Governance mechanisms to address flow variability in water treaties

Future bottlenecks in international river basins: where transboundary institutions, population growth and hydrological variability intersect

“…Briefly, hydrological hazard is categorized based on a combination of current variability and potential increased variability using the interannual coefficient of variation (CV) in runoff. This metric allows us to focus on the variability in flows rather than averages over time, as these extremes can present greater management challenges in a transboundary context (Cooley & Gleick, 2011;Drieschova, Giordano, & Fischhendler, 2008). Historical baselines of runoff variability were simulated by driving a hydrological model (CLIVAR) with historical climate data for .…”

Adaptation to climate change in international river basins in Africa: a review / Adaptation au changement climatique dans les bassins fluviaux internationaux en Afrique: une revue

“…Different institutional arrangements accompany these treaties. Some provide flexibility mechanisms or transboundary institutions that could assist adaptation, whilst others have conditions that may limit adaptation (Fischhendler, 2004;Drieschova et al, 2008;Kistin & Ashton, 2008). Some river basin institutions, for example the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Orange-Senqu River Basin Commission, have expanded their remit to include transboundary groundwater resources as well as surface water (Scheumann & Alker, 2009).…”

“…This is already an issue of concern in Mozambique, the downstream riparian in the Limpopo and Zambezi basins (Wirkus & Böge, 2006) and could become important in other river basins, such as the Volta (Andah et al, 2004), the Nile (Conway, 2005), and the Orange (Heyns et al, 2008). Basin-wide or bilateral agreements that allow for proportional allocation of water to different states or users are one possible solution to this problem (Lankford & Beale, 2007;Drieschova et al, 2008). It is possible that small-scale programmes of rainwater harvesting, which may be supported as adaptations (for example, through National Adaptation Plans of Action), if adopted on a very large scale, could have transboundary implications, as has been speculated for the Ethiopian Highlands in the Nile basin (Whittington, 1997).…”

“…An example of limitations to cooperation related to flexibility is provided by Fischhendler (2004), who finds that treaties often lack mechanisms to deal with climate variability and that this impedes the ability of treaties and institutions to manage a crisis, such as a drought situation. Drieschova et al (2008), in a review of 50 agreements for international river basins, find that there are trade-offs between flexibility in treaties and the enforceability of the agreements. Nevertheless, there are documented examples of cooperation that incorporates flexibility in response to water variability for African river basins, for example in the Nile basin (Conway, 2005) and the Orange basin (Kistin & Ashton, 2008).…”

Use of Satellite Information on Wetness and Temperature for Crop Yield Prediction and River Resource Planning

“…Moreover, water variability affects international political tensions (Adger et al 2005;Intelligence Community Assessment 2012). This may even occur in basins where mitigating institutions (like water treaties) have been negotiated (Drieschova et al 2008). In other words, uncertainty and lack of predictability in flow increases tensions between sectors within a society, as well as between riparian states (Ambec et al 2013), and the availability of water resources is central to CSA in many areas of the world.…”