Assessment of hydrodiplomacy effectiveness under climate change: The case study of the transboundary river basins of Greece

Abstract

Transboundary water management is a complex multidisciplinary thematic, with many of the factors involved to have a distinct tendency of exacerbation due to climate change. At the same time, hydrodiplomacy aims at securing cooperation at transboundary scale and fostering conflicts resolution among riparian countries. The research proposes a Hydrodiplomacy Index (HyDI) that integrates climate change and water diplomacy aspects as a qualitative tool for transboundary river basins’ management under climate change. The latter is considered as the a) volume and nature of climate change-related studies on surface cross-border waters, and b) climate change international agreements ratified by the riparian countries and the corresponding implementation progress. In terms of hydrodiplomacy, the features that are taken into consideration are the a) current ecological and chemical status of the transboundary waters, b) flood vulnerability of boundary areas, c) mankind pressures, d) socio-political tensions, e) bilateral agreements on water management, f) common legal frameworks, and g) outputs of the Sustainable Development Goals index for transboundary water management. The five transboundary river basins that Greece shares with neighbouring countries are the case study area, and the HyDI quantifies in which way climate change consists of a potential key-parameter for the management of transboundary waters.