The role of transboundary cooperation
Cooperation over transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers can generate multiple economic, social, environmental and political benefits that in turn deliver peace and prosperity at local, national, regional and global levels.
Water can bring countries together and promote peace and prosperity by providing common livelihood, development and cost-sharing opportunities that may exceed those generated by unilateral action.
International water law has developed principles and norms that provide the basis for transboundary water cooperation, which can avoid conflict and contribute to stability and peace. The two UN water conventions, the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses and the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, as well as the Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers represent the available instruments in this regard.
Unfortunately, only 32 out of the 153 countries sharing transboundary waters have at least 90% of their transboundary basin area covered by an operational arrangement for water cooperation.
With increasingly complex challenges over water access, quality and management and in order to prevent future conflicts, flexible arrangements adaptable to changing pressures will be crucial, particularly measures for climate change adaptation and mitigation, and inclusion of consultation and dispute settlement procedures.
An urgent need for transboundary agreements
Transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers account for 60% of the world’s freshwater flows. While approximately 40% of the world's population lives in transboundary river and lake basins, only a fifth of countries have cross border agreements to jointly manage these shared resources equitably.
can facilitate the peaceful resolution of water-related conflicts
Action examples
Women’s water use association in the Malaka Dam
In Yemen, the water of the Malaka Dam was primarily used by three neighbouring villages for irrigation and livestock, and was a subject of conflict for decades. In an attempt to halt the conflict, a tribal decree was put in place forbidding all use of the dam water. After that, a water use association (WUA) managed by women in the community, Al Malaka, took the lead in dispute resolution and peace negotiation surrounding the dam water usage. WUA members, with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), were able to negotiate the implementation of a piping system that would use gravity flow to send the Malaka Dam water to several groundwater wells in the area. This solution was innovative and effective in that it eliminated the need for direct use of the dam water, while it decreased evaporation and rejuvenated well water resources. The water has since been used peacefully for livestock and irrigation in the surrounding areas. This example highlights the need for community involvement and the inclusion of women in matters of water diplomacy in the Arab region.
shared by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, exemplifies a ‘best practice’ in transboundary cooperation
Post-war recovery: Benefits of transboundary cooperation in the Sava and Drina River basins
The collaborative management of the Sava River basin, shared by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia, exemplifies a ‘best practice’ in transboundary cooperation, resulting in an effective process of socio-economic recovery in the basin through post-conflict cooperation over water (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2019). The value of this cooperation is still evident today, as countries are jointly tackling emerging issues (notably climate change adaptation, including drought management) and strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation for sustainable planning and policy development, including in the Drina River sub-basin where most of the basin’s hydropower is concentrated.
The International Sava River Basin Commission (ISRBC) was established in 2002 with the mandate of implementing the Framework Agreement for the Sava River Basin (FASRB). Remarkably, this was the first regional agreement to be signed since the Dayton Peace Agreement ended the war in the former Yugoslavia. The restoration of inland navigation allowed the return of regional trade, strengthening economic integration across the countries and beyond, notably with the European Union. Rebuilding of bridges and ports throughout the basin accompanied the removal of war debris and mines, leading to the restoration of the local livelihoods, including agriculture and tourism.
In the context of increasing tensions between different major water users, such as agriculture and energy, a participatory assessment of the water–food–energy–ecosystems nexus under the Water Convention was carried out in the Sava (2014) and later in the Drina (2016–2022, through multiple projects) River basin areas. The aim of these assessments was to look for cross-sectoral solutions to increase resource use efficiency, capitalize on regional complementarities, and improve natural resource governance.
These efforts resulted, among others, in the quantification of the benefits of transboundary cooperation on hydropower and the elaboration of possible ways to operationalize flow regulation in the basin (also through the establishment of a dedicated expert group), as part of a ‘nexus roadmap’ for coordinating actions across sectors and countries. The roadmap aims to coherently guide policy-makers through the implementation of their sectoral and cross-sectoral strategic plans at the basin level (including notably through the Green Action Plan for the Western Balkans – GWP-Med, 2022 n.d.). Climate adaptation, sustainable renewable energy planning and sediment management are among the cross-sectoral activities included in the roadmap and also guide the “Sava and Drina Rivers Corridors Integrated Development Program”.
