Monitoring of transboundary water cooperation: Review of Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 6.5.2 methodology

Abstract

Water is central to sustainable development; making transboundary cooperation among riparians a core aspect of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 6 on water and sanitation includes an indicator, SDG Indicator 6.5.2, to assess cooperation over transboundary waters by measuring the “Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation.” The definitions developed by the methodology for calculating the Indicator have the potential to significantly impact the resulting structure and type of cooperation that are assessed and that will develop. Indeed, the composition of this indicator will both directly and indirectly influence water diplomacy, international policy, and water law. In this research, we analyze the methodology for assessing SDG Indicator 6.5.2, examine how operational cooperative arrangements are defined, and identify the strengths and limitations of the method for measuring transboundary water cooperation. This is done by simulating the application of the methodology and calculating the Indicator in three national case studies (Bangladesh, Honduras, and Uganda) and in a global overview. The unequal distribution regionally of operational cooperation is evident, as well as the gap in coverage between transboundary surface waters and aquifers. However, the normative and binary nature of the Indicator obscures the political complexity of establishing cooperative processes and has the potential to present a false depiction of the extent of cooperation that is occurring over shared waters. In this article, we also discuss bias that can be introduced with using surface area as a metric to assess cooperation that results in weighting larger basins and aquifers over smaller basins in the calculation of the Indicator. This paper presents a basis for further analysis of SDG Indicator 6.5.2 and the possible adaptations of the Indicator design to better assess transboundary water cooperation.