International River Basins Research Articles

A catalogue of the flood forecasting practices in the Danube River Basin

AbstractFloods are one of the most devastating natural disasters that can cause large economic damage and endanger human lives. Flood forecasting is one of the flood risk mitigation measures serving to protect human lives and social estate. The Danube River Basin (DRB) is the world's most international river basin, flowing through the territory of 19 countries, covering more than 800,000 km2. The frequency of floods in the DRB increased in the last decades, urging the need for a more effective and harmonized regional and cross‐border cooperation in the field of flood forecasting. Reliable and comprehensive hydrologic data are the basis of flood forecasting. This paper provides an overview of the national flood forecasting systems in the DRB. Detailed information about meteorological and hydrological measurements, flood modelling, forecasting, and flood warnings is provided for 12 countries that cover almost 95% of the total DRB area. Notably, significant differences exist among the countries in terms of the measuring network density, the models used as well as forecasting and warnings methodology. These differences can be attributed to the geographical and climatological setting, political situation, historical forecasting development, etc. It can be seen that there is still much room left for improvements of measurement networks (e.g., density, measured parameters) and models used that could be improved to enhance the flood forecasting in the DRB.

Evolving together: transboundary water governance in the Colorado River Basin.

Transboundary collaboration between the United States (US) and Mexico in the Colorado River Basin has heightened in recent years, as climate change, population growth, and overallocation threaten the long-term stability of the region. Through a combination of document analysis and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, we examine patterns of change in the governance of the Colorado River, as the US and Mexico navigate socioeconomic, cultural, and political asymmetries to jointly share water over the past two decades. We ask: What key events and environmental agreements have influenced transboundary water governance in the Colorado River over the past 20 years? We draw on the rich scholarship on transboundary water governance, especially around international river basin organizations, to uncover patterns of engagement and collaboration over time. We focus on the binational scale with an eye to study governance at multiple scales including interactions and impacts at the national and subnational scales. Our findings illustrate how Mexico’s role has evolved from a narrow one following a strict interpretation of the 1944 Treaty toward a more creative partnership between the US and Mexico demonstrated in binational negotiations and the creation of joint solutions to emerging challenges around water conservation and ecological restoration. We find transboundary water governance in the basin is influenced by both long-term and short-term contextual changes that can inform strategies key actors employ to bolster institutional resilience and take advantage of opportunities for transformative change. Further, we find that the evolution of the binational relationship is reflected in changes in the negotiation process and structure, which highlights the importance of trust and relationship building, transparency, joint fact-finding, and information sharing to foster collaboration. However, we also find uneven institutionalization of stakeholder participation and transparency in engagement patterns that may ultimately, serve to hinder governance and cooperation in the basin.

The devil’s in the details: data exchange in transboundary waters

ABSTRACT Data exchange in transboundary waters is fundamental to advance cooperative water management. Nonetheless, the degree to which data are shared is not well understood. To gauge this degree, an assessment framework was developed and applied in 25 international river basins. The framework captures the degree to which a set of data parameters is exchanged among countries. A reasonable proportion of surveyed basins exchange some data, but the breadth of such exchange is often limited, and not regular. This paper highlights where data exchange can be improved and provides guidance on how indicators used in global assessment frameworks can motivate this improvement.

Assessment framework of actor strategies in international river basin management, the case of Deltarhine

The combined effects of socio-economic growth as well as climate change exert increasing pressure on international river basins and require dedicated cooperative efforts to jointly manage international rivers. Cooperative strategies drawn from scientific literature, empirical research and practitioner’s handbooks are explored and clustered into six key dimensions of goals, instruments, structures, actors, leadership and resources to provide an assessment tool of actor strategies for both scientists and practitioners. The exploratory framework is applied to Dutch–German cooperation in the delta of the Rhine catchment, testing its conceptual validity and applicability in international river basin management as well as providing policy recommendations for the study area. The assessment framework can serve as an instrument to inventory, map and evaluate the importance of specific actor strategies and to facilitate dialogue and cross-border cooperation between riparian countries. Alternatively, the framework can be put to use, for example by downstream countries, to assess and coordinate their range of strategies on the national, regional and local level in order to engage and influence their counterparts.

Addressing knowledge gaps for transboundary environmental governance

Knowledge is widely considered a key ingredient for the effective and sustainable governance of the environment. In transboundary settings – i.e., where political boundaries cross natural resource system boundaries – there are considerable barriers to knowledge production and use. Resulting knowledge gaps can be barriers to governance. This research examines three case studies in which international river basin organizations, tasked with facilitating cooperation in transboundary river basins, recognized and addressed knowledge gaps to support governance of shared waters. We synthesize across the three case studies to develop a typology of knowledge gaps and the strategies used to address those gaps. In identifying common types of knowledge gaps and the on-the-ground strategies used to fill them, this research provides an important framework for assessing and theorizing knowledge at the transboundary scale, as well as useful recommendations and examples for practitioners seeking to develop that knowledge.

Filling the Institutional Void? Exploring Governance, Conflict, and Cooperation in River Basins

Growing concerns over water scarcity around the globe suggest that countries need to manage water resources in a more effective and cooperative manner. At the same time, however, water scarcity increases the risk that countries sharing water basins engage in opportunistic behavior and conflict. In this dyadic study, we seek to shed new light on the emergence of water conflict and cooperation between countries by clarifying the role of treaties and specialized river basin organizations as two forms of institutional mechanisms governing their water interactions. Adopting an institutional voids perspective and using a unique longitudinal data set covering all interactions between countries located at the world’s 263 major international river basins, we show that contractual voids (i.e., underspecified treaties) and organizational voids (i.e., underdeveloped river basin organizations) are differently related to conflict and cooperation. Moreover, we find that these two voids interact in influencing the emergence of conflicts (but not cooperation). Overall, our study answers recent calls to conduct management research that contributes to a better understanding of how to broaden our sight in order to deal with societal “grand challenges.” We discuss implications for scholars, managers, and policymakers.

Signatures of recent pollution profiles in comparable central European rivers – Examples from the international River Basin District Meuse

Rivers are strongly influenced by humans. As the natural occurrence of trace elements (TEs) is controlled by the geological setting, elevated contents of TEs are caused by anthropogenic activities. TEs can be adsorbed at fine sediments and (re-)mobilized, transported and accumulated at the riverbed and as overbank deposits on the floodplains. Thus, rivers are the transition system for pollutants between their source areas and the depositional areas. To investigate the recent distribution of TEs related to different impact factors, suspendible riverbed sediments of three rivers with neighboring catchments (catchment size each ± 350 km2) within the International River Basin District Meuse (border triangle between Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany) were analyzed. The aim is to compare the variability of pollution profiles (longitudinal TE distribution of sediment samples along the river) of three rivers, that are representative for central European foothills to lowland rivers, with both similar natural settings and disparate human impact factors, and to identify and analyze the ‘fingerprint’ of each river. Hence, a characterization of the individual pollution characteristics of the rivers, with past and recent TE sources, is achieved, which is applicable to other rivers with a similar land use history.The suspendible riverbed sediments of all three rivers show high contents of Cr (71.3–846.7 mg kg−1), Ni (15.2–61.9 mg kg−1), Cu (10.7–357.8 mg kg−1), Zn (186.35–6,571 mg kg−1), As (3.05–25.25 mg kg−1), Cd (1.1–22.8 mg kg−1), Sn (0.325–36.1 mg kg−1), and Pb (16.6–1,116 mg kg−1). Most of the concentration values exceed European supraregional background levels. The three catchments are characterized by high geogenic background contents due to the occurrence of ore and coal deposits and urban sources. However, each river shows different characteristics, driven by the natural setting and the individual anthropogenic activities. The pollution profiles show heterogeneous patterns along the river, with both, increasing and decreasing TE values and pollution hotspots. The used sampling method after Lambert and Walling (1988) is very well suitable for comparable rivers with a heterogeneous riverbed composition and enables to analyze characteristics of longitudinal pollution profiles in different river catchments.The TEs contents of the suspendible riverbed sediments of the three catchments are anthropogenically elevated. While urbanization causes heterogeneous patterns and moderately elevated contents of TEs, concentrations caused by past exploitation and processing of ore and coal and other related industries exceed other possible pollution sources. Today, the historical pollution sources stored in the sediments still have a major impact on the river systems, while modern pollution sources contribute to a minor extent.

Wpływ oczyszczalni ścieków na redukcję zanieczyszczeń odprowadzanych w czeskiej części dorzecza Odry

Zanieczyszczenie wód powierzchniowych w całym dorzeczu Odry jest postrzegane jako poważny problem, na który znacząco wpływa niewystarczający stopień oczyszczania ścieków w zlewniach cząstkowych w stosunku do dostępnych najnowocześniejszych technologii i celów środowiskowych dyrektywy 2000/60/WE. Do określenia wpływu przemysłowych i komunalnych oczyszczalni ścieków na redukcję odprowadzanych zanieczyszczeń w czeskiej części międzynarodowego dorzecza Odry wykorzystano metodę oceny szarego śladu wodnego. W czeskiej części dorzecza Odry przeanalizowano dane z 391 oczyszczalni ścieków w latach 2004–2018. Uzyskane wyniki pokazują, że oczyszczalnie ścieków zmniejszają nawet o 92% szary ślad wodny, tj. ilość wody potrzebnej do rozcieńczenia zanieczyszczeń odprowadzanych do odbiornika w czeskiej części dorzecza Odry.

International river basin organizations, science, and hydrodiplomacy

As key venues for interaction and cooperation, international river basin organizations (IRBOs) are significant contributors to hydrodiplomacy in transboundary river basins. As part of their efforts to support hydrodiplomacy, IRBOs engage in the production and use of science. The manner in which that science is produced, and how it contributes to hydrodiplomacy, is not well understood. This paper examines the production and use of science by three IRBOs: the (US – Canada) International Joint Commission, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River, and the Mekong River Commission. We find the science produced by the IRBOs to support hydrodiplomacy extends beyond measuring and monitoring to include more advanced and analytical forms of science. In producing science, we observe that the IRBOs balance considerations of capacity, ownership, and how the politics of the basin will influence the production and use of the science. Given the challenge of balancing across these considerations, future research is needed to determine what mechanisms and processes for producing science can best facilitate its use in hydrodiplomacy.

Balancing competing interests in the Mekong River Basin via the operation of cascade hydropower reservoirs in China: Insights from system modeling

As one of the most important international rivers in Asia, the Mekong River is famous for its abundant water and hydropower resources, fascinating biodiversity, and geopolitical importance. However, the rapid hydropower development in the Mekong River Basin has induced ecological risks and triggered water conflicts among six riparian nations. Balancing the competing interests of water, energy and ecosystems in the Mekong River Basin is a great challenge for riparian nations and is of global concern. This study quantitatively investigates what role the operation of the cascade reservoirs in China may play in mitigating existing conflicts and achieving cobenefits in the entire Mekong River Basin. An integrated modeling approach is adopted, and simulation-optimization analyses are performed to explore the tradeoff and/or synergy effects among the competing interests under varying reservoir operation strategies. The study reveals the disparate interactions among water, energy and ecosystem sectors and identifies the transboundary cobenefits of hydropower production and water supply. The major study findings are as follows. First, hydropower development in the upper Mekong River (also known as the Lancang River) can be beneficial for downstream agricultural water supply in certain circumstances if the cascade reservoirs in China are operated wisely. Second, the natural flow index adequately reflects ecological concerns in general, but additional objectives need to be included in the optimization if specific interests (e.g., phosphorous export from the Lancang River) are prioritized. Third, the tradeoffs between the agricultural water supply and ecosystem conservation, the two critical concerns of downstream countries, are intrinsic in the lower Mekong River Basin and are not induced by hydropower production in China. Fourth, the agricultural water supply in the downstream countries calls for a larger shift in the flow regime than hydropower production in China. Overall, the results of this study provide new insights into holistic management and effective transboundary cooperation in the Mekong River Basin, as well as in other international river basins with similar water-energy-ecosystem nexuses.

Development of international river basin organizations and implication for China

Development of international river basin organizations and implication for China

A study of the endohelminths of the European perch Perca fluviatilis L. from the central region of the Danube river basin in Slovakia.

The European perch Perca fluviatilis L. serves as a host of different endohelminths of Trematoda, Cestoda, Nematoda, and Acanthocephala. Its natural range covers freshwater basins throughout much of Europe, including the Danube. Since information about endohelminths of European perch from this international river basin has been rather sporadic, the parasitological examinations of 700 perch from the central region of the Danube river basin in Slovakia were performed in October 2017 and April 2018. The larval stages of Triaenophorus nodulosus (Cestoda) were found in cysts located in the perch liver and adults of Proteocephalus percae (Cestoda) were isolated from the intestine. The larval stages of Eustrongylides sp. (Nematoda) and metacercariae of Clinostomum complanatum (Trematoda), both potential causative agents of fish-borne zoonoses, were found in the musculature. Spatial and seasonal differences in the occurrence of currently detected helminths were discussed with data on biological and environmental conditions of particular sampling site.

Response of the interaction between surface water and groundwater to climate change and proposed megastructure

Arid and semi-arid regions present special challenges for water management. Streamflow variation in the upstream countries of the international river basins (River Nile basin), due climate changes or anthropogenic activities such as the ongoing construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is making management of water resources in the downstream countries (Egypt) difficult especially with increasing water demands. Groundwater (GW) and surface water (SW) are two interconnected components of one single resource, impacts on of these components will inevitably affect either the quantity or quality of one another, and that is the situation in the study area. Accordingly, not just SW availability will be affected, but also GW. A three-dimensional transient GW model is used to investigate the impacts of expected decreasing in SW supply due to natural (climate change) or artificial (GRED) changes and increasing GW extraction due to increasing population and agricultural development. This model helps to understand the interaction between the River Nile and the main SW canals and the Quaternary aquifer and to study the recharge possibilities of the aquifer as well as prediction of the aquifer behavior under different stresses in Minia Governorate, Egypt. Three scenarios with eleven probabilities were proposed for the prediction simulations and GW budget, levels and flow exchanges between SW and GW were also calculated on year 2050. The first scenario evaluates the impact of decreasing SW levels by 0.5, 1, and 1.5 m due to climate change or the (GRED), the second scenario studies the effect of increasing GW extraction by 25% and 50% from the extraction rate in the current situation due to agricultural development and increasing demand of GW in different uses. The third scenario examines the potential impact of climate change or the (GRED) and pumping scenarios on GW budget and levels in the Quaternary aquifer where it studies the effect of increasing GW extraction by 25% and 50% with decreasing SW levels by 0.5, 1 and 1.5 m on the aquifer. The maximum change in GW budget and levels was found in the third scenario in the case of increasing GW extraction by 50% and decreasing SW levels by 1.5 m in which ΔS of the aquifer will decrease to −712821.9 m3/day and GW levels will decrease to range from 23.31 to 43.07 m, respectively.

River basin organizations in Africa: Volta, Senegal and Inco Maputo River Basin, South Africa

International river basins are covering Africa’s almost 62% of land area. Long history is present in the area of transboundary water management and water law which are partially helpful to regulate rivers (Lautze and Giordano, in submission, 2005).This factled to a range of factors that have driven transboundary water law in Africa in the post-colonial period. Internally, these factors include joint management, water development, and water sharing and division. Externally, they have included a range of factors emanating largely outside the African continent including geopolitics, the concept of hydraulic mission, cultural ties, international environment agendas, and global concern with water conflicts. The results contributed to an evolutionary change in the way these external factors have influenced African transboundary water law. More importantly, analysis of the way internal and external drivers interact suggests that both must be considered by basin states and the outside actors if either is to achieve their objectives (Lautze and Giordano & Borghese, 2005).

Sturgeon re‐introduction in the Upper and Middle Danube River Basin

All six sturgeon species naturally occurring in the Danube River from the Black Sea (BS) to the upstream reaches in Germany today are under severe pressure and classified as either vulnerable, critically endangered or already extinct in the Danube River Basin (DRB). This sharp decline of populations is the result of two major drivers: habitat alteration and unsustainable harvest. The Danube River Basin can be divided in three functionally separated sections by its hydromorphology and character: The Lower Danube (LD) and BS, now also separated ecologically from the Middle Danube (MD) by two hydropower stations at the Iron Gate gorge, 800 km from the sea, currently restricting the remaining anadromous sturgeon species (A. gueldenstaedtii, A. stellatus, Huso huso) to the LD and BS also restraining migrations of potamodromous species. The Upper Danube (UD) is nowadays disconnected from the approx. 850 km long MD by Gabčikovo Dam. The UD itself, as well as many tributaries along the Danube, are fragmented by numerous barriers, leaving no more than a total of 300 km free flowing river out of 700 km. Overharvest led to disappearance of most sturgeon species in the UD already in the Middle Ages, with populations in the MD following in the subsequent centuries. Today the potamodromous sterlet (A. ruthenus) still exists in small decreasing populations in the UD and MD basins, where its occurrence is supported by stocking. Most probably the potamodromous ship sturgeon (A. nudiventris) is extirpated in the whole basin. The Danube basin comprises 19 countries, being the most international river basin in the world, rendering coordinated conservation efforts a challenge. Strategic guidelines for the conservation of the Danube sturgeons are available in form of several action plans, but implementation remains insufficient as of yet. This paper attempts an analysis of the potential for sturgeon restoration in the UD and MD basin and highlights the need for concerted approaches when it comes to ex situ actions and reintroductions.

Towards a rights-based approach in EU international river basin governance? Lessons from the Scheldt and Ems Basins

ABSTRACTThis article finds that the introduction of a rights-based approach in EU transboundary river basin management to remedy observed systemic difficulties and to better achieve legal water quality standards could be a next step in achieving integrated river basin management. However, its effectiveness largely depends on the willingness of member states to share river basin districts to subordinate their separate socio-economic interests to ecological needs, as well as to grant a clear mandate and partly transfer responsibilities and powers to a competent supranational authority.

Why are there so few basin-wide treaties? Economics and politics of coalition formation in multilateral international river basins

ABSTRACTExaminations of international water treaties suggest that riparian states are not heeding the advice to adopt IWRM. Theories suggest that the larger the number of negotiating states, the lower the cost (per state) of the joint operation of treaties, but the higher the transaction costs of negotiating and maintaining them. We model the trade-off between benefits and costs associated with the number of treaty signatories and apply it to a global treaty data-set. Findings confirm that the transaction costs of negotiation and the economies of scale are important in determining the paucity of basin-wide agreements, the treaties’ content and their extent.

Updating the Register of International River Basins of the world

ABSTRACTThe delineation of the world’s international river basins has not been undertaken by any formal body since 1978. Researchers with the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database have attempted to fill this void through the 1999 Register, with online updates and currently with the present study. This current register delineates 310 international river basins, reflecting changes in political boundaries and increased data quality. These basins are shared by 150 countries and disputed areas, cover 47.1% of the Earth’s land surface and include 52% of the world’s population. This paper lists all international river systems, their basin areas, their riparian states and their respective territorial percentages.

Transboundary water resources “A comparative study”: The lessons learnt to help solve the Nile basin water conflict

Abstract The problematic water situation in Egypt, as one of the River Nile basin countries, has been heightened by the harmful effects of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Egypt’s share of the Nile water. In the light of this Egyptian attention was directed towards a study of worldwide transboundary water problems, in order to find the most effective methods for dealing successfully with water shortage problems in basin countries. The present study focuses on the most successful experiences in the management and development of international river basins worldwide, as well as studying the possibility of implementing these experiences in other basins, especially the River Nile basin. The study showed that overcoming the water scarcity problems in Egypt and increasing the Nile water yield for all the basin countries can be achieved, first of all through serious cooperation among all the basin countries for minimizing the huge water losses from the river (more than 1480 Billion Cubic Metres per year which represents roughly 90% of the whole basin income), and secondly to make use of the most successful technical and political experiences that have been implemented in other international river basins mentioned in the present study.

Benefits of Cooperation in Transnational Water-Energy Systems

AbstractCooperation in international river basins is often challenged by upstream–downstream conflicts over water allocation. In many cases, water allocation is linked to the energy sector through ...