International Cooperation + Water Conflicts Flashcards
What is the notion of scarcity and what two types of this exist? Elaborate
Water scarcity
- Anthropocentric
- Related to demand and supply of water
Paradox = Constant idea that subsaharan countries are water scarce, however it is not as there are no or little people needing water.
- distortive narrative
- But there is a problem of acces
This leads to the definition of two types of water scarcity:
- Economic water scarcity
Congo - economic, there is water but it aint going to the peeps - (bio)physical water scarcity
Israel - high demands of water and low availability
Definition of resilience
- ability to adapt to change, not the ability to maintain
Hydropolitical Resilience
- adapting to changes of the hydrological cycle with the linked political
Tegenover resilience is vulnerability
- when the change knocks you out
What factors strengthen resilience?
According to wolf (2007)
What is the difference between water conflicts and water wars? Give the definitions
Definition Water Basin
the area that contributes hydrologically (including both surface and groundwater) to a first order stream which is defined by its outlet to the ocean or to a terminal lake or inland sea
- synonymus for watershed (US), and catchment (UK)
International basin if any perennial tributary crosses the political boundaries of two or more nations
Definitions of Equality of Right, Hydropolitical Resilience & Vulnerability
Equality of right
- defined in the 1975 Mekong Accord as equal rights to use water on the basis of each riparian’s economic and social need
- And not as equal shares
Water qua Water
- dealing solely with water issues, seperate from any other political or resource issues between countries
- Likely to fail
Hydropolitical resilience
- the complex human-environmental system’s ability to adapt to permutations and change within these systems
Hydropolitical vulnerability
- the risk of political dispute over shared water systems
RBO = river basin organization
Wtf is the Rio Earth Summit and when was this?
The International Conference on Water and the Environment ICWE was in preparation to this conference
Chapter 18 of this agreement is to ensure that the supply and quality of water is sufficient to meet both human and ecological needs world wide
What are according t one of the cooperation and conflict papers, the possible water sharing triggers, the core of water conflicts?
According to Wolf (2007), possible water sharing triggers are
1. Time lag
2. Water quality reduction
3. Conflicting core values
4. Timing and flow
5. Disaggregated decision making
According to Wolf (2007) at the core of all conficts lies hydropolitical resilience, which consists of the rate of change and the institutional capacity to adapt to this change
The likelihood of conflict rises as the rate of change within the basin exceeds te institutional capacity to absorb it
What are according to this same person, ways to improve resilience?
According to Wolf (2007) methods to increase resilience, is trough international agreements, creating a cooperative network that takes the following into account:
1. Clear boundaries
2. Detailed conflict resolution strategies
3. Equitable benefit distribution
4. Concrete mechanisms to enforce treaty provision
5. Adaptable management structure
Wat are the conclusions over conflicts about water resources?
Wolf (2007) draws 4 conclusions
1. Transboundary waters can cause conflicting interests and spark dialogue and learning possibilities
2. Succesfull international agreements go from right based > needs based > interests as it makes it more equitable
3. There is no really violent conflict but quantity and quality reduction > create internal instbailities > instability internationally
4. The biggest treat of the global water crisis is that alot of people lack access to clean water
Wh is the author of transformative analysis and what does this person want?
Zeitoun (2020)
He said, nice and all the governance arena but we need to go further than mere descriptive and normative studies, and actually change the status-quo which is characterized by inequalties and power dysbalances.
He therefore givers 3 premises for the transformative analysis
1. Particularities of transboundary waters shape the way it is contested
- multi-dimensional context specific and the result of institutional socio-economic resource and environment
- Water conflicts run silent due to food trade and power plays
- Hydrosocial thinking takes these factors into account
Then Zeitoun 2020 states what the benefits are of a transformative analysis
1. Usefull assessment of existing arrangements (descriptive)
2. Interpretation of strategies to deflect transformation
3. Identification of destructive coperation
4. Strategic classification of opportunities and transformation
A transformative analysis result from deep case studies and has limited applicability elsewhere
What is the political ecology of water conflicts?
Study of how power shapes the interaction of human and natural resources, focusing on power dysbalances and therefore environmental justice
