Water Resouces management

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What methods can be used to create collaboration in the trans boundary inland waterways?

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14 Answers

  2. Dear Members.

    How do you feel that one can do justice in answering the question raised by esteemed Member.

    It needs to have a website full of docs and answers to arrive at this consultancy design for apt solution.

    My response may be treated with caution and if suiting Members , may be applied for progress.pl

    Well wishes to Members ..

  3. Like all good relationships -- Communications, Respect and expectations based on reality.

      I am not familiar with the area and the issue you may be seeking to address so forgive me if too surface an answer -but I offer it.

    The key is first getting a common understanding of the stakes of interested parties.   You must develop a common understanding of the situation/ opportunity you want to address but everyone comes from there own perspective.   So understand where they are coming from first.

    Then you educate the group collectively on the value of addressing the situation collectively   That may mean educating the group collectively  - the science and facts do matter. 

    Then you need to establish the common goal and set both short and long term expectations based on resources which include political realities and building momentum over time.

    You must define the  direction and the timing.  If you fail to define your direction/goals then expectations can't be realistic and failure of the group is ensured. 

    Good luck-

    Answered on by

  4. Mutual agreement among the parties, award of a Tribunal or any bill passed in this regard in parliament shall deal the issues

  5. Dear Gerson Fumbuka,
    We have serious environmental issues on river Tisza. The upstream countries are "sending" 6-10.000 tonnes of waste every year.
    We started to cleanup the river and simultaneously we strated to organise "ROUND TABLE DISCUSSIONs". We invited all the participants and stakeholders and in 3 years time its becoming more effective than official transboundary agreements.
    Here is the initiative: https://petkupa.hu/eng/

    And I attached you a summary about the last Round Table. If you can manage this kind of field activities and professional discussions in the same time, you have a chance to step further in transboundary cooperation.

    Let me know if you need further information:
    Gary Hanko
    ugyvezeto@kszgysz.hu

     

    1 Comment

  6. Hi - I think establishing some kind of river basin organisation. This may either be quite formal and “top down” politically driven or “bottom up” based on actors at the local level who have a desire to work together to improve the river ecology or to achieve equitable sharing. Ultimately it will be necessary to have good trusted science that the actors can use to inform decisions. As some others have said this is not easy and you can’t just implement this overnight! There are a number of ingredients:

    trusted science

    Champions

    funding

    some kind of bridging organisation

    establishment of common goals

    Targets and monitoring

    demonstration projects

     

    Perhaps the another thing related to champions is passion!

     

  7. Hi - I think establishing some kind of river basin organisation. This may either be quite formal and “top down” politically driven or “bottom up” based on actors at the local level who have a desire to work together to improve the river ecology or to achieve equitable sharing. Ultimately it will be necessary to have good trusted science that the actors can use to inform decisions. As some others have said this is not easy and you can’t just implement this overnight! There are a number of ingredients:

    trusted science

    Champions

    funding

    some kind of bridging organisation

    establishment of common goals

    Targets and monitoring

    demonstration projects

     

    Perhaps the another thing related to champions is passion!

     

  8. Taking into account the common interests of the parties, taking into account climate change and hydrological calculations and establishing a monitoring

     

  9. Hi Gerson, I'm assuming you have an African transboundary river in mind.  There are usually several levels of cooperation on rivers and there are examples where the waters have been 'apportioned' or shared on a volumetric or percentage basis or other basis.  But cooperation is not always straight-forward.  There is the political level which must be engaged if any sharing or cooperation can succeed.  There could national and sub-national levels.  There is an administrative level or element where government officials need to work together, there is a technical level, where joint studies and information sharing is agreed to, and there can be an operation level, where waters are controlled by various schemes such as power generation, water supply, irrigation and so on, and where these affect cross-border water flow.  Remember that upstream countries (China is a good example) are alway less interested in cooperating than downstream ones, but this is not an absolute rule.

    1 Comment

    1. Hello Paul,

      As you have rightly pointed out, It is true most Upstream countries are always less interested in cooperation than Downstream countries. What are reasons to explain this?

      Gerson Fumbuka

       

      1 Comment reply

      1. It's obvious Gershon.  Upstream countries have more to lose by agreeing to share the resources.  Downstream countries can sometimes act to affect upstream water resources, but in general they can't' do that.   But upstream countries with the capacity dam, divert and pollute rivers can and will affect any downstream country by what they do.  So long as there is no legal obligation on them to take downstream conditions into account they cannot be forced to act responsibly, only persuaded to 'do the right thing' or to act if there is another lever to pressure them.  China is the upstream example - all the major rivers flow out to downstream countries, which is why China refused (along with Turkey and Albania) to sign the UN convention on international watercourses.  Sometimes upstream countries want to be seen ads good neighbours, but does that lead to significant concessions on their part?  Consider Ethiopia, for instance, and the Nile.  

  10. This indeed is a subject of co existence of many regions / countries.

    To start with there should be peace and hatmony with polical togetherness.

    Next will be Trade and followed by movement of cargoes and people, ofcourse wildlife and avians would move freely !

    Well wishes .

  12. This depends on the countries involved. In time we will realise that transboundary management of water resources is the single most important focus for neighbouring countries. The setup and involvement of Commissions with an effective and far-reaching mandate is by far the most effective way to make a solid foundation for negotiations between countries. There is an apparent lack of 'positive and true' NGO involvement in many transboundary river systems in the world, which needs to be taken into account and not just as an afterthought. Small steps forward are effective as opposed to large-scale public sector planning without any tabled proposals or agreements. Cross-sectoral involvement in countries (and between countries) forms the basis for the realisation of the real importance of water. Many see water as a means of profit, a means of power...but it is not. Water is the universal solvent and despite differing motives of the transboundary countries, in the end, it is only a solvent that can dissolve the archaic national boundaries, selfish thinking and ineffectual management, by which many are restrained and restricted by today. Throwing public money at the myriad of transboundary issues of water is not really effective (GEF, EU, GIZ, etc). What is effective is truthfulness, sharing, caring, educating and undertaking joint responsibility to maintain ecosystems that know no borders. As my divorce lawyer said, 'the truth lies in the middle ground'. 

    1 Comment

  13. Hello,  if you need to check what are the tools used to improve collaboration  with  transboundary water management check mekong IWM it is a case study  ( IUCN website). I have worked on many IWM issues in subsaharian africa, if you could  give me more details i could refer you to some docs. 

    1 Comment

  14. Dear Gerson, can you give a few more details on this? Is this transnational boundaries? state? province?

    1 Comment