Water resources management and dynamic changes in water politics in the transboundary river basins of Central Asia

The growing water crisis in Central Asia (CA) and the complex water politics over the region's transboundary rivers have attracted considerable attention; however, they are yet to be studied in depth. Here, we used the Gini coefficient, water political events, and social network analysis to assess the matching degree between water and socio-economic elements and analyze the dynamics of water politics in the transboundary river basins of CA. Results indicate that the mismatch between water and land resources is a precondition for conflict, with the average Gini coefficient between water and population, gross domestic product (GDP), and cropland measuring 0.19 (highly matched), 0.47 (relatively mismatched), and 0.61 (highly mismatched), respectively. Moreover, the Gini coefficient between water and cropland increased by 0.07 from 1997 to 2016, indicating an increasing mismatch. In general, a total of 591 water political events occurred in CA, with cooperation accounting for 89 % of all events. Water events have increased slightly over the past 70 years and shown three distinct stages, namely a stable period (1951–1991), a rapid increase and decline period (1991–2001), and a second stable period (2001–2018). Overall, water conflicts mainly occurred in summer and winter. Among the region's transboundary river basins, the Aral Sea basin experienced the strongest conflicts due to the competitive utilization of the Syr and Amu Darya rivers. Following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the density of water conflictive and cooperative networks in CA increased by 0.18 and 0.36, respectively. Uzbekistan has the highest degree centrality in the conflictive network (6), while Kazakhstan has the highest degree centrality in the cooperative network (15), indicating that these two countries are the most interconnected with other countries. Our findings suggest that improving the water and land allocation systems and strengthening the water cooperative networks among countries will contribute to the elimination of conflicts and promotion of cooperation in CA.

European environmental governance and the post-ecology perspective: a critical analysis of the Water Framework Directive

In the framework of critical geographies of the environment, this paper discusses European environmental governance and reflects on its policies, practices and discourses. In this context, we analyze the Water Framework Directive (WFD) as a key, ground-breaking policy aimed at reconfiguring European water governance by foregrounding principles of sustainability and participation. By adopting a political ecology approach and the post-ecology analytical perspective, this research analyzes the nature of the WFD with its aims of reconfiguring national water politics in terms of policies, mechanisms and discourses by reflecting on the contradictions and controversies surrounding the directive. Methodologically, the research uses a critical analysis and review of both theoretical and empirical academic literature and policy reports. The paper shows that political ecology, and the post-ecology perspective in particular, can be used to critically reflect on the WFD as a policy oriented towards technocratic governance and participatory arrangements that blur democratic political debate, marginalize conflicts and foster the politics of unsustainability.

Water Politics between Pakistan and India: An Analysis

Pakistan is blessed with rich natural resources in which water resources are the major ones. Yet the level of this important resource has been reached at an alarming level due to myriad factors such as misuse, mismanagement, and politics in water sectors at both levels national and international. The study is presenting an overview of the state of the Indus Water Treaty, Indus River Basin, and conflict between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT). The focus of the study is to reveal the hegemony of India on international waters and its relations with the outer world. Moreover, the research study has presented root causes of the water crisis, hydro politics in the South Asia region, the hegemony of India on international waters. Water management policies and co-operation mechanism is required between Pakistan and India to cope with the challenge of water shortage.

Water resources management and dynamic changes in water politics in the transboundary river basins of Central Asia

The growing water crisis in Central Asia (CA) and the complex water politics of the region's transboundary rivers are a hot topic for research, while the dynamic changes of water politics in CA have yet to be studied in depth. Based on the Gini coefficient, water political events and Social Network Analysis, we assess the matching degree between water and socio-economic elements in CA and analyse the dynamics of water politics in transboundary river basins. Results indicate that the uneven matching degree of water and land resources are the preconditions for conflicts, with the average Gini coefficient between water and population, GDP, and cropland measuring 0.19 (completely matched), 0.47 (reasonably matched) and 0.61 (completely mismatched). Moreover, the Gini coefficient between water and cropland increased by 0.07 over the past two decades, indicating a worsening degree. In general, a total of 591 water political events occurred in CA with cooperation accounting for 89 %. Water events have increased slightly (0.08/a) and shown three distinct stages: a stable period (1951–1991), a rapid increase and decline (1991–2000), and a second stable period (2000–2018). Overall, water conflicts mainly occurred in summer and winter, and the Aral Sea Basin experienced the strongest conflicts of the transboundary river basins due to the competitive utilization of the Syr and Amu Darya rivers. The density of water conflictive and cooperative networks in CA increased by 0.18 and 0.36 following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and Uzbekistan has highest degree centrality in conflictive network (6) while Kazakhstan has highest in cooperative network (15), indicating that they have more contact with others. The findings suggest that enhancing states' cooperation and trust and seeking support from international organizations will be helpful to eliminate conflicts and strengthen cooperation in CA.