Editorial

8 pages, 232 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Damming Disputes: Conflict Prevention in Water Management

by David Katz and Nidhi Nagabhatla

Water 2023, 15(13), 2476; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15132476 - 06 Jul 2023

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Water has a unique combination of qualities that contributes to the many conflicts with respect to its control and use [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

Research

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24 pages, 3656 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Options and Strategies for Planning Water and Climate Security in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

by Amal Sarsour and Nidhi Nagabhatla

Water 2022, 14(21), 3418; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14213418 - 27 Oct 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4098

Abstract

(1) Background: Water security is at the front and center of climate change, human security, and sustainable development in regions and communities with competing water usage contexts, climate change effects, and cross-border water-sharing agreements, resulting in conflicts arising. Shared water agreements are affected [...] Read more.

(1) Background: Water security is at the front and center of climate change, human security, and sustainable development in regions and communities with competing water usage contexts, climate change effects, and cross-border water-sharing agreements, resulting in conflicts arising. Shared water agreements are affected by geopolitics, segregation, water availability, and access rights. Climate change can worsen water problems by changing precipitation trends or causing droughts. (2) Methods: Document and content analysis and primary and secondary data assessment were used to develop spatio-temporal patterns. In establishing a water security narrative for the region, the selection of SDG 6 (water) and SDG 13 (climate action) targets and indicators was also evaluated. UN-Water’s 2013 water security conceptual framework was used to examine water and climate security concerns and give a set of principles to assess gaps and fulfill needs toward a ‘water security future’ for communities and states in the region. Also, hydro-political perspectives in the region or state were evaluated using discourse analysis and guiding notes from emerging scholarship to support suggestions and prospective solutions toward mitigating water insecurity and risks from climate change and disasters, including resource (water) related conflicts. (3) Results: Hydro-hegemony keeps the water sector in one state under massive stress, and the lack of consensus-building for the regional water agenda continues to breed conflicts between communities and states. (4) Conclusions: We reiterate that the escalating water and climate crises will deepen, and at the national and local scale for OPT, the restrictions and geopolitical tensions about shared waters can render coping and adaptation mechanisms for people and stakeholders challenging. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

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13 pages, 1407 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Global Wetland Governance: Introducing the Transboundary Wetlands Database

by Zoe Hoffman Rosenblum and Susanne Schmeier

Water 2022, 14(19), 3077; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14193077 - 30 Sep 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3282

Abstract

The water governance discourse focuses on the use of water from rivers—and increasingly lakes and aquifers—for a variety of human uses, often in a competing manner. Largely missing from this discourse are wetlands. Despite an increased understanding of the benefits of wetlands, global [...] Read more.

The water governance discourse focuses on the use of water from rivers—and increasingly lakes and aquifers—for a variety of human uses, often in a competing manner. Largely missing from this discourse are wetlands. Despite an increased understanding of the benefits of wetlands, global wetland area continues to decrease. Particularly in international river basins, upstream water withdrawals are having negative impacts on wetlands, and the communities that rely on them downstream. Following the framework of transboundary water cooperation, the joint management of transboundary wetlands in the context of integrated basin management may prevent conflict and lead to further collaboration. As a first step to understand how wetlands may fit into water cooperation, this research employs spatial analysis and document analysis to identify transboundary wetlands and possible institutions to manage them, providing a basis for analyzing conflict and cooperation dynamics in them. The products of this research are a database and map of 300 transboundary wetlands, including the river basins (and, when applicable, the River Basin Organizations) they fall within. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

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23 pages, 331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Models and Mandates in Transboundary Waters: Institutional Mechanisms in Water Diplomacy

by Dané Smith and Kirsten Winterman

Water 2022, 14(17), 2662; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14172662 - 28 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2687

Abstract

The majority of existing institutional mechanisms center on geographical, basin-related and national political interests and needs. Few institutional mechanisms have emerged as model organizations that effectively advance resilient and equitable diplomatic commitment alongside more technically driven modalities of cooperation. Using the Four Frames [...] Read more.

The majority of existing institutional mechanisms center on geographical, basin-related and national political interests and needs. Few institutional mechanisms have emerged as model organizations that effectively advance resilient and equitable diplomatic commitment alongside more technically driven modalities of cooperation. Using the Four Frames of Cooperation Framework, this paper assesses three institutional mechanisms in transboundary water cooperation for their effectiveness in supporting transboundary water cooperation and transboundary water diplomacy toward positive peace processes. The results support the need for institutional mechanisms that govern transboundary water cooperation to promote resilient political as well as technical engagement to support water conflict prevention by advancing constructive transboundary water cooperation. Without advancing water diplomacy through institutional mechanisms that govern transboundary water cooperation, the resilience of the institutional mechanism risks becoming limited by a lack of political will. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

18 pages, 887 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Desalination and Transboundary Water Conflict and Cooperation: A Mixed-Method Empirical Approach

by Maureen Walschot and David Katz

Water 2022, 14(12), 1925; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14121925 - 15 Jun 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2448

Abstract

The impact of the adoption of desalination on relations between parties in transboundary settings is unclear. The previous literature has indicated that the effect of desalination on conflict and cooperation is an empirical matter. By reducing scarcity and variability, the adoption of desalination [...] Read more.

The impact of the adoption of desalination on relations between parties in transboundary settings is unclear. The previous literature has indicated that the effect of desalination on conflict and cooperation is an empirical matter. By reducing scarcity and variability, the adoption of desalination is likely to reduce the potential for conflict, though it may also create new conflicts, for instance, over water of marginal quality or over issues of equity. Its effect on cooperation is even more ambiguous, as it both offers parties more flexibility, which is likely to increase cooperation, but can be implemented unilaterally, which may reduce the need for cooperation. The little empirical work that has been published investigating these impacts has been largely based on anecdotal evidence or individual case studies. This paper presents a more systematic look at these impacts, using a mixed-method (quantitative and qualitative) analysis of interstate interactions before and after the adoption of large-scale seawater desalination. The results support the contention that while desalination has the potential to reduce conflict and increase cooperation, the impact of desalination on hydropolitics cannot be assumed a priori. Rather, it is largely context-dependent, and as such, it should not be viewed as a technological fix for transboundary water relations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

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16 pages, 3321 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Visibility of Citizen Participation and the Invisibility of Groundwater in Mexico

by Ojilve Ramón Medrano-Pérez, Luzma Fabiola Nava and Antonio Cáñez-Cota

Water 2022, 14(9), 1321; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14091321 - 19 Apr 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2665

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the social responses to protect and prevent conflict over groundwater resources. By means of a qualitative method and a study of the Valles Centrales and Valle de Mexicali aquifers in Mexico, we found that centralized [...] Read more.

The aim of this study is to assess the social responses to protect and prevent conflict over groundwater resources. By means of a qualitative method and a study of the Valles Centrales and Valle de Mexicali aquifers in Mexico, we found that centralized water management, citizens’ socio-environmental awareness, an asymmetry of power between stakeholders, an imposition of government policies, and economic interests are all contributory factors to emerging conflicts over groundwater. However, citizen participation has developed to provide organized individuals with an opportunity to influence public decisions through the recognition of their rights with respect to water inequalities. However, a limitation of the study is the illustration of conflictual events through the interpretation of qualitative data and of the opinions of the actors studied. However, the construction of hydrosocial territory in these aquifers is concretized in the potentiality and significance of citizen participation in promoting sustainable and socially responsible public groundwater policy at the regional level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

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15 pages, 346 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hydro Power Plants as Disputed Infrastructures in Latin America

by José Carlos Hernández-Gutiérrez, José Antonio Peña-Ramos and Victor I. Espinosa

Water 2022, 14(3), 277; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14030277 - 18 Jan 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1993

Abstract

Non-violent methods can strongly support achieving the 2030 Agenda of sustainable development goals, increasing energy efficiency and access in the poorest countries. However, hydroelectric power stations are disputed strategic elements in any region of the world. This paper analyzes, firstly, the role of [...] Read more.

Non-violent methods can strongly support achieving the 2030 Agenda of sustainable development goals, increasing energy efficiency and access in the poorest countries. However, hydroelectric power stations are disputed strategic elements in any region of the world. This paper analyzes, firstly, the role of hydroelectric power stations as elements that have been generating conflicts in Latin America in the period 1982–2018 and, secondly, the conflicts themselves. The results show that indigenous peoples face the most significant risks from constructing dams and, consequently, they are the primary opponents of hydroelectric projects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

25 pages, 1265 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a Social Impact Assessment for the Water Environment: A Professional Perspective

by Chia-Chi Lee, Kuo-Ching Huang, Shih-Yun Kuo, Chien-Ke Cheng, Ching-Pin Tung and Tzu-Ming Liu

Water 2021, 13(23), 3355; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233355 - 26 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3740

Abstract

Climate change and population growth are increasing the frequency of flooding and drought, resulting in conflict over water resources. Social impact assessments (SIA) of the allocation and management of water resources provide a way of reducing and resolving such conflicts. This article first [...] Read more.

Climate change and population growth are increasing the frequency of flooding and drought, resulting in conflict over water resources. Social impact assessments (SIA) of the allocation and management of water resources provide a way of reducing and resolving such conflicts. This article first explores the nature of SIA for water environments through an inductive analysis of the cases mentioned in more than 30 papers. Next, it identifies important advantages of SIA over integrated water resources management (IWRM) practices and indicates that while IWRM solves water-related issues to improve social well-being, it cannot entirely grasp the overall social impact of planned interventions. Following this, it analyzes the water environment governance structures in Taiwan, using questionnaire responses from water environment management professionals to discuss challenges of effectively implementing water environment SIA. The questionnaire covers 26 detailed tasks of SIA advocated by Vanclay et al. This research is the first to have evaluated the difficulty of the tasks. The survey results can be used as a reference for the implementation of SIA in other regions. The results show that (1) the water environment SIA is indeed necessary; (2) Taiwan’s water environment professionals need to improve from their current lack of understanding of SIA; (3) it is difficult to implement the water environment SIA; (4) it is necessary for SIA to clarify and integrate the authorities and responsibilities of relevant government departments; (5) the professionals believe the myth of quantification of SIA; and (6) water environment SIA must be integrated with the existing IWRM. Finally, we emphasize the need to integrate SIA and IWRM in a mutually complementary way, and illuminate the need for an integrated SIA framework for water environment management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

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22 pages, 3447 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Common Pool Resource Heatmap: A Tool to Drive Changes in Water Law and Governance

by Jacqui Robertson

Water 2021, 13(21), 3110; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13213110 - 04 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2581

Abstract

Anticipated water-related impacts of climate change heighten the need for tools supporting proactive efforts to address current and future conflicts involving water. Analysing a regulatory framework for a water resource using Ostrom’s (1990) Common Pool Resource (CPR) theory can assist in identifying regulatory [...] Read more.

Anticipated water-related impacts of climate change heighten the need for tools supporting proactive efforts to address current and future conflicts involving water. Analysing a regulatory framework for a water resource using Ostrom’s (1990) Common Pool Resource (CPR) theory can assist in identifying regulatory weaknesses that may contribute to deterioration of the resource and conflicts between resource users. Equally, adopting adaptive management to transform the regulatory context can also have positive effects. However, if incentives drive resource extractor behaviours, a tool to communicate these initiatives with stakeholders, including state actors, could assist. This article presents the ‘CPR heat map’ to assist with efforts to drive changes in water governance. An example of the CPR heatmap is presented involving the governance of groundwater in the Surat Cumulative Management Area, Queensland, Australia. This example shows how perceived weaknesses and strengths of the governance framework can be illustrated. It also shows how initiatives that are transforming water governance can be presented to drive social learning. The CPR heat map illustrates the collective nature of the resource system and how to potentially resolve and manage water-related conflict. This research has implications for how we approach conflict involving water and may be also relevant for managing other CPRs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Conflict Prevention)

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