Bangladesh and India share 54 transboundary rivers. Despite that, the transboundary water management between these two countries is heavily concentrated on the Ganges river basin, in which, mode of cooperation is still based on physical sharing of water. The study is developed on the argument that Bangladesh and India need a shift of focus in their current mode of transboundary water management from physical sharing of water to sharing of benefits derived from the use (and non-use) water in order to foster transboundary water cooperation in the Ganges river basin. Based on a single-case study, the research work aims to explore the scope of benefit-sharing in the transboundary water cooperation in the Ganges river basin and how benefit-sharing can be facilitated between these two countries. The findings show that the water negotiation in the Ganges basin would become much more complicated in the future, primarily due to the growing gap between the demand and the availability of water. The adverse impact of climate change will further deteriorate the situation. Besides, the changing nature of India’s domestic politics and the growing internal conflict between its provincial states will weaken the Indian central government’s authority to manage transboundary water resources jointly. Therefore, in the future, Bangladesh and India would find it difficult to elicit a positive-sum outcome from any water negotiation in Ganges river if they still focus on the volumetric allocation of water. The study suggests that inland navigation and water transit, multipurpose storage dam projects and joint management of the Sundarbans can be the potential areas for benefit-sharing in the Ganges basin. The study stresses the importance of shifting the policy outlook and developing institutional arrangements between Bangladesh and India to introduce and facilitate benefit-sharing in the Ganges river basin that will help to share benefits equitably, hence foster cooperation.

How does the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam affect Ethiopia’s ontological security? This study proposes that the ontological security perspective must be comprehended within the analysis of the dam’s importance, in order to grasp certain dimensions of security which otherwise could remain unnoticed. Thus, the fact that Ethiopia has executed the dam’s building, despite the regional controversy and different forms of attacks it has implied – and was expected to imply in the initial case - suggests that the traditional security perspective is not sufficient in order to understand the dam’s causes as well as the long-term determination regarding the dam’s execution. Hence, by adopting Steele’s and Mitzen’s two conceptualizations of the biographical narrative, as well as Carol Bacchi’s conceptualisation of meaning-making within representation, the dam’s ontological significance is analysed.   I argue that the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam constitutes a meaningful symbol within the Ethiopian biographical narrative, due to the grand political and emotional significance it has been interlinked with. Further on, I argue that this is partly due to the meaning and emphasis which the Ethiopia’s State agents have expressed in conjunction with the comprehending needs which the dam is aimed to satisfy. I conclude by proposing a discussion to weather the dam could be considered to increase the ontological security of Ethiopia, or in fact weaken it.

Transboundary water basins are becoming increasingly vulnerable due to climate change, which is putting pressure on riparian states and water agreements. Transboundary water agreements should be able to respond to changing circumstances, adapt to changes, and deal with uncertainty. For the purpose of this thesis, a multi-faceted qualitative case study of the Euphrates Tigris basin was conducted to investigate the impact of water allocation and institutional mechanisms on cooperation in the basin. For this a document analysis of the water agreement texts (specifically the 1987 Turkey -Syria agreement and the 1989 Syria-Iraq agreement as well as various Memoranda of Understanding between the riparian states) related to the inclusion of adaptability, specificity, and institutional mechanisms was performed. In addition, water-related event data from the Factiva and the Basins at Risk databases was collected and analysed to identify trends between the two time periods. The findings show that the 1987 Turkey -Syria agreement has high legal specificity but lacks in adaptability. The 1989 Syria-Iraq agreement has both high adaptability and specificity. However, both agreements lack institutional mechanisms. As a consequence, the compliance to agreements has remained low. The average BAR scale declined from -0.2540 for the period 1990-2000 to -0.7308 for the period 2013-2023. In both time periods, almost all events are classified in the three least conflictive and least cooperative event categories with almost no extreme events recorded. The number of water-related events declined in the time period 2013-2023. Additionally, the percentage of conflictive events increased in the same period. However, the variety and percentage of issue areas increased to include issues besides water quantity in the second period. Due to the inflexible allocation mechanism, the absence of institutionalisation and the strong presence of issue linkages, non-compliance for the 1987 agreement have arisen.

A água, assim como o ar, é vital à sobrevivência dos seres bióticos. Para muitos autores há distinção entre "água" e "recurso hídrico". O termo "água" designa o elemento natural, enquanto a expressão "recurso hídrico" representa o valor econômico; assim, compreendido como direito fundamental e mercadoria, respectivamente. Os recursos hídricos transfronteiriços internacionais (que banham mais de um estado soberano) são classificados em superficiais (rios, lagos, represas, açudes, entre outros) ou subterrâneos (aqüíferos); As reservas hídricas superficiais são de mais fácil acesso, porém escassas; já as reservas subterrâneas são de difícil acesso, mas abundantes; contudo, em ambos os casos a utilização deverá ser racional. A escassez dos recursos hídricos é quanti-qualitativa. O ser humano enquanto pessoa consciente é capaz de alterar o rumo do planeta, por meio da construção de uma nova identidade, influindo na formação de uma nova cultura. Conceitos como supranacionalidade e transnacionalidades passam a ser aceitos em nome da preservação da biodiversidade e conseqüência do próprio homem, enquanto parte do sistema ambiental, ou seja, a sociedade global passa da fase de coexistência a fase de cooperação e solidariedade. Isso porque, as relações econômicas, políticas, sociais, culturas e tecnológicas são hoje transnacionais, assim como os impactos ambientais. Assim, a proposta de elaboração da Organização Mundial da Água (OMA), organismo supranacional de proteção dos recursos hídricos transfronteiriços internacionais, e do Fundo Monetário Internacional de Proteção à Água (FMIPA) desempenha significativo papel na conscientização dos seres humanos quanto à importância e a necessidade de mudanças urgentes em relação ao tema. / Submitted by Marcelo Teixeira (mvteixeira@ucs.br) on 2014-05-30T17:38:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Karen Muller Flores.pdf: 686263 bytes, checksum: f76de38999e5377f0a04c5521df8d73d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-30T17:38:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao Karen Muller Flores.pdf: 686263 bytes, checksum: f76de38999e5377f0a04c5521df8d73d (MD5)

A água, assim como o ar, é vital à sobrevivência dos seres bióticos. Para muitos autores há distinção entre "água" e "recurso hídrico". O termo "água" designa o elemento natural, enquanto a expressão "recurso hídrico" representa o valor econômico; assim, compreendido como direito fundamental e mercadoria, respectivamente. Os recursos hídricos transfronteiriços internacionais (que banham mais de um estado soberano) são classificados em superficiais (rios, lagos, represas, açudes, entre outros) ou subterrâneos (aqüíferos); As reservas hídricas superficiais são de mais fácil acesso, porém escassas; já as reservas subterrâneas são de difícil acesso, mas abundantes; contudo, em ambos os casos a utilização deverá ser racional. A escassez dos recursos hídricos é quanti-qualitativa. O ser humano enquanto pessoa consciente é capaz de alterar o rumo do planeta, por meio da construção de uma nova identidade, influindo na formação de uma nova cultura. Conceitos como supranacionalidade e transnacionalidades passam a ser aceitos em nome da preservação da biodiversidade e conseqüência do próprio homem, enquanto parte do sistema ambiental, ou seja, a sociedade global passa da fase de coexistência a fase de cooperação e solidariedade. Isso porque, as relações econômicas, políticas, sociais, culturas e tecnológicas são hoje transnacionais, assim como os impactos ambientais. Assim, a proposta de elaboração da Organização Mundial da Água (OMA), organismo supranacional de proteção dos recursos hídricos transfronteiriços internacionais, e do Fundo Monetário Internacional de Proteção à Água (FMIPA) desempenha significativo papel na conscientização dos seres humanos quanto à importância e a necessidade de mudanças urgentes em relação ao tema.

The inter-scalar interaction of norms is pervasive in African hydropolitics due to the nature of freshwater on the continent – shared, strategic and that which necessitates cooperation. However, with few exceptions, particular norms created at specific levels of scale have been researched in isolation of those existing at other levels. It is argued that this exclusionary approach endangers the harmonised and integrated development of international water law and governance, producing sub-optimal cooperative strategies. The notable contributions of Ken Conca and the Maryland School’s research on the contestation of norms occurring at different levels of scale, and Anthony Turton’s Hydropolitical Complex (HPC), will be examined through a Constructivist theoretical lens, in terms of their applicability to furthering an understanding of multi-level normative frameworks. Through the use of the Orange-Senqu River basin, and the Nile Equatorial Lakes sub-basin (NELSB) as case studies, it is argued that norm convergence is possible, and is occurring in both case studies analysed, although to varying degrees as a result of different causal factors and different biophysical, historical, socio-political and cultural contexts. This is demonstrated through an examination of regional dynamics and domestic political milieus. Notwithstanding their varying degrees of water demand, Orange-Senqu and NELSB riparians present fairly different political identities, each containing existing constellations of norms, which have affected the ways in which they have responded to the influence of external norms, how the norm is translated at the local level and to what extent it is incorporated into state policy. In so doing, the interface between international norms and regional/domestic norms will be explored in an attempt to understand which norms gain acceptance and why. It is therefore advocated that a multi-level interpretation of norm development in Africa’s hydropolitics is essential to an understanding of the interconnectedness of context, interests and identities. Each level of scale, from the international to the subnational, give meaning to how norms are translated and socialised, and how they in turn, transform contexts.