The lack of coordination poses potential risks to individual nations that depend upon access to and passage through other parts of the waterway system. Resolving these institutional issues could make the HPP a more effective way of getting South American exports to market. In the Amazon basin, Brazilian policy with regard to private and foreign investment might provide a model for other nations seeking to increase funding for inland waterway development and operations. However, it may also make it harder to develop a consensus around national priorities, as rapid industrialization and an expanded number of interested stakeholders may create substantial conflicts between government, state, and local/indigenous interests
3.2 Europe European rivers, waterways, and canals have been important to European commerce for centuries. Europe has several large rivers that serve as freight corridors, including the Rhine, Elbe, Danube, Volga, and Dnieper Rivers, and many connecting canals that increase their usefulness. This case study focuses on two of the busiest rivers in Europe, the Rhine and Danube, and their connecting canal that uses a portion of the Elbe River. The European Union (EU) and its member states invest in inland waterways with the goal of enhancing competitiveness and providing high-capacity, low-cost, and sustainable transportation. Figure 8 shows how European states utilize the RhineDanube River, the largest river and canal system in the EU, for goods movement to and from the continent’s interior.
Waterborne Competitiveness
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