Transboundary Resources Research Articles

Foreword: Transboundary Ground Water

GroundwaterVolume 43, Issue 5 p. 646-650 Foreword: Transboundary Ground Water Michael E. Campana, Michael E. Campana Director, Water Resources Program, and Albert and Mary Jane Black Professor of Hydrogeology, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, MSC05 3110, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001; 1-505-277-5249; fax 1-505-277-5226; aquadoc@unm.eduSearch for more papers by this author Michael E. Campana, Michael E. Campana Director, Water Resources Program, and Albert and Mary Jane Black Professor of Hydrogeology, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, MSC05 3110, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001; 1-505-277-5249; fax 1-505-277-5226; aquadoc@unm.eduSearch for more papers by this author First published: 05 September 2005 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6584.2005.00112.xCitations: 8 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume43, Issue5Special Issue: Transboundary Ground WaterSeptember 2005Pages 646-650 RelatedInformation

A STUDY OF ECOSYSTEM CHANGES IN LONGITUDINAL RANGE-GORGE REGION AND TRANSBOUNDARY ECO-SECURITY IN SOUTHWEST CHINA

Characterized by longitudinal mountain ranges, major rivers and deep valleys, the longitudinal range-gorge region (LRGR) in southwest China is regarded as unique worldwide in terms of landscape and biodiversity. The distinct “corridor-barrier” phenomenon caused by energy transportation and human activities makes the region an important ecological and economic corridor that links China and the Southeast Asian countries. While it houses every ecosystem in the northern Hemisphere except desert and ocean types, and is widely acknowledged as the concentrated area for various species and global gene reserve, it is subject to ecological vulnerability and frequent occurrences of natural disasters. Different ethnic groups scatter in small basins embraced by big mountains and present vast differences in respect of social and economic development. As a result, LRGR has long been regarded as a key area for earth sciences and biology research in search of environment and ecosystem change; meanwhile, LRGR is also a typical area in Western China characterized by high concentration of resources, worsening of environmental deterioration, impoverished rural poor, as well as contradiction between protection and development.Located in the upstream of the four major international rivers in Asia, LRGR is the hinge for China's regional cooperation with southeast and south Asia. At present, the region is under multi- and large-scale disturbance, projecting serious ecological problems. For example, in China's ongoing development programs such as West Development, the region serves as resource bases for biology, ferrous metal and hydropower (with more than 30 cascade dams); while in the international passage program, 3 international expressways, 3 railways and 3 navigation channels will span the region. Along with the construction of such major engineering projects, ecosystem degradation and transboundary ecological security will become increasingly serious, which in turn makes LRGR a sensitive area that deserves global attention. Multi-disciplinary and cross-sector studies on transboundary resources in the region are directed to serve 3 major national needs: ①targeting at the national West Development Strategy to identify core scientific issues of ecological development and infrastructure construction in plateau mountains; ②targeting at national ecological security to develop maintenance mechanism and control methodology for transboundary ecological security and resource bases development; ③targeting at the national opening-up to south Asia to provide scientific grounds for multi-lateral diplomacy, trade and economic cooperation, as well as conflict resolution.

The Global Environment Facility and Transboundary Water Resource Management: New Institutional Arrangements in the Danube River and Black Sea Region

Increased international attention to water resource management has resulted in the creation of new institutional arrangements and environmental funding mechanisms. The Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) International Waters Program is at the heart of these new collaborative regional approaches to the management of transboundary resources. This article assesses the GEF-led efforts in the Danube River and Black Sea region, the GEF’s most mature and ambitious projects to date. It finds that the GEF has been successful in building scientific knowledge and strengthening regional governance institutions in the region. However, challenges remain, including the incorporation of stake-holder participation and the demonstration of clear ecological improvements.

One Basin at a Time: The Global Environment Facility and Governance of Transboundary Waters

Increased international attention to water resource management and integration has resulted in the creation of new institutional arrangements and environmental funding mechanisms. The Global Environmental Facility's (GEF) International Waters Program is at the heart of such novel collaborative approaches to managing transboundary resources. This paper assesses GEF-led efforts in twenty-three projects across ten geographic regions. It finds that the GEF has been successful in building scientific knowledge and creating linkages across social, economic and environmental issues. However, challenges of enhancing the contractual environment and building national capacity remain. While GEF efforts thus far do indicate that institutions can affect the growth of knowledge and cooperation around transboundary waters, long-lasting achievements of the GEF's International Waters Program have yet to be realized.

International Management of North-Sea Herring

North-Sea herring is a transboundary resource,shared by the EU and Norway. The purpose ofthis paper is to investigate how the harvestsor total allowable catch quotas (TACs) for thisspecies should be divided between these twojurisdictions so that both parties aresatisfied. We apply a discrete-timegame-theoretic model in which we show that theEU should be allocated more than half of theTAC even if the EU has higher harvesting costs.This result is due to the distribution patternof the herring, with a larger share of herringlocated in the EU zone. However, we find thataccording to the Nash bargaining solution, thecurrent sharing allocates too large a share tothe EU.

Research progress of international rivers in China

China possesses over 110 international rivers and lakes, among which 41 are major ones and 15 are of great importance. With the highest concentration of international rivers, the northeast, northwest and southwest regions of China enjoy abundant transboundary resources and pose complicated ecological security issues. Following the 1950s, relevant studies on international rivers fall into three periods: 1) the planned economy period of the 1950s–1980s when border development and basic research were scant; 2) the reform and opening-up period from 1980 to the end of 20th century. Along with the drive of economic globalization and regional cooperation, development of international rivers was thriving, which filled blanks in the research and narrowed gaps with international standards. Relevant studies also provided national and local governments with important scientific grounds for making decisions; 3) since the start of the 21st century, China has integrated its international river studies across sectors and across international borders. Now both government and scientific institutions pay great attention to transboundary environmental issues.

Evaluating ecosystem management capabilities at the local level in Florida: identifying policy gaps using geographic information systems.

Because ecosystem approaches to management adhere to ecological systems rather than human-defined boundaries, collaboration across jurisdiction, agencies, and land ownership is often necessary to achieve effective management of transboundary resources. Local natural resource and land use planners increasingly recognize that while ecosystem management requires looking beyond specific jurisdictions and focusing on broad spatial scales, the approach will partly be implemented at the local level with the coordination of local policies across larger landscapes. This article evaluates the collective capabilities of local jurisdictions to manage large transboundary ecological systems in Florida. Specifically, it combines plan evaluation with geographic information systems (GIS) techniques to map, measure, and analyze the existing mosaic of management across selected ecosystems in the southern portion of the State. Visual and statistical results indicate significant gaps in the management framework of southern Florida that, if filled, could achieve a greater level of consistency and more complete coverage of ecosystem management policies. Based on the spatial distribution of 58 ecosystem management indicators, notable gaps persist in the southwest coast, southeast coast, and central Everglades ecosystems, particularly for wildlife corridors and collaboration with neighboring jurisdictions. We also test for spatial autocorrelation of ecosystem planning scores and find that local jurisdictions with strong ecosystem management capabilities tend to cluster within specific ecosystems. Based on the findings, we make recommendations on how and where local plans can be strengthened to more effectively attain the objectives of ecosystem approaches to management.

Management of the Guarani Aquifer System

With an extension of 1.2 million square kilometers, the Guarani Aquifer System is one of the largest transboundary groundwater systems in the world. It underlies parts of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and was only relatively recently recognized as a transboundary resource. The four countries are now in the process of starting up a project to elaborate and implement a common institutional and technical framework for managing and preserving the Guarani Aquifer System for current and future generations. This paper briefly presents the Guarani Aquifer System Project. The preparation process is described due to its particular interest for other similar multi-country endeavors. Following the presentation of the project, the paper takes a forward-looking approach and analyzes the applicability of current international law for transboundary groundwater resources in the context of the Guarani Aquifer System. It concludes that while the basic principles espoused by international law relating to transboundary groundwater resources management are valid, they do not provide very specific guidance. The Guarani Aquifer System is unique and its complex features make it an eclectic case, which already is obliging all stakeholders to work out innovative measures—in the legal, institutional, technical, scientific, social, and economic realms—to develop appropriate activities for its sustainable management.

Transboundary Groundwater Resources of the West Bank

The political boundaries between the Palestinian and Israelismake the water issues critical and sensitive. Groundwater is theprimary source for the Palestinian in the West Bank. Although, there are many studies on the shared surface resources (Jordan River Basin), there are few studies on the groundwater shared resources between the Palestinians and Israelis.There are three primary groundwater basins underlying the West Bank (Eastern, Northeastern and Western Basins) as shown in Figure 1. Both the Northeastern and Western basins are shared between Israelis and Palestinians. The Palestinians have a limited access to the Northeastern Basin and strictly limited access to the Western Basin. In addition to the quantity of available water resources, thequality of water is emerging as a critical issue. Threats to ground water quality include disposal of untreated wastewater, increasing salinity due to agricultural activities and intrusion of native groundwater of poor quality. Widespread use of herbicides and pesticides also represent a threat to drinking water supplies.The Declaration of Principles, signed in Washington D.C in 1993,was a major step toward resolution of the political conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. However, the water issue is part of the final status negotiations, which still unresolved.As resolution to political conflict is pursued, it is clear that water resources management issues remain at the forefront becauseof the transboundary nature of the hydrologic regime. Cooperative management on the technical level appears to be the only alternative to further conflict and degradation of the region's scare water resources. This article will study the impact of the transboundary resources on both sides and explore some of the most significant groundwater management issues facing both the Palestinians and Israelis.

Management of transboundary water resources: lessons from international cooperation for conflict prevention

Tensions over freshwater resources may become more frequent as pressures on water resources grow due to increased demand and variability of rainfall. Conflicts may take place between or within countries or between competing sectoral users. This paper focuses on institutional approaches for enhancing cooperation between countries for sustainable development of transboundary freshwater bodies and contributing basins. It is assumed that instead of being zones of conflict, shared water resources can provide a basis for cooperation and benefit–sharing provided that threats to the international waters are recognized and collaborative structures are created. The paper draws upon experiences gained within the international waters focal area of the Global Environment Facility, the main funding mechanism for countries to support the environmental management of transboundary water resources. Lessons for promoting peaceful cooperation for environmental management, benefit–sharing and sustainable use of transboundary freshwater resources are highlighted through examples from Africa, Central Asia and Latin America. Experience shows the importance of processes that bring together all sectors and actors whose actions affect the transboundary waterbody at regional, national and local levels. The development of a science–based diagnostic analysis is essential to identify the threats to the transboundary ecosystem and to break down the issues into manageable parts with the aim of developing a strategic action programme. Ensuring political commitment that can result in institutional, policy and legal reforms in the countries concerned is the key to sustainable development of the transboundary resource.

The Role of Research in Fisheries Management: The Conservation of Dolphins in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and the Exploitation of Southern Bluefin Tuna in the Southern Ocean

This article uses two case studies to assess the role of research in policy formation and fishery management. One study focuses on measures to limit the mortality of dolphins taken when tuna are harvested in the eastern tropical Pacific. The other studies measures taken to limit harvests of Southern Bluefin Tuna. Both of these fisheries involve fugitive resources and transboundary resources spreading across both national exclusive economic zones and the high seas. Both fisheries were initially based on open access, but public policy has led to greater exclusive use through individual transferable quotas for Southern Bluefin Tuna and dolphin mortality limits. A number of policy conclusions are drawn.

Multiple criterion management of a sequential fishery

A static stochastic simulation was used to assess the performance of alternative management strategies in the satisfaction of multiple objective criteria in the context of a sequentially exploited transboundary resource. The model was applied to the Yukon River chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) fishery. Four strategies were evaluated using three criteria: probability of satisfying escapement objectives; probability of jointly satisfying escapement and subsistence harvest objectives; and probability of simultaneously reaching escapement, subsistence and commercial harvest objectives. The modeled strategies were also compared with the actual performance of the fishery for 1980–1995. The results indicate that satisfaction of escapement and subsistence harvest goals in the middle Yukon depends on imposing restrictive limits on commercial harvests in the lower Yukon. However, even with full information, escapement objectives in the upper drainage are only satisfied 65–70% and 75–80% of the time for summer and fall chum, respectively. The model was also used to explore the effects of increased average run strength that could arise from reduced bycatch of Yukon origin chum in marine fisheries. The results suggest that reduced marine interceptions are unlikely to substantially increase the probability of satisfying catch and escapement goals for the middle and upper Yukon.

The Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Case: A Step Forward for Environmental Considerations in the Joint Development of Transboundary Resources?

The agreement between Czechoslovakia and Hungary for construction works on both sides of the River Danube; abandonment of the project by Hungary and implementation of an alternative project by Czechoslovakia. Decision of the International Court of Justice that abandonment of the project could not be justified on the grounds of ecological necessity and that Czechoslovakia violated its agreement with Hungary by implementing its alternative scheme. The political context - the demise of communism and the growth of environmentalism, particularly in Hungary; the principle that change in the system of political governance alone is insufficient to invalidate treaty obligations. Whether the doctrine of frustration or force majeure could have been invoked The environmental arguments raised by Hungary and the increasing consideration given to them; whether recent environmental insights could be incorporated retroactively into the treaty, the court's position apparently indicating that this could be so. International law on joint developments - two conflicting positions.

Managing Transboundary Resources: Lesson from River-Basin Accords

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert G. VaradyLenard Milich is an adjunct research associate with the Office of Arid Lands Studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson as well as an assistant professor of meteorology at Embry-Riddle University in Prescott, Arizona. Robert G. Varady is an associate research professor of environmental policy and deputy director of the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy at the University of Arizona. They may be contacted through the Udall Center, 803/811 E. First Street, Tucson, AZ 85719 (telephone: 520-621-7189; e-mail: lmilich@ag.arizona.edu or rvarady@u.arizona.edu).

Management of transboundary water resources for water security; principles, approaches and State practice

Increasing water scarcity and stress are leading many nations to securing supplies for present and future water uses. National objectives are more and more pointed towards water security and the close links with food security and other macro‐economic and sectoral aspects. Water security is seen as an important aspect of national and regional security and international positions on water often have a political dimension that reflects broader national objectives. Available options for sharing transboundary resources are established on the basis of general legal principles such as equitable utilization and absence of appreciable harmful transboundary effects downstream and others such as established historical utilization. These principles and doctrines must be fully understood by the advisers serving on the negotiating teams of international water treaties and agreements. From these perspectives, the paper recognizes the importance of the structural and strategic uncertainty in international relations. Co‐ordination or harmonization of national policy, as an integrated part of, and administrated under existing frameworks for, regional co‐operation are proposed as realistic, efficient and practicable approaches, alternative to more intensive co‐operation and complicated planning and coordinating mechanisms. The article also highlights the need for training of legal specialists in countries which contemplate negotiating or re‐negotiating water treaties or agreements.

THE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF HIGH SEAS FISHERY RESOURCES UNDER THE NEW LAW OF THE SEA

The Agreement, arising from the recently concluded U.N. Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, calls for the management of these transboundary resources to be undertaken through regional fisheries management organizations. This paper represents a first attempt to analyze the optimal economic management of straddling/highly migratory stocks under the to‐be‐established regional organizations. Dynamic game theory, commonly used in analyzing the management of “shared” fishery resources, is brought to bear.An obvious question to be raised is whether the analysis applied to “shared” fish stocks management is sufficient for the purpose of examining the management of straddling/highly migratory fish stocks. The analysis is not sufficient for the purpose of examining the cooperative management of straddling/highly migratory fish stocks, because, in contrast to “shared” fish stock management, there is no guarantee that the number and nature of joint exploiters of the resource, in the aforementioned regional organization, will be constant through time. It is the existence of what is termed the “New Member Problem” which most clearly distinguishes the management of straddling/highly migratory fish stocks from the management of “shared” fish stocks. The paper discusses several approaches to addressing the “New Member Problem.”

96/01119 Border disputes and the development of trans-boundary energy resources

96/01119 Border disputes and the development of trans-boundary energy resources

INTERSTATE WATER ALLOCATION COMPACTS IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES ‐ SOME SUGGESTIONS1

ABSTRACT: Agreements between states, or compacts, provide a mechanism for resolving transboundary resource issues. The twenty‐two compacts allocating the water of rivers among states in the western United States are examined to provide guidance for drafters of future compacts. The method of allocation selected for a compact reflects the state's allocation of the risk of dry years. Allocations based on models have been unsuccessful. Percentage allocations are good for fairly apportioning risk, but conflict with principles of prior appropriation. Guarantees of minimum flows should be used with great care, to avoid any state becoming a guarantor of natural phenomena over which it has no control. Disputes should be anticipated, and a dispute resolution mechanism agreed upon. Arbitration or litigation are likely to prove the most politically acceptable. Compacts should be comprehensive in scope, encompassing groundwater as well as surface use. Federal claims should also be addressed, and some form of protection from subsequent changes of federal policy should be incorporated in the agreement and its ratifying legislation.

Managing Transboundary Resources: Lessons from Ambos Nogales

Managing Transboundary Resources: Lessons from Ambos Nogales

Bridging the Divide: Transboundary Resource Disputes and the Case of West Bank Water

Bridging the Divide: Transboundary Resource Disputes and the Case of West Bank Water