How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing Disputes

There are more than 260 transboundary rivers in the world, which are sometimes the cause of conflict. Therefore, management of these rivers is important not only for the economy but also for harmony and peace. Various methods are followed to resolve water-sharing disputes. A systematic review was ca...

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Main Authors: Mohammad A. Hossen, Jeff Connor, Faisal Ahammed
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-07-01
Series:Water
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/14/2630
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author Mohammad A. Hossen
Jeff Connor
Faisal Ahammed
author_facet Mohammad A. Hossen
Jeff Connor
Faisal Ahammed
author_sort Mohammad A. Hossen
collection DOAJ
description There are more than 260 transboundary rivers in the world, which are sometimes the cause of conflict. Therefore, management of these rivers is important not only for the economy but also for harmony and peace. Various methods are followed to resolve water-sharing disputes. A systematic review was carried out to determine how water disputes are resolved. It was found that cooperation, mediation, perfect river basin organisation, a proper monitoring system, information exchange, and benefit-sharing are the keys to success. On the other hand, non-cooperation, disregard of international water laws, water hegemony, imbalance of military power, and the absence of a proper institution, mediator, or benefit-sharing approach are the causes for failure of transboundary river management. This study also summarised the evaluation report of the river basin management and diagnosed whether the riparian countries are successful in conflict management, diagnosing 53% of the river basins as successful, 35% as unsuccessful, and 12% as neutral (neither successful nor unsuccessful). This result indicates that there is dissatisfaction with 35% transboundary rivers of the world. It was also revealed that the most frequently identified mode for resolving water conflict is benefit-sharing.
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spelling doaj.art-d81851ef69df47bca5bc2a7102847cc32023-11-18T21:48:02ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-07-011514263010.3390/w15142630How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing DisputesMohammad A. Hossen0Jeff Connor1Faisal Ahammed2Water Economics, UniSA Business, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaWater Economics, UniSA Business, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5000, AustraliaUniSA STEM, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, AustraliaThere are more than 260 transboundary rivers in the world, which are sometimes the cause of conflict. Therefore, management of these rivers is important not only for the economy but also for harmony and peace. Various methods are followed to resolve water-sharing disputes. A systematic review was carried out to determine how water disputes are resolved. It was found that cooperation, mediation, perfect river basin organisation, a proper monitoring system, information exchange, and benefit-sharing are the keys to success. On the other hand, non-cooperation, disregard of international water laws, water hegemony, imbalance of military power, and the absence of a proper institution, mediator, or benefit-sharing approach are the causes for failure of transboundary river management. This study also summarised the evaluation report of the river basin management and diagnosed whether the riparian countries are successful in conflict management, diagnosing 53% of the river basins as successful, 35% as unsuccessful, and 12% as neutral (neither successful nor unsuccessful). This result indicates that there is dissatisfaction with 35% transboundary rivers of the world. It was also revealed that the most frequently identified mode for resolving water conflict is benefit-sharing.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/14/2630transboundary river water disputeresolvecooperationmediationriver basin organisationbenefit-sharing
spellingShingle Mohammad A. Hossen
Jeff Connor
Faisal Ahammed
How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing Disputes
Water
transboundary river water dispute
resolve
cooperation
mediation
river basin organisation
benefit-sharing
title How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing Disputes
title_full How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing Disputes
title_fullStr How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing Disputes
title_full_unstemmed How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing Disputes
title_short How to Resolve Transboundary River Water Sharing Disputes
title_sort how to resolve transboundary river water sharing disputes
topic transboundary river water dispute
resolve
cooperation
mediation
river basin organisation
benefit-sharing
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/14/2630
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