Short description:

This book presents a novel examination of transboundary water governance, drawing on global case studies and applying new theoretical approaches.

Long description:

This book presents a novel examination of transboundary water governance, drawing on global case studies and applying new theoretical approaches.

Excessive consumption and degradation of natural resources can either heighten the risks of conflicts or encourage cooperation within and among countries, and this is particularly pertinent to the governance of water. This book fills a lacuna by providing an interdisciplinary examination of transboundary water governance, presenting a range of novel and emerging theoretical approaches. Acknowledging that issues vary across different regions, the book provides a global view from South and Central America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, with the case studies offering civil society and public managers concrete situations that indicate difficulties and successes in water sharing between bordering countries. The volume highlights the links between natural resources, political geography, international politics, and development, with chapters delving into the role of paradiplomacy, the challenges of climate change adaptation, and the interconnections between aquifers and international development. With rising demand for water in the face of climate change, this book aims to stimulate further theoretical, conceptual, and methodological debate in the field of transboundary water governance to ensure peaceful and fair access to shared water resources.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of water resource governance from a wide variety of disciplines, including geography, international relations, global development, and law. It will also be of interest to professionals and policymakers working on natural resource governance and international cooperation.

Table of Contents:

Presentation: theories and tensions regarding transboundary water uses

Wagner Costa Ribeiro

Luis Paulo Batista da Silva

Isabella Battistello Espíndola

PART 1

Chapter 1 - Climate change, adaptation, and risk of conflict in international river basins: beyond the conventional wisdom

Ken Conca

Chapter 2 - Exploring hydroparadiplomacy

Jeroen Warner

Chapter 3 - Framing the transboundary waters: political scales, governance and cooperation 

 Luis Paulo Batista da Silva, Wagner Costa Ribeiro, Isabella Battistello Espíndola

PART 2

Chapter 4 - Beyond conflict and cooperation in Central American transboundary river basins: crossroads of actors and borders

Edith Kauffer

Chapter 5 - Southern African transboundary waters: non-state actors in the Inkomati-Usuthu water management area and the Okavango river basin

Richard Meissner

Chapter 6 - The politics of water in the case of Syria

Marwan Safar Jalani

Hussam Hussein

Chapter 7 - Discussions on water governance in the Paraguay (South America) and Tagus (luso-hispanic) river basins

Flávia Darre Barbosa

PART 3

Chapter 8 - U.S.-Mexico border groundwater environmental conservation: Mexico?s public policy analysis 1948-2022

Gonzalo Hatch Kuri

Yussef Ricardo Abud Russell

Chapter 9 - Saline water, peace and security: analyzing the impact of desalination on transboundary groundwater interactions in the Middle East

Maureen Walschot

Chapter 10 - A new pathway for managing the Guarani Aquifer System: the border as a unit of transboundary management

Maria Luísa Telarolli de Almeida Leite

Pilar Carolina Villar