Getting to the First Handshake: Enhancing Security by Initiating Cooperation in Transboundary River Basins

How does transboundary water cooperation begin at the initial stages, and how can third parties help to foster said cooperation? Many nations with transboundary waters do not cooperate or have ceased cooperation. Yet cooperation often prevails, resulting in 688 water-related treaties signed from 1820 to 2007. We address the following: by which practices can development partners best design and implement cooperative projects at the state level to enhance basin water security in the earliest stages? This article identifies strategies for initiating cooperation and lessons drawn from reviewing select cases. We compiled from the Oregon State University Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database all transboundary water resources projects over the last decade with multinational participation. We selected 10 case studies that enhance water security that fit the following filtering criteria: (1) Funding exclusively/primarily from outside sources, (2) Including nonofficial stakeholders in project design/implementation, (3) Absence of formal relations around water resources between or among the riparian nations before the project was discussed, (4) Project design possibly enhancing hydropolitical relations. Findings suggest that to enhance water security, project designs should respect participating riparians’ autonomies, create basin-wide networks of scientists, allow for each partner to garner responsibility for project activities, and consult a diverse group of stakeholders. (KEY TERMS: water cooperation; water security; hydropolitics; informal cooperation.) Petersen-Perlman, Jacob D. and Aaron T. Wolf, 2015. Getting to the First Handshake: Enhancing Security by Initiating Cooperation in Transboundary River Basins. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1-20. DOI: 10.1111/1752-1688.12348