Regional energy trading—a new avenue for resolving a regional water dispute?

Abstract

The Coruh/Chorokhi river system is of great economic importance to both Turkey and Georgia because of its largely undeveloped but economically exploitable potential for hydropower. On both sides of the border a large number of hydropower projects are being implemented unilaterally in which private investors play the key role, following liberalisation of the energy sectors in Turkey and Georgia. This has been promoted in both countries, despite the resulting social and environmental costs, particularly in Turkey. Negative effects-i.e., the changes in sedimentation and the river flow regimes-moving from upstream interventions in Turkey to downstream Georgia-have still not been resolved, and they will put electricity generation in Georgia at risk when the hydroelectricity plants start operating. This article explores regional disputes and the degree of cooperation that exists, and analyses the effect that the efforts of relevant actors to establish regional electricity trading are having on the current problems. The creation of a regional electricity market seems to be opening up a new avenue for cooperation also on water.

Governing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus Related to Hydropower on Shared Rivers—The Role of Regional Organizations

“…Last but not least, the Ruzizi case shows that besides IRBOs, as usually argued in the literature, also regional energy organizations may play a role in nexus governance [see also Scheumann and Tigrek (2015) for the Coruh River shared by Georgia and Turkey]. While this paper has provided first insights into potential strengths and weaknesses of both types of organizations in nexus governance, this could still be studied more systematically.…”

“…However, the report also warns that the institutional set-up, mandate and capacity of IRBOs may vary considerably across basins, which may influence the ability of IRBOs for nexus governance. Furthermore, Scheumann and Tigrek (2015) put forward that in transboundary settings it may sometimes be easier for energy rather than for water sector institutions to resolve issues around hydropower. Hence, regional economic communities, regional energy organizations or possibly regional power pools may also play a role in nexus governance.…”

“…Some authors argue that in a transboundary context, regional basin organizations may be particularly well-positioned to govern nexus impacts due to their access to key actors in relevant sectors and across geographical scales (e.g., UNEP, 2014;Scheumann and Tigrek, 2015). We investigate these arguments by drawing on the literature on regime theory and the literature on benefit sharing in order to investigate the role of regional organizations in the transboundary governance of the waterenergy-food nexus (hereinafter "nexus governance") related to hydropower investments along international rivers.…”