Reflecting on twenty years of international agreements concerning water governance: insights and key learning

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the research advanced in the journal, International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics that represents key insights into international agreements on water and their political, legal, economic and cross-disciplinary dimensions for water governance. The article analyses evidence and lessons learnt over the last twenty years to inform policy through a review of theoretical advances, innovations in principles and policy instruments, outcomes of problem-solving and knowledge gained regarding water agreements and associated institutions. Important international agreement principles of no significant harm and economic frames of water as a ‘commons’ advance equity and community of interest in relation to water. The studies on water, sanitation and hygiene point to the ways the role of the state can be advanced in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and in complex contexts of water scarcity and public private partnerships. Cross-disciplinary learnings substantiate the existence and utility of multiple water frames in legal arrangements and use of multiple policy instruments. Cross-disciplinary insights are significant in addressing equity, whether through the nascent development of water indicators or in advancing social learning. Water governance frameworks increasingly focus on adaptation by incorporating multiple stakeholders. These findings that advance equity and inclusivity are tempered by crucial lessons in our understanding of the very contested, power-laden nature of water governance that impact agency at multiple scales and policy coordination across sectors of water, food and energy.

Power research in adaptive water governance and beyond: a review

“…Hence, we consider AWG scholars well equipped to capitalize on the disciplinary diversity in theory and methodology present in power dynamics scholarship. Drawing on the approaches reviewed in our study holds the potential to build a nuanced understanding of the multi-dimensional and interlinked power dynamics that shape critical features of AWG like collaboration and learning , Pahl-Wostl et al 2013, Mirumachi and Hurlbert 2022, Shunglu et al 2022. Next to grasping power dynamics themselves, it will also be essential to understand how different types of power interlink and influence each other across physical scale, space, and time.…”

“…Though water governance approaches have been implemented to address many of these issues, they often remain ineffective, mismatched, or absent, exacerbating the global water crises. To understand why current governance approaches are not as effective as they need to be, we must evaluate the water governance systems and their underlying power dynamics so we can reveal barriers and intervention points for transformation (Pahl-Wostl et al 2013, Mirumachi and Hurlbert 2022, Shunglu et al 2022. Our research addresses this power gap in an effort to better equip water scholars for power-related water governance research that can identify root causes and locate suitable intervention points.…”

Scoping Review (SR) via Text Data Mining on Water Scarcity and Climate Change

“…Therefore, water scarcity is strongly related to economic growth [54] and governmental intervention for developing the infrastructure and a system as a whole in order to use water in compliance with sustainable development goals. This goal is becoming increasingly important [44].…”

“…The theme of water scarcity refers to the direct and indirect economic impacts on its availability for irrigation [42], the willingness to pay more an irrigation water supply [43] and the role of public institutions in "achieving sustainable development goals" [44]. In the aspect of agricultural production, there is a "growing demand and an inefficient management of water and related infrastructure" [45].…”

Comparison of individual and ensemble machine learning models for prediction of sulphate levels in untreated and treated Acid Mine Drainage

“…Water is a basic necessity that every living creature depends on (Westall & Brack, 2018 ). Access to clean water for drinking and sanitation purposes is a basic human right (Gleick, 1998 ) and its importance is further emphasised in its own dedicated United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 6 which works in tandem with all other SDGs since none of them can be achieved without the access to safe and adequate water (Mirumachi & Hurlbert, 2022 ).…”