Abstract

The complexity of transboundary water management lies in the dynamics of competition and cooperation that arise from the interactions and feedback among variables, processes, actors and institutions that share a basin or aquifer. The nature of complexity is, however, contingent on a variety of contextual characteristics of the interactions as well as the natural characteristics of the basin. Given the complexity of transboundary (hereafter TB) water management and its contingent manifestations, it is important to understand the means of interaction that can equitably explore and distribute the benefits of the basin for the riparians as well as keep its availability sustainable for posterity. Among different frameworks, mediated negotiation has shown resilience to initiate, affect and sustain interaction among riparians even when they remain hostile to each other on other issues. This chapter identifies three enabling conditions that make transboundary negotiation effective in managing complex and prolonged water disputes. In advancing the argument the chapter also makes the point that resiliency of these three enabling conditions rests on operationalizing the values of equity and sustainability in contextspecific ways. For empirical illustration of the efficacy of these enabling conditions, the chapter draws upon the case analyses of negotiation that led to the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan and the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

Introduction: The Complexity of TransboundaryWater Management

Transboundary water management is complex because of the problems of water allocation in quantities, maintaining water quality and preserving the environment that spans many boundaries— political, social, jurisdictional, physical and ecological. Addressing this complex problem has remained a focal issue in the literature (Wolf 1999; Biswas 1992; Uitto and Duda 2002; Song and Whittington 2004; Dinar et al. 2007; Prescoli and Wolf 2010; Earle et al. 2010; Wolf 2010; Subramanian, Brown and Wolf 2012; Islam and Susskind 2013; Salman 2013; Dellapenna et al. 2013). The specific nature of the problem and, hence, the character of the disputes among the riparians will vary by basin context and the needs and capacities of the riparians. While scientific and engineering solutions are necessary to address the physical, chemical and ecological problems, organizational and political contexts are also integral to finding and sustaining adaptive solutions to disputes as they arise.