Water diplomacy as an approach to regional cooperation in South Asia: A case from the Brahmaputra basin

Barua, Anamika

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.09.056

Cited by 38 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Transboundary cooperation has numerous challenges, as the potential and incentive for each sovereign state to cooperate varies [11]. Cooperation requires an understanding to be formed of the diverse interests of stakeholders with respect to water resources, ensuring the sustainable development of a river or lake basin as a whole [14].…”

Section: Conceptual Discussion On Transboundary Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the river is the primary source for the basin communities, a majority of the communities are marginalized and live in poverty. Although the river basin has immense potential to reduce poverty, with opportunities for irrigation development, livelihood enhancement, and operations such as inland water navigation and hydropower development, they have not been well harnessed [11].…”

Section: Physical and Political Context Of The Brahmaputra Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each country does realize the potential the river provides for economic development, but the benefits are seen through localized and sectoral lenses, which trigger tension and disputes within, as well as between, the riparian countries. While the three riparian countries have not been able to harness the potential of the river together, India and Bhutan have been able to achieve some cooperation through the development of hydropower projects [11].…”

Section: Physical and Political Context Of The Brahmaputra Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…• Track 2: As defined by [10], "unofficial, informal interaction between members of adversary groups or nations, who can interact more freely than high-ranking officials, to develop strategies, to influence public opinion, and organize human and material resources in ways that might help resolve their conflict". • Track 3: People-to-people or grassroots-level diplomacy undertaken by individuals, civil society, and private groups to encourage interaction and understanding of communities' issues, and to generate awareness for empowerment within these communities [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Re-Interpreting Cooperation in Transboundary Waters: Bringing Experiences from the Brahmaputra Basin

Barua

Deka

Gulati

et al. 2019

Water

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Several studies have demonstrated the continuum of cooperation on transboundary rivers, but have largely focused on government to government (Track 1) cooperation and formal diplomacy. Formal arrangements like treaties, agreements, joint mechanisms, joint bodies, joint commissions (e.g., river basin organizations), etc., fall within the scope of transboundary waters cooperation. However, in some transboundary rivers, often due to political constraints, Track 1 cooperation might not be a feasible option. When governmental cooperation is a non-starter, effort and progress made outside the government domain through informal dialogues can play a significant role. It is therefore important to re-examine the definition of cooperation as it applies to international rivers, and potentially to broaden its scope. Such an examination raises important questions: What does international cooperation in this context actually mean? Is it formal (Track 1) cooperation related to sharing of water, data, and information only, or does it have a broader meaning? What, precisely, can be the entry point for such cooperation? Are informal transboundary dialogues and water diplomacy itself an entry point for cooperation on international rivers? This paper aimed to answer these critical questions drawing from the “Brahmaputra Dialogue” project initiated in 2013 under the South Asia Water Initiative (SAWI), which involved the four riparian countries of the Brahmaputra Basin. Several important focal points of cooperation emerged through this sustained dialogue, which went beyond sharing hydrological data or signing a basin-level treaty, broadening the definition of “cooperation”. The paper, bringing evidence from the dialogue, argues that the Brahmaputra Dialogue process has led to a broader understanding of cooperation among basin stakeholders, which could influence water resource management of the basin in the future.

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Section: Conceptual Discussion On Transboundary Cooperationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Physical and Political Context Of The Brahmaputra Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Physical and Political Context Of The Brahmaputra Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Re-Interpreting Cooperation in Transboundary Waters: Bringing Experiences from the Brahmaputra Basin

Barua

Deka

Gulati

et al. 2019

Water

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“…Thus, the scarcity or absence of hydrometric data in some regions is a fact that needs to be addressed. In Colombia, one of the major difficulties in estimating the water availability is the lack of information because there are few climatologic and meteorological stations [8,9]. In Mexico, the use of official data from hydrometric stations for different purposes, such as hydrological forecasting or water balance calculations, could face several problems: irregular distribution of the hydrometric stations throughout the territory, different observation periods, a drastic decrease in the number of stations over the last 30 years, and even gaps in data are observed [10,11].…”

Section: Lack Of Hydrometric Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Agricultural and Urban Infrastructure on River Basin Delineation and Surface Water Availability: Case of the Culiacan River Basin

et al. 2019

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River basin delineation can be inappropriate to determine surface water availability in a country, even if it is established by its water authority. This is because the effect of agricultural and urban infrastructure in runoff direction is ignored, and the anthropogenic changes in hydrography and topography features distort the runoff. This situation is really important because water rights are granted based on volumes that are not physically accessible. The existence of this problem is demonstrated through a case of study: the Culiacan River Basin in Mexico. To overcome such a situation, this study poses criteria to revise official river basin configurations and to delineate new river basins based on digital elevation models, vector files of agricultural infrastructure, and extensive field verification. Significant differences were noticed in surface water availability calculated under distinct river basin delineations.

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The Jamuna–Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh

et al. 2022

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Bangladesh is dominated by three great rivers -the Jamuna-Brahmaputra, Ganga and Meghna -that combine to feed sediment into one of the World's largest deltas in the Bay of Bengal (Figure 21.1). Bangladesh has been shaped by, and is dependent upon, its rivers, which provide fertile soils and a diverse flora and aquaculture but also bring significant flood hazard and risk to infrastructure for a large and growing population. Current anthropogenic stresses, in terms of changing climate, water diversions, pollution and sediment extraction, are posing new pressures to the river and its inhabitants (Best, 2019). The people of Bangladesh have adapted their lifestyle for centuries to live with river flooding -frequently moving their temporary bankside homes, planting on newly emergent river bars, and sometimes raising their homesteads above water level in flood periods (Paul, 1997). However, a growing population, coupled with the expansion of infrastructure and economic development, has resulted in an increase in the intensity of flood damage (FPCO, 1995;Paul, 1997; CPD, 2004). The lives of many millions of Bangladeshi citizens are reliant on these rivers, with up to 2.3 million people living on the riverine islands alone (Schmuk-Widmann, 2001). Bangladesh's rural economy relies upon annual 'normal' floods to bring moisture and fresh sediments to the floodplain soils (Paul, 1997): for instance, two of the three seasonal rice varieties (aus and aman) cannot survive without floodwater and the fish caught both on the floodplain during flood season and from the many floodplain ponds ('beels') provide the main source of protein for many rural populations (Chowdhury, 1994;Paul, 1997; de Graff, 2003;Shankar et al., 2004). However, the effect of 'abnormal' floods can be devastating and result in appreciable damage to crops and houses, severe bank erosion with consequent loss of homesteads, schools and land, and loss of human lives, livestock and fisheries (BDER, 2004;Shankar et al., 2004). For example, in the 1998 flood, over 70 % of the land area of Bangladesh was inundated, affecting 31 million people and 1 million homesteads (Chowdhury, 2000). The 1998 flood, which had an unusually long duration from July to September, claimed 918 human lives and was responsible for damaging 16 000 and 6000 km of roads and embankments, respectively, and affecting 6000 km 2 of standing crops (Chowdhury, 2000). In the 2004 floods, over 25 % of the population of Bangladesh, or 36 million people, was affected by the floods; 800 lives were lost; 952 000 houses were destroyed and 1.4 million badly damaged; 24 000 educational institutions were affected, including the destruction of 1200 primary schools; 2 million government and private tubewells were affected, and over 3 million latrines were damaged or washed away, this increasing the risks of diarrhoea, cholera and other waterborne diseases. Also, 1.1 million ha of rice crop was submerged and lost before it could be harvested, with 7 % of the yearly aus (early season) rice crop lost; 270 000 ha o...

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Water diplomacy as an approach to regional cooperation in South Asia: A case from the Brahmaputra basin

Cited by 38 publications

References 23 publications

Re-Interpreting Cooperation in Transboundary Waters: Bringing Experiences from the Brahmaputra Basin

Re-Interpreting Cooperation in Transboundary Waters: Bringing Experiences from the Brahmaputra Basin

Effect of Agricultural and Urban Infrastructure on River Basin Delineation and Surface Water Availability: Case of the Culiacan River Basin

The Jamuna–Brahmaputra River, Bangladesh

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