country-basin units. A study addressing this research gap is not yet available. This article identified and discussed net virtual water importer and exporter sub-basins of transboundary rivers at a country-basin mesh based spatial resolution. The results of our study show that out of the 565 country-basin units surveyed in this article 391, 369, and 461 are net gray, green, and blue virtual water importers respectively. These sub-basins covers 58.37%, 47.52% and 57.52% of the total area covered by transboundary river basins and includes 0.65, 1.9, and around 2 billion people, respectively. The results depict that not only the water endowment of sub-basins is a determining factor for their water footprint of consumption and production, but also their social, economic, and demographic profiles. Furthermore, the water footprint of consumption and production within most of the country-basin units have a global feature. Hence, sustainable water management schemes within border-crossing basins should take into account not only the local but also the global water footprints of consumption and production. This can offer more options for sharing transboundary river basins water capital, thereby minimizing the probability of water scarcity and water conflicts.

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How downstream sub-basins depend on upstream inflows to avoid scarcity: typology and global analysis of transboundary rivers

10.5194/hess-2017-537 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hafsa Ahmed Munia ◽

Joseph Guillaume ◽

Naho Mirumachi ◽

Yoshihide Wada ◽

Kummu Matti

Keyword(s):

Water Use ◽

Water Scarcity ◽

Management Practices ◽

Global Analysis ◽

River Basins ◽

Transboundary Rivers ◽

Transboundary River ◽

Transboundary River Basins ◽

Different Types ◽

Local Water

Abstract. Countries sharing river basins are often dependent upon water originating outside their boundaries; meaning that without that upstream water, water scarcity may occur, with flow-on implications for water use and management. We develop a formalisation of this concept using water stress and shortage as indicators of water scarcity, and including both persistent and occasional scarcity. Dependency occurs if water from upstream is needed to avoid either persistent or occasional water scarcity. This can be diagnosed by comparing different types of water availability on which a sub-basin relies, starting with reliable local runoff (available even in a dry year), followed by less reliable local water (available in the wet year), reliable dry year inflows from possible upstream area, and finally less reliable wet year inflows from upstream. At the same time, possible upstream water withdrawals reduce available water downstream, influencing the latter two water availabilities. In this paper, we further present a typology describing how scarcity and dependency evolve in transboundary river basins, and use this typology for a global analysis of transboundary river basins at the scale of sub-basin areas (SBAs). Four groups of SBAs are identified that experience scarcity and dependency differently depending on their i) location in the basin, and ii) hydro-climate characteristics, specifically the level of reliable support provided by natural upstream inflows. Each group has its own set of transitions in scarcity and dependency category, driven by changes in local water demand and/or upstream withdrawals. Our results show that almost one billion people (33 % of the total transboundary population) live in SBAs that are dependent on upstream water to avoid stress because of their own water use, while 500 million people (17 % of the total transboundary population) live in SBAs dependent on upstream water to avoid possible shortage. The identification of groups and their transitions enables discussion of the pathways SBAs might take in future, potentially contributing to further refined analysis of inter and intrabasin hydro-political power relations and strategic planning of management practices in transboundary basins.

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Environmental Water Stress in Transboundary River Basins

10.29104/wins.l.0074.2018 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Tales Carvalho-Resende

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Surface Water ◽

Environmental Water ◽

River Basins ◽

Water Quantity ◽

Natural Flow Regime ◽

Transboundary River ◽

Transboundary River Basins ◽

Natural Flow ◽

Water Uses

The Environmental Water Stress in Transboundary River Basins indicator focuses on the water quantity aspect and considers hydrological alterations from monthly dynamics of the natural flow regime due to anthropogenic water uses and dam operations. For more information, visit: http://twap-rivers.org/ Basin Stress Surface water Transboundary

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Gestion des bassins hydrographiques transfrontaliers et institutionnalisation

Regions & Cohesion ◽

10.3167/reco.2014.040204 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 54-80 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lucile Medina

Keyword(s):

El Salvador ◽

River Basins ◽

Border Area ◽

Logical Approach ◽

Transboundary River ◽

Cross Border ◽

Shared Management ◽

Transboundary River Basins ◽

Transboundary Watersheds ◽

Del Rio

The Grupo Gestor Binacional de la Cuenca del Río Goascorán (GGBCG) was created in 2007 as an original initiative managing a shared basin in the Eastern part of El Salvador-Honduras boundary. In less than twenty years, the issue of confrontation in this border area has led to a logical approach to reconciliation and cooperation through shared management of the Río Goascorán basin. This article analyzes the ways in which the actors involved understand this cooperation. The initiative that is studied is part of a regional context that is of interest for the management of transboundary river basins. Several elements relevant to the analyzed case are addressed, including the difficulty of cross-border action and shared management, the turnover of the actors involved, and the forms of institutionalization on which the management of transboundary watersheds can be based. Spanish Este artículo se interesa en la conformación del Grupo de Gestión Binacional de la Cuenca del Río Goascorán (GGBCG) en el año 2007, como una iniciativa original de gestión de una cuenca compartida en la parte oriental de la frontera Honduras-El Salvador. El artículo muestra cómo en menos de veinte años, la problemática de enfrentamiento en este sector fronterizo dio lugar a una lógica de acercamiento y de cooperación por medio de la gestión compartida de la cuenca del Río Goascorán. También se analizan las formas en que los actores involucrados conciben la cooperación alrededor de la cuenca. El presente artículo resalta varios elementos de reflexión a través del caso analizado: la dificultad de la acción transfronteriza y de la gestión compartida; la renovación de los actores involucrados; así como las formas de institucionalización sobre las cuales puede basarse la gestión de cuencas transfronterizas que invitan a interrogarse sobre la conformación del GGBCG. French Cet article s'intéresse à la constitution depuis 2007 d'un Grupo Gestor Binacional de la Cuenca del Río Goascorán (GGBCG) comme initiative originale de gestion d'un bassin partagé sur la partie orientale de la frontière Honduras-El Salvador. L'article montre comment, en moins de vingt ans, la problématique d'affrontement sur ce secteur frontalier longtemps en litige a laissé la place à une logique de rapprochement et de coopération par le biais de la gestion partagée du bassin du Río Goascorán. Il analyse également les formes sous lesquelles les acteurs impliqués conçoivent la coopération autour du bassin. L'initiative étudiée s'inscrit dans un contexte régional d'intérêt pour la gestion des bassins hydrographiques transfrontaliers. Cet article met en lumière plusieurs éléments de réflexion à travers le cas analysé : la difficulté de l'action transfrontalière et de la gestion partagée ; le renouvellement des acteurs mobilisés ; les formes d'institutionnalisation sur lesquelles peut reposer la gestion de bassins transfrontaliers, que la création du GGBCG invite à interroger.

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