Transboundary water cooperation as a tool for conflict prevention

This paper examines the role of trans-boundary water resource management and cooperation as a tool for preventing broader conflict. It argues that some factors regarding potential contributions to the development of trans-boundary basins have received insufficient attention. These include: intra-sectoral water use efficency including improved methods of irrigation, the selection of more appropriate crops, and the development and use of higher yield cropsinter-sectoral allocative efficiencies. Industrial applications may generate greater value added value for a given unit of water than agriculture basin states should consider virtual water flowsjoint water management and trans-boundary institutions are desirable. These are also closely linked to matters of sovereignty and jurisdictional competence sovereignty-related issues play an important role in determining the allocation of trans-boundary water resources and in the benefit-sharing scenario amongst basin states. The paper concludes that some implications for financing organisations that arise from the study include:water issues must be addressed as a matter of urgency, as the stress on water continues to rise with the rapidly expanding population growth further developments of trans-border water policies are needed, paying attention to funding and assistance to the water sector, while also linking water issues to other sectors and to poverty alleviation decisions on major infrastructure developments and on water management practices as a whole, should apply a holistic vision, extending beyond the Integrated Water Resource Management in cases where there is a basin hegemon, external funding entities should be prepared to offer impartial advice in an attempt to maximize the likelihood of an equitable outcome while there is potential for spill-over in both directions between cooperation on trans-boundary water management and broader international cooperation, all solutions are unique to each given trans-boundary basin, and each set of co-raparians.