Water security and interstate conflict and cooperation

Tensions and conflicts over water use are increasingly common, as a result of both high water scarcity and high water demand. The use of water resources generates political dis- putes between countries sharing waters within their borders. This paper aims to discuss water security and the interstate...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Ribeiro, Wagner Costa, Sant’Anna, Fernanda Mello [UNESP]
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:Brasil
Recursos:Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UNESP
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.unesp.br:11449/220307
Acesso em linha:http://dx.doi.org/10.5565/rev/dag.150
http://hdl.handle.net/11449/220307
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:International cooperation
Interstate conflict
Transboundary water
Water
Water security
Descrição
Resumo:Tensions and conflicts over water use are increasingly common, as a result of both high water scarcity and high water demand. The use of water resources generates political dis- putes between countries sharing waters within their borders. This paper aims to discuss water security and the interstate conflict and cooperation that can result from it. It is based on an interdisciplinary literature review that aims to contribute to the development of studies on transboundary water policies, encompassing concepts such as water security, water justice and water governance. This article aims to grasp the problems involved in the conflicts and cooperation on shared use of transboundary water resources. It is divided in the following parts: water and international politics; international security, environmental security and water security; and interstate water conflicts and cooperation in the use of shared water resources. Cooperation in the use of transboundary waters might spare distributive conflicts on water use. In situations of scarcity, policies should prioritize human and animal watering, which might relieve water supply issues between riparian countries. On the other hand, water abundance may end up creating more tensions than water shortages, since disputes over its use might emerge instead of cooperation favoring interstate security.