As countries' populations and economies grow, conflicts over water are expected to be more frequent and serious. To avoid conflicts, it is necessary that countries cooperate over the use of transboundary waters. That is why MOLDE financed the ebook version of this fine research.
The main focus of the research is to assess how the main three characteristics of water (finite, vital, and fugitive), as defined by Savenije (2002) and Van Der Zaag (2009), impact transboundary cooperation or conflicts. Each characteristic is associated with a specific cooperative dimension of water: economic, spatial, and/or temporal.
A framework of analysis is developed in order to understand transboundary conflict and cooperation. The economic dimension explores how countries can enhance their economic benefits through transboundary water cooperation. The spatial dimension examines how power relations and asymmetries influence water allocation regimes and the country’s bargaining positions during transboundary negotiations. The temporal dimension deals with the influence of water availability and variability on political uncertainties that may impact the signing of a transboundary agreement.
To test this framework the case of defining a minimum flow regime for the Pomarão section of the Lower Guadiana was analyzed. The developed framework allows a better understanding of the problems regarding the countries’ bargaining positions, uncertainties in water availability and variability, and possible trades offs. It also showed how each dimension may interact with the others and how the dimension may or may not enhance a cooperation agreement. However, the framework could not capture the importance of political willingness and leadership during the negotiation process over the Pomarão section.
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