Transboundary Waters and Ecosystems: Opportunities for improved cooperative governance Hydro Nation Scholar: Juan C. Sanchez a Supervisors: Dr. Alistair Rieu-Clarkea and Dr. Francesco Sindico b a UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, b University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, UK
University of Dundee, Scotland, UK
Research Objective
Background •
There are over 279 transboundary river basins1 (TBR) in the world – only 40% of them have a cooperative agreement2
•
Agreements are our ‘preferred tools’ to frame cooperation3 and protection of shared ecosystems
•
Freshwater ecosystems are argued to be among the most degraded ecosystems in the world4
•
Little evidence to support that freshwater ecosystems are in ‘better shape’ where legal and institutional arrangements are in place
• To better understand the relationship between legal and institutional arrangements for transboundary basin governance and the state of the ecosystems
Research Question • How do transboundary river basin treaty regimes ‘make a difference’ in the sustainable management and conservation of freshwater ecosystems?
Methods Variable selection and preliminay analysis
D Process and Model evaluation
Scenario definition
Sc. +Figure 1: International River Basins of the world
Sc. ++
Focus on three-interrelated problems •
Problem of Fit: To what extend International Water Law ‘accommodates an ‘ecosystems’ approach
•
Problem of Fragmentation: How does International Water Law should deal with horizontal and vertical fragmentation in order to protect shared water ecosystems
•
Problem of Regime Design: What elements can be improved for recovering degraded freshwater ecosystems in the world
Case Studies
Sc. --
Validation of results
Drafting of improvement strategies
Case Study 1
Case Study 2
Case Study 1. Sixaola River Basin
•
Shared between Costa Rica and Panama
• • •
Drainage basin area of 2,848 km2.
•
Objective: ‘integrated management… conservation of natural resources and biodiversity’
Est. population 34 000 inhabitants Cooperation agreement: 1995 / creation of joint commission: 2011
Case Study 2. Lake Titicaca Basin
• • • • •
Shared between Peru and Bolivia
Figure 2: Sixaola River Basin Source: www.iucn.org
Drainage basin area 143,900 Km2. Est. population 2.7 million inhabitants Cooperation Agreement: 1993 creation of Lake Titicaca Authority Objective: ‘sustainable development’
Figure 3: Lake Titicaca River Basin Source:
www.unesco.org
Sc. -+
Focus Group
Drafting results against the Effectiveness Assessment Model