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Advances in Water Management and Water Policy Research, 2nd Edition
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Advances in Water Management and Water Policy Research, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 August 2026 | Viewed by 1108

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Olcay Ünver

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Environmental & Resource Management Program, Fulton Schools of Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
Interests: water policy; water governance; water and food security; nature-based solutions; water cooperation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Complex and competitive interactions among actors drive policy-setting, decision-making, and policy implementation in water sectors. Apart from the impact of climate change, asymmetric power relations, limited availability of water resources, and socio-cultural and socio-economic imbalances impair the prospect of sustainable water governance in many parts of the world. However, global collaboration among political actors, academics, and activities could advance water policies in sustainable and comprehensive directions.

In addition to climate change, environmental management conditions also significantly impact the sustainability of water resources. Environmental damage in various parts of the world also affects policies and the sustainable management of water resources. Limited access to water resources in a sustainable manner will have a significant impact on economic sectors, including agriculture and plantations, forestry, fisheries, and sustainable community food security. One thing that is no less important is the need for sustainable environmental policies and management as a buffer for the future of water resources for human life around the world. This Special Issue aims to introduce some of these advances by addressing paradigmatic shifts in questions of privatization, public ownership, and common resource management; by investigating new and emerging forms of contentious water politics; and by fostering new ways of analyzing water policies. The contributions may deal with different scales and dimensions of water management and water policy, such as hydro-diplomacy, the political economy of the water sector, policies on water for food, water extractivism regimes, lawmaking on water, issues of WASH, and public health under conditions of the pandemic, and environmental justice themes connected to water.

Prof. Dr. Olcay Ünver
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • integrated water resources management (IWRM)
  • policy and governance
  • agenda-setting
  • public policy
  • maintenance and administration of water resource systems
  • WASH
  • water politics
  • hydro-diplomacy (water diplomacy)
  • groundwater governance
  • international water law
  • national environmental law and regulations

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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30 pages, 2665 KB  
Systematic Review
Nexus-Diplomacy Integration in Transboundary River Water Governance: A Systematic Review
by Yousef Khajavigodellou, Emilio F. Moran, Jiaguo Qi and Jiquan Chen
Water 2026, 18(9), 1034; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18091034 (registering DOI) - 27 Apr 2026
Abstract
Transboundary river basins (TRBs) sustain billions of livelihoods, yet they face enduring systemic challenges of cooperative water governance. Although collaborative governance models consistently yield acceptable outcomes, adversarial dynamics and zero-sum approaches continue to dominate transboundary water management. This systematic review synthesizes the peer-reviewed [...] Read more.
Transboundary river basins (TRBs) sustain billions of livelihoods, yet they face enduring systemic challenges of cooperative water governance. Although collaborative governance models consistently yield acceptable outcomes, adversarial dynamics and zero-sum approaches continue to dominate transboundary water management. This systematic review synthesizes the peer-reviewed literature (2000–2026) to evaluate how four major governance dimensions—and the cross-cutting integration of the water–energy–food (WEF) nexus—shape the effectiveness of water diplomacy in international basins. Socio-economic analysis reveals that benefit-sharing arrangements grounded in joint investment outperform zero-sum volumetric allocation, though implementation remains constrained by institutional fragmentation and governance lock-in. Power relations analysis demonstrates that material, institutional, knowledge-based, and narrative-framing asymmetries systematically define the range of achievable agreements and the reliability of cooperative commitments, with case analysis from the Nile, Mekong, Tigris–Euphrates, and Central Asian basins showing that comparable hydrological conditions yield divergent diplomatic outcomes depending on how power is distributed. Stakeholder engagement findings indicate that formal participatory mechanisms frequently produce symbolic rather than substantive inclusion, particularly where structural imbalances limit procedural access. Gender analysis provides that women’s inclusion improves agricultural productivity, water-use efficiency, and adaptive capacity—functioning as a governance variable with measurable system-performance effects rather than solely an equity objective. The WEF nexus operates as the integrative mechanism binding these dimensions, reframing diplomacy from volumetric allocation toward adaptive benefit arrangements that coordinate interdependent services across sectors. This review concludes that effective transboundary governance emerges from the concurrent integration of socio-economic benefit-sharing, power-responsive institutions, meaningful stakeholder participation, gender equity, and nexus-based coordination in global TRBs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Management and Water Policy Research, 2nd Edition)
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19 pages, 776 KB  
Opinion
Climate-Informed Water Allocation in Central Asia: Leveraging Decision Support System
by Jingshui Huang, Zakaria Bashiri and Markus Disse
Water 2026, 18(2), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18020161 - 8 Jan 2026
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 740
Abstract
As the impacts of climate change intensify, water resource conflicts are escalating globally, particularly in regions with uneven water distribution, such as Central Asia. Long-standing disputes over water allocation persist between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This paper aims to examine the conflicts and challenges [...] Read more.
As the impacts of climate change intensify, water resource conflicts are escalating globally, particularly in regions with uneven water distribution, such as Central Asia. Long-standing disputes over water allocation persist between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. This paper aims to examine the conflicts and challenges in water allocation between the two countries and explore the potential of Decision Support Systems (DSSs) as a viable solution. The paper begins by reviewing the historical evolution of water allocation in Central Asia, analyzing upstream–downstream disputes and notable cooperation efforts, with a focus on key water agreements. It then outlines the definitions, development, and classifications of DSSs in the context of water allocation and presents two illustrative case studies—the Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang, China, and the Nile River Basin in Africa. These cases demonstrate the applicability of DSSs in water-scarce regions with similar socio-ecological dynamics and complex multi-country, cross-sectoral water demands. Building on these insights, the paper analyzes the key challenges to implementing DSSs for transboundary water allocation in Central Asia, including limited data availability and sharing, insufficient technical capacity, chronic funding shortages, socio-political complexities, climate change impacts, and the inherent difficulty of modeling complex systems. In response, a set of targeted pragmatic recommendations is proposed. While acknowledging its limitations, the paper argues that establishing a structured, system-based decision-making framework—namely DSSs—can help stakeholders enhance climate-informed strategic planning and foster cooperation, ultimately contributing to more equitable and sustainable water resource allocation in the region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Water Management and Water Policy Research, 2nd Edition)
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