Legal aspects of sharing and management of transboundary waters in South Asia: preventing conflicts and promoting cooperation

Abstract

Historically, the development of cooperation among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan with respect to the Indus and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins, South Asia's major transboundary rivers, has been a cause of tension, apprehension and ongoing disputes. This paper draws attention to the hydro-politics on transference and allocation, along with the diverging positions and unique concerns of the riparians on bilateral, multilateral, national as well as regional fronts. While examining the official water discourses and the evolution of different international legal instruments applicable to the governance of water relations among the riparians, the paper also sketches the emerging concerns in their relationships, as well as their efforts to cooperate and collaborate to avert disputes and manage water sharing and governance.Key words water management; transboundary water resources; hydro-politics; conflict management; rivers; water-sharing treaties Aspects juridiques du partage et de la gestion des eaux transfrontalières en Asie du Sud: préven-tion des conflits et promotion de la coopération Résumé Historiquement, le développement de la coopération entre le Bangladesh, l'Inde, le Népal et le Pakistan à l'égard des bassins de l'Indus et du Gange-Brahmapoutre-Meghna, les principaux fleuves transfrontaliers d'Asie du Sud, a été une cause de tension, d'appréhension et de litiges toujours en cours. Cet article attire l'attention sur l'hydro-politique touchant au transfert et à l'allocation, ainsi qu'aux positions divergentes et aux préoccupa-tions particuliéres des riverains sur les fronts bilatéraux, multilatéraux, nationaux et régionaux. En examinant les discours officiels sur l'eau et l'évolution des différents instruments juridiques internationaux applicables à la gouvernance des relations entre les riverains, cet article esquisse également les nouvelles préoccupations dans leurs relations, ainsi que leurs efforts pour coopérer et collaborer dans le but d'éviter les conflits et de gérer le partage de l'eau et sa gouvernance.

Water crisis: From conflict to cooperation—an overview

“…Nevertheless, it is also important to note that transboundary waters also lead to potential collaboration between/among nations sharing them. Extensive details of the issues involved in the management of transboundary waters and the potential conflicts/cooperation between countries are available in Ohlsson (1995), Elhance (1999), Varis et al (2008) Earle et al (2010), Biswas (2011), Odom & Wolf (2011 and Uprety & Salman (2011), among others. It must be noted that management of transboundary waters is particularly problematic and challenging during extreme hydrological events, such as floods and droughts, and, therefore, the understandable concerns on the impacts of climate change on transboundary water management.…”

“…As for water conflicts, it is argued that transboundary (and other shared) waters, while no doubt leading to potential conflicts, also lead to potential cooperation between/among, and benefits to, the nations/states sharing them, depending upon the basin and the prevailing situation (e.g. Wolf, 1998;Elhance, 1999;Postel & Wolf, 2001;Salman & Uprety, 2002;Earle et al, 2010; see also Biswas, 2011;Uprety & Salman, 2011;Tortajada & Pobre, 2011, for some specific case studies from Asia). Indeed, there are even concerns that water is not necessarily the root cause of the so-called "water conflicts," but is sometimes simply used as a "weapon" to settle political and other ideological differences.…”

Climatic risks and impacts in South Asia: extremes of water scarcity and excess

“…A reduction in water availability from rivers, could cause conflict over access to this critical resource and thereby further threaten the water security of South Asia (Gautam 2012). In the context of declining quality and quantity of water supplies in the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basins, the increasing demand for water is already causing tensions over water sharing Uprety and Salman 2011). Uprety and Salman (2011) indicate that sharing and managing water resources in South Asia have become more complex due to the high vulnerability of the region to climate change.…”

“…In the context of declining quality and quantity of water supplies in the Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Basins, the increasing demand for water is already causing tensions over water sharing Uprety and Salman 2011). Uprety and Salman (2011) indicate that sharing and managing water resources in South Asia have become more complex due to the high vulnerability of the region to climate change. Based on the projections for water and food security presented above, it is likely that the risk of conflict over water resources may increase with the severity of the impacts.…”

The Water-Energy-Food Nexus and the Transboundary Context: Insights from Large Asian Rivers

“…While they provide a fairly good basis for transboundary governance of the Indus and Ganges basins, in practice the water related policy-making is overly nationalistic and integration of policies of nations and sectors has proven to be difficult [88]. The history of Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh is riddled with distrust and tensions [89], and China's absence from the transboundary treaties makes governance particularly difficult in the Brahmaputra basin.…”