Measuring Transboundary Water Cooperation

Water cooperation has received prominent focus in the post-2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While proposals for measuring water cooperation appear to be converging toward a small set of indicators, the degree to which these proposed indicators draw on past work is unclear. This paper mines relevant past work to generate guidance for monitoring the proposed SDG target related to transboundary water cooperation. Potential measures of water cooperation were identified, filtered and applied in three countries (Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe). Six indicators were ultimately determined as being suitable for measuring water cooperation. As the SDG process turns its focus to the selection of indicators, the indicators proposed in this paper may merit consideration

This book establishes a framework for defining transboundary water cooperation and a methodology for evaluating its effectiveness, which will contribute to more effective and therefore successful cooperation processes. With the increasing focus on transboundary cooperation as a part of the Sustainable Development Goal Framework, there is global recognition of transboundary water cooperation as a tool for improved governance and management of transboundary surface and groundwaters. However, there is not an agreed upon definition of transboundary water cooperation in the literature or in practice. This book develops the Four Frames of Transboundary Water Cooperation, which is a neutral modular framework for developing context-specific explanatory definitions of transboundary water cooperation in basins and aquifers. The Four Frames of Cooperation are legal, institutional, relational, and outcome. However, we need to move beyond defining cooperation to understand better measures of the quality and effectiveness of cooperative processes. The Weighted Model of Effective Cooperation presents a first step in qualitatively evaluating the effectiveness of transboundary water cooperation. This model defines effective transboundary water cooperation and operationalizes a method to evaluate the effectiveness of cooperative processes over internationally shared waters. Effective cooperation emphasizes the relational and outcome frames of cooperation while working towards equitability and sustainability. Together, the Four Frames of Cooperation and the Weighted Model of Effective Cooperation will improve the understanding of cooperation and encourage a detailed evaluation of the quality, success, and effectiveness of cooperative processes. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of water resource management, water governance, and environmental politics. It will also appeal to policymakers and professionals working in the fields of water conflict, water diplomacy, and international cooperation.

The publication presents and analyses the findings of the first pilot reporting exercise under the Water Convention, which was carried out in 2017. Progress made in the implementation of the Convention is reviewed and summarised, together with the identification of significant trends, success, challenges and opportunities concerning transboundary water cooperation. The reporting mechanism under the Convention was formally adopted (decision VII/2) by the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention at its seventh session (Budapest, 17-19 November 2015).

This publication is the main output of the "Transboundary Water Cooperation in the Newly Independent States" project. It aims to define the status, trends and further needs with regard to transboundary water cooperation in the Newly Independent States (NIS), and between NIS and their neighbours. The analysis and recommendations will provide a basis for future actions and projects for the development of cooperation in the NIS on transboundary waters, in particular within the work programme of the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) and the Strategic Partnership on Water for Sustainable Development.

China and its neighbours face a series of water security issues, in which international law plays a vital role. Paramount to both policymakers and researchers in the field of water law, the current status of transboundary water cooperation schemes and how these operate in China is of global significance. Grounded in international experience, this comprehensive volume provides readers with an up-to-date overview of current international transboundary water resource sharing policies and practices, including detailed case studies at both domestic and international levels. The authors discuss existing international laws, treaties, and principles that may stimulate transboundary water cooperation and dialogue, and then analyse a number of international experiences with treaties in North America, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. They take stock of China’s water resource issues, legal practices and options, examine case studies of China’s southern shared rivers, and explore some innovative approaches to cooperative management of shared waters within China. The articles in this book were originally published in the journal Water International.

The guide to reporting supports countries in reporting on transboundary water cooperation for the reporting on SDG indicator 6.5.2 and under the Water Convention. The primary aim of the guide is to enhance the quality of national reports, which will ultimately strengthen their usefulness in informing decision-making and policy-making processes related to transboundary water cooperation at the national, basin or aquifer, regional and global levels. More specifically, the guide explains how the reporting template for reporting might be completed. It clarifies key terminology and provides practical examples of how certain questions might be answered. In addition, the guide offers guidance on how to organize the reporting process and how to utilize reporting to maximize its impact. The guide is therefore designed as a practical document for government experts who have the responsibility for conducting the reporting process and completing the template. The guide to reporting was formally requested (decision VIII/3) by the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention at its eight session (Nur-Sultan, 10-12 October 2018).