The project aims to accelerate the existing partnership between academia and the policy institutions. It will produce a number of academic papers and a published book, entitled “Transboundary water management and the climate change debate”. This book will analyse the current status of the climate change discussions both globally and at the transboundary basin level.

Project Info

• Project team: Anders Jägerskog, Joakim Öjendal (SIWI Associate, Gothenburg University), Ashok Swain (Uppsala University), Stina Hansson (Gothenburg University)
• Partners: Uppsala University, Gothenburg University
• Funded by Sida
• Timeline: 2011 – 2013
• Links and resources:
  - Anton Earle, Ana Elisa Cascao, Anders Jagerskog, Ashok Swain, Joakim Ojendal, (forthcoming) “Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate”
  - Anders Jägerskog. (2011) “Climate change and land acquisition’s challenge transboundary water management“. New Routes, September 2011
  - Jägerskog, A., Cascao, A., Hårsmar, M. and Kim. K., (2012), “Land Acquisitions: How Will They Impact Transboundary Waters?“. Report Nr. 30, SIWI, Stockholm.
  - Ashok Swain, (2012) “Global Climate Change and Challenges for International River Agreements“, International Journal on Sustainable Society, vol. 4, nos _, 2012, pp. 72-87.
  - Ashok Swain (2012), “Politics or Development: Sharing of International Rivers in the South” in Joakim Öjendal, Stina Hansson, Stina; and Sofie Hellberg, Eds., Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed (New York: Springer, 2012).
  - Ashok Swain, (2011) “Challenges for Water Sharing in the Nile Basin: Changing Geo-Politics and Changing Climate“, Hydrological Science Journal, vol 56, no. 4. 2011, pp. 687-702.
  - Ashok Swain (2011), “South Asia, its Environment and Regional Institutions“, in Lorraine Elliott & Shaun Breslin eds., Comparative Environmental Regionalism (London: Routledge, 2011), pp. 76-91.
  - Ashok Swain, Ranjula Bali Swain, Anders Themnér and Florian Krampe (2011), Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflicts in Southern Africa, (Pretoria: Global Crisis Solutions, 2011).
  - Ashok Swain, Ranjula Bali Swain, Anders Themnér and Florian Krampe, “Zambezi Basin: A Risk Zone of Climate Change and Economic Vulnerability“, New Routes, no. 3, 2012, pp. 17-20.
  - Ashok Swain & Qazal Jamali, “The China Factor: New Challenges for Nile Basin Cooperation“, New Routes, no. 3, 2011, pp. 7-10.
  - Ashok Swain & Florian Krampe, “Transboundary Rivers and Climate Change: African and Asian Rivers“. Conflict Trends, vol. 2, 2011, pp: 16-21.
  - Öjendal, Joakim, Stina Hansson & Sofie Hellberg (eds.), 2012, Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed – The Case of the Lower Mekong Region, Springer, London.
  - Öjendal, Joakim, Stina Hansson (lead) & Sofie Hellberg,2012, ‘INTRO: Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed . The Case of the Lower Mekong Basin’, in Öjendal, Joakim, Stina Hansson & Sofie Hellberg (eds.), 2012, Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed. The Case of the Lower Mekong Region, Springer, London.
  - Öjendal, Joakim & Kurt Mørck Jensen, 2012, ‘Politics and Development of the Mekong River Basin – Transboundary dilemmas and participatory ambitions’, in Öjendal, Joakim, Stina Hansson & Sofie Hellberg (eds.), 2012, Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed – The Case of the Lower Mekong Region, Springer, London.
  - Öjendal, Joakim, Stina Hansson & Sofie Hellberg,2012, ‘CONCLUSION: Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed – The Case of the Lower Mekong Basin’, in Öjendal, Joakim, Stina Hansson & Sofie Hellberg (eds.), 2012, Politics and Development in a Transboundary Watershed – The Case of the Lower Mekong Region, Springer, London.

The SWP works to prevent conflict over shared waters by building trust and promoting cooperation. The key objective of the partnership is to establish a multi-stakeholder platform to increase political will and strengthen riparian country commitment to regional processes that advance cooperation in regions where water is, or may become, a source of conflict. Among others it will foster cooperation in ‘riskier’ environments where other organizations are less likely and not willing to operate and enhancing opportunities to learn, codify and exchange lessons in using water as a framework for multi-country cooperation.

Specifically, the SWP performs the following activities:

• Technical studies on the linkages between water resources and conflict and the benefits and costs of cooperation on shared waters.
• Facilitates shared strategic planning and donor-riparian dialogues.
• Holds high level government events, such as parliamentary conferences, to build multi-country awareness of shared water body issues.
• Supports processes to enable and finalize regional frameworks;
• Promotes regional data sharing and harmonization exercises.
• Promotes the development of shared water and environmental databases and analysis activities to enhance transparency, build participation and trust.
• Develops scenario modeling tools to allow regional parties to better understand transboundary waters in a broader context of peace, security and economic development.
• Builds capacity of transboundary water institutions in dispute resolution, public participation and management.

The SWP is a component of UNDP’s Transboundary Waters Programme and is implemented by the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI and the UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre.

Project Info

• Project team:  Anders Jägerskog, Anton Earle, Kyungmee Kim, Joakim Öjendal (SIWI Associate, Gothenburg University)
• Client and partner: UNDP-GEF
• Timeline: September 2011- February 2014
• Links: www.watergovernance.org/sharedwaters
• Resources:
  - Background paper by Anders Jägerskog on Transboundary Waters for the Ministerial Roundtable on Transboundary Waters: “Current Status of Cooperative Efforts on Transboundary Waters“, World Water Forum, Marseille, France, March 13, 2012.
  - Shared Waters Partnership Information Brochure
  - Anton Earle, Ana Elisa Cascao, Anders Jagerskog, Ashok Swain, Joakim Ojendal, (forthcoming) “Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate“

Contents and Authors of the Respective Chapters

• Foreword

• Contributors

1. Introduction: Setting the Scene for Transboundary Water Management Approaches
- Anton Earle, Stockholm International Water Institute
- Anders Jägerskog, Stockholm International Water Institute
- Joakim Öjendal, University of Gothenburg

Part I: Analytical Approaches to Transboundary Water Management

2. Why Negotiate? Asymmetric endowments and asymmetric power and the invisible nexus of water, trade and power that brings apparent water security
- Tony Allan, SOAS & Kings College, University of London, UK
- Naho Mirumachi, Kings College, University of London, UK

3. Power, Hegemony and Critical Hydropolitics
- Ana Cascão, SIWI
- Mark Zeitoun, University of East Anglia, UK

4. Getting Beyond the Environment-Conflict Trap: Benefit-Sharing in International River Basins
- Marwa Daoudy, University of Geneva, Switzerland

Part II: Transboundary Water Management Polity and Practice

5. International Water Law: concepts, evolution and development
- Owen McIntyre, University of Cork, Ireland

6. Aquifer Resources in a Transboundary Context: A Hidden Resource? – Enabling the Practitioner To ‘See It & Bank It’ for Good Use
- Shammy Puri and Willi Struckmeier, International Association of Hydrogeologists

7. Governance in Transboundary Basins – the Role of Stakeholders, Concepts and Approaches in International River Basins
- Nicole Kranz, Ecologic
- Erik Mostert, Delft University

8. Environmental Flows in Shared Watercourses: Review of Assessment Methods and Relevance in the Transboundary Setting
- Cate Brown, Southern Waters
- Jackie King, University of Cape Town

9. Managing Water Negotiations and Conflicts in Concept and in Practice
- Todd Jarvis and Aaron Wolf, Oregon State University

10. Identifying Business Models for Transboundary River Basin Institutions
- Jakob Granit, SIWI

Part III: Challenges and Opportunities

11. Sustainability of Transnational Water Agreements in the Face of Socio-Economic and Environmental Change
- Malin Falkenmark and Anders Jagerskog, SIWI

12. Enhanced Knowledge and Education Systems for Strengthening the Capacity of Transboundary Water Management
- Lena Salame and Pieter van der Zaag, UNESCO

13. Case studies of TWM Initiatives: 13 initiatives from various parts of the world
- Michael McWilliams

14. Towards a Conceptual Framework for Transboundary Water Management
- Anton Earle and Anders Jägerskog, SIWI
- Joakim Öjendal, University of Gothenburg

• Index

Click here for more information on this book.

Since 2010, SIWI and the partner organisations, Uppsala University and Gothenburg University, have organized seminars and workshops covering various topics such as the transboundary water cooperation, climate change, water security and international water law. As results, the network has generated new knowledge in the governance of transboundary waters by publishing academic papers, books and reports, and the researchers within the network have initiated new research projects on the transboundary water management. SIWI has contributed to generate new knowledge in transboundary water management and to provide the platform for the partners to connect.

Project Info

• Project team: Anders Jägerskog (network leader), Joakim Öjendal (SIWI Associate, Gothenburg University), Ashok Swain (Uppsala University)
• Funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond
• Partners:  Uppsala University, Gothenburg University
• Timeline:  2010-2012
• Links and resources:
  - Anton Earle, Ana Elisa Cascao, Anders Jagerskog, Ashok Swain, Joakim Ojendal, (forthcoming) “Transboundary Water Management and the Climate Change Debate”
  - Earle, A., Jägerskog, A. and Ojendal, J. (2010). Transboundary Water Management: Principles and Practice. London, Earthscan