Water use in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin (GLB) has long been governed by a framework of binational agreements between the United States and Canada, policies and decision-making standards of multilevel governments, and court rulings. Though groundwater quantity is not comprehensively monitored and groundwater insecurity is not widely reported throughout the Basin, in the context of rising regional populations increasing groundwater demand in high-use hotspots and climate change impacts simultaneously reducing aquifer recharge, this dissertation proactively examines the multi-scale interactions between multilevel governance and groundwater resources that can reduce sub-watershed scale groundwater storage (GWS) in high use and/or drought prone locales. Grounded on sustainable aquifer yield, adaptive governance and subsidiarity theories, and considered within the social-ecological system framework, the dissertation assesses the suitability of the governance framework to sustain GWS in high-groundwater-stress local contexts and provides governance reform recommendations. Chapter 1 provides the theoretical background and analytical framing necessary to contextualize the three original manuscripts of the dissertation that are presented in Chapters 2, 3 and 4. Chapter 2 highlights multilevel governance gaps undermining groundwater security in vulnerable situations. Chapter 3 collates reported cases of sub-watershed scale GWS vulnerabilities and conducts retrospective analysis to trace the origins of present-day groundwater governance weaknesses in the GLB. Chapter 4 is a case study of the City of Guelph that applies statistical methods to confirm the causal relationship between governance and GWS. Given the City’s unique governance approach, which has allowed it to maintain groundwater availability despite being wholly groundwater dependent and in a drought-prone region, the findings demonstrate the potential effectiveness of governance approaches featuring subsidiarity and adaptiveness in addressing groundwater insecurity in similarly vulnerable communities. Chapter 5 concludes the research, summarizing the dissertation’s core contributions and recommending further research relevant to maintaining GWS. The dissertation closes with a meta-analysis of Chapters 2, 3 and 4 collating their main findings into a conceptual whole to propose a novel framework of good governance principles to better sustain GWS in the Basin’s high-stress locales. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Water use in the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin (GLB), the world’s largest freshwater store, has historically been subject to binational agreements between the United States and Canada, multilevel government statutes in both nations and court rulings. While persistent, sub-watershed scale groundwater storage (GWS) decline is not a widely reported issue in the GLB, places where they are observed are commonly in drought-prone and/or groundwater-dependent GLB communities. With growing human demand and climate stressors, this thesis adopts a proactive stance on addressing this emerging issue. As governance lies at the heart of maintaining GWS in social-ecological systems such as the GLB, this dissertation applies multidisciplinary methods to assess governance characteristics underlying growing groundwater insecurity in high-groundwater-stress situational contexts of the Basin. Findings highlight that the top-down GWS governance approach insufficiently leverages the strengths of local institutions to prevent groundwater insecurity. Findings also show that groundwater use and conservation standards have not been sufficiently based on the unique physical-environmental sustainability requirements of aquifers to maintain GWS, as they continue to be based on relatively limited 19th-century scientific understanding of groundwater flow systems. Largely unchanged over time, contemporary governance instead generally applies the same water use and conservation standards, originally developed to sustain surface water, to govern surface water and groundwater use. These conclusions inform recommendations for sustaining GWS in vulnerable locations, considering growing populations and climate uncertainties.

The geographic location of Fezile Dabi District Municipality is unique in the sense that it is one of five district municipalities in the Free State Province that borders on five district municipalities and three provincial boundaries. The Vaal River, a valuable domestic, industrial and agricultural water resource for millions of South Africans, forms one of the administrative boundaries of this district municipality and of the Free State Province. However, despite the vital role the Vaal River plays in the Fezile Dabi region, there is poor water management and assessment system in place. There is a lack of intergovernmental and trans boundary efforts to assess water quality by both district municipalities and provinces. The status of the Vaal River as a visible aquatic boundary line provides an excellent opportunity to develop a trans boundary collaborative water quality monitoring strategy between Fezile Dabi District Municipality and its neighbouring district municipalities. The only way to ensure the safety of water and a healthy environment for all is by addressing the challenges of water quality monitoring in a Trans boundary, integrated and multidisciplinary manner. This study provides a strategy for Fezile Dabi District Municipality and its neighbours by proposing an ideal structure to optimise effective water quality monitoring between them. Firstly, it gives an explanation of what is meant by water quality monitoring as a key performance area of municipal health services. Secondly, information is provided and proposals made on how to integrate water quality monitoring across municipal boundaries. Thirdly, the study suggests how trans boundary collaboration can contribute to improving water quality assessment strategies between Fezile Dabi District Municipality and its adjacent district municipalities. Lastly, an exposition of an ideal organisational structure and methods to optimise effective water quality monitoring between Fezile Dabi District and these municipalities is provided. A way forward is proposed in terms of a structure negotiated and developed at an environmental health workshop held on 28–29 March 2012 in Sasolburg. / Thesis (M. Development and Management (Water Studies))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The geographic location of Fezile Dabi District Municipality is unique in the sense that it is one of five district municipalities in the Free State Province that borders on five district municipalities and three provincial boundaries. The Vaal River, a valuable domestic, industrial and agricultural water resource for millions of South Africans, forms one of the administrative boundaries of this district municipality and of the Free State Province. However, despite the vital role the Vaal River plays in the Fezile Dabi region, there is poor water management and assessment system in place. There is a lack of intergovernmental and trans boundary efforts to assess water quality by both district municipalities and provinces. The status of the Vaal River as a visible aquatic boundary line provides an excellent opportunity to develop a trans boundary collaborative water quality monitoring strategy between Fezile Dabi District Municipality and its neighbouring district municipalities. The only way to ensure the safety of water and a healthy environment for all is by addressing the challenges of water quality monitoring in a Trans boundary, integrated and multidisciplinary manner. This study provides a strategy for Fezile Dabi District Municipality and its neighbours by proposing an ideal structure to optimise effective water quality monitoring between them. Firstly, it gives an explanation of what is meant by water quality monitoring as a key performance area of municipal health services. Secondly, information is provided and proposals made on how to integrate water quality monitoring across municipal boundaries. Thirdly, the study suggests how trans boundary collaboration can contribute to improving water quality assessment strategies between Fezile Dabi District Municipality and its adjacent district municipalities. Lastly, an exposition of an ideal organisational structure and methods to optimise effective water quality monitoring between Fezile Dabi District and these municipalities is provided. A way forward is proposed in terms of a structure negotiated and developed at an environmental health workshop held on 28–29 March 2012 in Sasolburg. / Thesis (M. Development and Management (Water Studies))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Transboundary water treaties are often expected to prevent conflicts over waters from shared rivers. However, empirical evidence shows that some upstream countries continue to experience conflict after signing a water treaty. This study explains why some upstream countries experience high post-treaty transboundary water conflict levels while others do not. Departing from theories on the character of states, I argue that weaker upstream countries are more likely to experience post-treaty transboundary water conflict than stronger upstream states. This is because a weak upstream state has fewer capabilities, which creates an imbalance of power with its downstream riparian neighbor and presents a zero-sum game condition. As a result, the upstream state is more likely to experience a high level of conflict after signing an agreement. The hypothesis is tested on two transboundary river cases, the Helmand River Basin and the Indus River Basin, using a structured, focused comparison method. The data is collected through secondary sources, including books, journals, news articles, and reports, government records. The results of the study mainly support the theoretical arguments. It shows a significant relationship between the character of the upstream state and the level of post-treaty transboundary water conflict in the upstream state.

Transboundary water treaties are established to prevent disputes over shared rivers between states. Nevertheless, empirical studies indicate that international organizations manage to bring cooperation between states in some cases and fail in others. This research explains why the efforts of international organizations to promote water cooperation sometimes succeed or sometimes fail and which factors contribute to their varying levels of success in different cases? International organizations are more likely to achieve cooperation between states with strong characters (less change in power dynamics) and share mutual benefits than weaker states (frequent shift in power dynamics) and have less shared benefits. I will examine how shared benefits and the character of the state can help international originations achieve cooperation or conflict that can be influenced by power asymmetry or by creating an imbalance/balance of power (causal mechanisms). Thus, weak riparian countries are less likely to achieve cooperation, increasing the probability of conflict. The hypothesis is tested on the Nile River Basin and the Indus River Basin, using a comparative analysis. The findings indicate an important relationship between the state’s characters, shared benefits, and the role of international organizations in bringing cooperation and preventing conflict between riparian states.

Theories of transboundary water politics have failed to explain the status quo in many river basins: fragile political relations between riparian states and nationalist domestic politics, as well as weak regional institutions and huge economic inefficiencies – but also an absence of wars over water. This is due to an uncritical approach to scale, power, and geopolitics. It is the purpose of this thesis to address these conceptual gaps by critically evaluating the multiple relationships between the logic of large dams and the politics of international rivers. The meaning of dams, the politics of their operation and construction, and their impact on international relations are much more ambiguous, opaque and complex than existing explanations have suggested so far. In turn, their logic influences, competes with, and contradicts the logic of river basin governance. Dams produce alternative spaces of development, energy, and state power that complement or are superimposed on existing spaces of riparian cooperation. This thesis argues that the contradictions between these spaces explains the geopolitical limbo of many international rivers in the developing world. Drawing from Foucault’s governmentality theory, the literature of critical geopolitics, and post-structural approaches to spatial scale the case-oriented research design of this thesis evaluates two geopolitical processes in contentious transboundary river basins: the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile and the operation of the Toktogul Dam in the Kyrgyz stretch of the Syr Darya River. By unpacking these processes, this thesis makes three substantial contributions to existing scholarship. Firstly, it is argued that regional river basin management is essentially a geopolitical project that contradicts the geo-economic imperatives of the dam. Secondly, power and agency in water politics is diffused far beyond the nation-state and can be understood in terms of “network effects”. Thirdly, to marry the concerns of the geopolitical and the geo-economic, I propose that the contrasting logics give rise to “geopolitical entrepreneurs” – actors who use geopolitics for wealth accumulation, legitimacy, nation-building, and other ends. While dams may provide power, wealth, and authority an allegorical Sword of Damocles is let down on the riparians.

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relationship between the impacts of climate change and transboundary water management (TWM) mechanisms. The thesis does so through a case study of the transboundary water agreements between Israel, Palestine and Jordan – states that share the transboundary waters in the Jordan River Basin (JRB), a basin that lies in a region of high political tensions and decreasing precipitation. By using empirical climate data on precipitation, temperature and general climate change projections for the basin, the author seeks to understand how these environmental changes will challenge TWM in the JRB. By using qualitative methods to examine the water agreements through the method of process tracing, the thesis seeks to understand how the water agreements are constructed to handle changes in waterflow due to climate change. The results show that the transboundary mechanisms, the water agreements and Joint Water Committees (JWC), managing the transboundary waters in the JRB, possess weak mechanisms to manage changes in waterflow. As a consequence, the whole basin might experience increasing political pressures in the future over the fulfilment of water allocation provisions. The thesis further suggests that the TWM structures in the case lack awareness and mechanisms to handle climate change impacts. On the other hand, the JWCs have an institutional capacity, expertise, and mandate in managing these potential risks in the future. However, incidents in the past, manifest that decreased waterflow leads to increasing political tensions and conflicts between the states in the basin due to the lack of conflict resolution mechanisms in the TWM structures. In order to establish a sustainable TWM in the JRB, the suggested recommendation is that climate change impacts ought to be embedded into the water agreements by incorporating flexible mechanisms for water allocation. In addition, the conflict resolution mechanisms should be strengthened.

The challenges facing resource management, including transboundary river basins, have become increasingly complex, requiring more holistic readings of governance processes that encompass a range of formal and informal collaborations between diverse actors. Innovation and transformative governance changes hold potential for addressing the increased complexity and multi-scaled nature of the challenges facing the world’s shared rivers. However, significant research gaps exist around this application in practice. This dissertation asks the following questions: Is governance of transboundary waters changing to integrate a more diverse set of actors beyond centralized governments? If so, what is the role of non-central state actors in contributing to innovations and transformative changes to transboundary water governance processes? In working towards answering these questions, the study explores the case of the Columbia River Treaty (North America) and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (Southern Africa). This study has the following objectives: first, to determine the type of power, albeit conceived from a Euro-western perspective, that non-central state actors mobilize to engage in transboundary water governance processes, and assess if the power these actors mobilize is contributing to changes in governance. Second, to conceptualize the on-going bordering processes for transboundary water governance, and evaluate whether non-central state actors are shaping these processes. And, third, to identify which non-central state actors are involved in transboundary water governance, and examine whether and how these governance systems are becoming more polycentric. This dissertation is composed of five chapters, three of which have been prepared as standalone articles for submission to academic journals. Broadly, the dissertation findings suggest that changes to governance of transboundary waters, away from state-centric processes, may be emerging in some areas, such as the ability of non-central state actors to exercise and mobilize different forms of power to shape water governance processes. Findings illustrate that a clear distinction between international and national processes is no longer sufficient to address transboundary water governance challenges and issues. Further, findings illustrate that some non-central state actors have power and influence in these transboundary water governance processes. However, these insights also highlight that centralized government authority for transboundary waters remains, and evidence of the emergence of polycentric governance systems at the international scale is limited. / Graduate / 2019-04-30

This doctoral dissertation provides conceptual contributions to understanding and analysing transboundary river basin management practices and processes. The conceptual framework of this thesis is embedded in the social learning literature. This thesis builds on prior efforts by scholars (see Keen et al., 2005; Muro & Jeffrey, 2008; Newig et al., 2010; Pahl-Wostl, 2009; Reed et al., 2010; Schusler et al., 2003) to evaluate and analyze social learning processes. In particular, the concept of learning space as used in this thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of the context in which social learning occurs by combining an analysis of interactions, deliberations and reframing processes. Three research gaps are identified and addressed in this dissertation. First, conceptualisation and evaluation of social learning in emergent processes. Second, an analysis of how relational features (such as trust and shared identities) impact on social learning outcomes. Third, the lack in understanding of how contextual features (such as frames) shape social learning processes and influence transboundary river basin management practices. To address these gaps, this thesis employed case study approach of two transboundary river basins; the Omo-Turkana and Zambezi river basins in Africa. The two case studies fit a better understanding of transboundary river basin management processes and practices as both river basins are shared by different riparian states with competing interests. This thesis explores the general research question: How do learning spaces shape transboundary river basin management practices and processes? This thesis found that the success of transboundary basin cooperation lies not only in actors solving technical problems but also hugely relates to how actors interact with one another to build the needed capacity to address technical issues. As such, creating trust and shared identities, as well as paying attention to problem framing plays a considerable role in defining how actors learn. Overall, by incorporating concepts such as trust, shared identity and frames into the concept of learning space, this thesis was able to provide a better understanding of transboundary river basin management practices. Such a perspective could provide a deeper understanding of how management practices and institutions can be better designed.

Transboundary watershed management seeks to reconcile the dichotomy between political lines and the resources that flow freely over such borders. Transboundary waters cover half of the earth’s surface and define the natural communities of over 40% of the global population. Because water plays an integral role in every culture and society, international entities seek to identify the principles and methods that minimize conflict and maximize harmonious water resource management across borders. Successful management practices to date have aimed to incorporate relevant scientific literature throughout the basin using alternate governance structures. International River Basin Organizations (IRBOs), independent governing structures, provide one such method of governance along shared water bodies. In order to determine how science influences policy and management in IRBOs, this research examines five case studies across three IRBOs: The International Joint Commission, the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube and the Mekong River Commission. To understand the gap between science production and its incorporation into IRBO policies, we conducted a comprehensive literature review and applied the findings from existing scientific literature to understand science-policy process in the five case studies. Within each case study we traced the story of science production and its uptake into policy by highlighting two types of key information in the process: the role of mandates and IRBO structure, and the IRBO’s relationship with relevant actors. Through this process we identified and explored the gap between science production and policy action, demonstrating which mechanisms are essential for generating policy founded on scientific research.