Cooperation in transboundary river basins is challenged by the riparian countries' differing needs for water use. This is the case especially in Amu Darya Basin in Central Asia, where upstream Tajikistan is building the Rogun Hydropower Plant (RHP) to increase its energy security, while the downstream countries oppose the plant due to the feared negative impacts to their irrigated agriculture. Several experimental scenarios illustrate how the concept of benefit sharing could be used as a framework to investigate these water-energy-agriculture linkages in a transboundary context. Using a hydro-economic model, we investigate the economic benefits of various scenarios emphasizing agricultural and/or energy production, thus benefiting the riparian countries uniquely. Subsequently, we discuss how benefit-sharing arrangements with different forms of compensations could be used as a mechanism to facilitate transboundary cooperation. Our results indicate that several scenarios have a potential to increase the total energy-agriculture benefits in the basin. Yet, agreeing on the actual benefit-sharing mechanism between the countries poses special challenges as each may require countries to give up some of their anticipated maximum potential benefits. The presented scenarios provide a potential starting point for debates over benefit-sharing arrangements across countries needing to address the water-energy-agriculture nexus.
Restoration of degraded peatland has proven to be complex and many activities that have been initiated in recent years have not had a significant impacted on restoring peatland condition. Revitalization activities that have been carried out in several locations have not been effective. Likewise, rewetting actions were often poorly understood by the community. This research aimed to analyze land use-based peatland restoration opportunities and challenges in Kayu Labu village, South Sumatra. Survey methods and interviews with the stakeholders were applied to collect primary data in the field. The results showed that although Kayu Labu has been designated as one of the focus villages for restoration by the Peatland Restoration Agency, the restoration efforts to date have not significantly impacted on people’s lives. The community has not widely known the implementation of the programs, and only those who were directly involved in the activities were aware of the peatland restoration program. Several opportunities are available to support the implementation of land use-based peatland restoration in Kayu Labu: the community has a strong willingness and commitment to restore their peatlands because they have suffered badly from peatland fires in the past. The community also acknowledges the loss of their livelihoods due to peatland degradation, especially for purun craftsmen, gelam collectors, and fishers. There are also opportunities from government and research programs to be implemented in this area to support peatland restoration. However, there are still challenges that must be faced: the increasingly massive expansion of oil palm plantations by clearing the peatlands, the lack of knowledge about peatland, and there is a general feeling from the community that without peatland their lives would be better off because they could grow diverse crops with higher yields. Therefore, capacity building, communication and knowledge enhancement, and partnerships are needed for the success of land use-based peatland restoration in Kayu Labu.
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