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This thesis examines the significance of a micro-level approach to the Israeli-Palestinian water conflict. By rethinking scale of analysis and examining local insecurities, Palestinian experiences reveal how water conflict plays out in latent and discursive ways. In a step-by-step method, I detail the processes and outcomes of the water struggle in the West Bank. First, I show how technical challenges ((i) poor water supply, (ii) antiquated water infrastructure, (iii) failed institutions) are shaped by political imperatives. Second, I show how Palestinians have responded to local water sector challenges: (iv) nonpayment to the Palestinian Water Authority for their water supply, (v) increasing rural to urban migration by Palestinian farmers. As a result, Palestinian society is stuck in cycles of crisis that make the conditions increasingly ungovernable. While Palestinians are stuck in a mode of ungovernability, their position in the peace process with Israel is undermined.

Since 1989, the co-riparian States of Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been locked in an overt and institutionalized conflict to secure access to the waters of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin. In 1997, in an effort to end this interstate conflict which had earned the reputation as the longest water conflict in U.S. history, public officials at the federal and state scales agreed to suspend all pending litigation against one another and concurrently deployed a dispute resolution mechanism, known as `compact negotiations,' in the hope of equitably allocating the waters of the ACF Basin. Despite proclamations by public officials, exclaiming their commitment to the process of compact negotiations and their desire to see an end to the lingering conflict, 2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the bitter conflict over the ACF waters and a sustainable resolution has not yet been achieved. Against this background, this study provides an in-depth empirical explanation for why multiple efforts to resolve the ACF conflict have been unsuccessful and largely counterproductive. Using data collected from in-depth interviews with elite stakeholders and archival data parsed from executive agencies, bureaucratic reports and media sources, this study demonstrates that Georgia's strategic efforts to (a) rescale water management authority in the basin along neoliberal lines and (b) spatiotemporally displace demand- and supply-side management policies, have allowed Georgia and metropolitan Atlanta to achieve water security through a process of accumulation by dispossession. Finally, this study shows that Georgia and Atlanta's water security has compromised the authority of federal agencies to manage interstate waters, exposed the inability of the three riparian states to reach equitable compromise, and demonstrated the Court's express complicity in (re)producing uneven development in the American South.

The broad scope of this research concerns the field of conflict and dispute resolution, also referred to as alternative dispute resolution (ADR). ADR practices have developed in both executive and judicial branches of government since the early 1900’s. The goal of this paper is to evaluate how ADR practitioners working in water-related civil litigation can apply facilitative practices prior, during, and after the proceeding to reduce harm, cost, and time of litigation and increase the overall satisfaction of the parties when the proceeding has been resolved. To achieve this goal, a framework is constructed and applied to a case study in Cascade Locks, Oregon. This framework is not a way to avoid a court proceeding through use of alternative dispute resolution; instead this paper seeks to add facilitative practices to a civil litigation process to make the entire process more efficient to the parties and effective in resolving the dispute.

The objectives of the study are to: (1) Critically analyse the 1959 Nile River agreements from a human rights perspective (2) examine the applicability of international human rights law in water distribution and use and (3) investigating how human rights norms and principles can be used, if at all, as a means of solving water conflicts over the use of trans-boundary rivers. The study adopts a human rights approach in its consideration of the problem of conflicts that may arise in connection with the use of trans-boundary rivers. It is particularly significant as it seeks to explore the solution from the human rights of the people in the riparian countries. It is believed that the study will contribute to the development of basin-wide cooperation among riparians by being employed in negotiations and planning of projects. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Raymond A. Atuguba of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana Legon, Accra, Ghana / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This thesis concerns the struggles related to a hydrosocial conflict prompted by the plan for hydropower development in the river Vjosa, Albania. Despite the controversial nature of hydropower, the quest for renewable energy has increased the interest in hydropower development globally. Renewables require a large amount of water, and the benefits are often reallocated to powerful players, which has caused concerns over water grabbing, power, justice, and rights. This study aims to examine the linked levels of contestation in the conflict over the hydrosocial territory of Vjosa, through legal and non-legal mechanisms. Further, the thesis uncovers underlying values and assumptions regarding the river and hydropower. For this purpose, the theoretical framework of political ecology and Echelons of rights are used. The echelons of rights are used to analyze the material, while political ecology is used as a lens for the overarching framework. The Political ecology lens on justice and territorialization contribute to enhanced understandings of the importance of social movements in contesting injustices and mismanagement of the environment. By interviewing social movements and domestic energy companies, as well as analyzing the environmental impact assessment, the results indicate that the understanding of the river and hydropower both differ and coincide, and how legal instruments do not only suppress people but can be used as a tool by social movements.

abstract: Research shows that many water governance regimes are failing to guide social-ecological systems away from points, beyond which, damage to social and environmental well-being will be difficult to correct. This problem is apparent in regions that face water conflicts and climate threats. There remains a need to clarify what is it about governance that people need to change in water conflict prone regions, how to collectively go about doing that, and how research can actively support this. To address these needs, here I present a collaborative research project from the dry tropics of Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica. The project addressed the overarching questions: How can water be governed sustainably in water-contested and climate-threatened regions? And, how can people transition current water governance regimes toward more sustainable ones? In pursuit of these questions, a series of individual studies were performed with many partners and collaborators. These studies included: a participatory analysis and sustainability assessment of current water governance regimes; a case analysis and comparison of water conflicts; constructing alternative governance scenarios; and, developing governance transition strategies. Results highlight the need for water governance that addresses asymmetrical knowledge gaps especially concerning groundwater resources, reconciles disenfranchised groups, and supports local leaders. Yet, actions taken based on these initial results, despite some success influencing policy, found substantial challenges confronting them. In-depth conflict investigations, for example, found that deeply rooted issues such friction between opposing local-based and national institutions were key conflict drivers in the region. To begin addressing these issues, researchers and stakeholders then constructed a set of governing alternatives and devised governance transition strategies that could actively support people to achieve more sustainable alternatives and avoid less sustainable ones. These efforts yielded insight into the collective actions needed to implement more sustainable water governance regimes, including ways to overcoming barriers that drive harmful water conflicts. Actions based on these initial strategies yielded further opportunities, challenges, and lessons. Overall, the project addresses the research and policy gap between identifying what is sustainable water governance and understanding the strategies needed to implement it successfully in regions that experience water conflict and climate impacts. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Sustainability 2014

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.

Der intersektorale Wasserkonflikt zwischen urbaner und agrarischer Wassernutzung in Hyderabad und die Konkurrenz zwischen den Bedürfnissen der Stadt und den Ansprüchen der Landwirtschaft werden verschärft durch willkürliche Verteilungspraktiken, die den offiziellen Zuteilungsrichtlinien oft widersprechen. Übersetzt in die Sprache von Ostrom, gilt die vorliegende Untersuchung der Kernfrage, warum bestimmte praktizierte Regeln (rules-in-use) fortbestehen, obwohl formale Regeln (rules-in-form) im Bereich der Nutzungsrechte an Wasser vorhanden sind. Die Arbeit versucht dementsprechend zu erklären, wie bestehende Institutionen und Governancestrukturen die Interaktionen beteiligter Akteure und deren Verhalten beeinflussen und wie daraus eine durch Willkür gekennzeichnete Umverteilung erwächst. Knights Verteilungstheorie institutionellen Wandels und sein Ansatz über Machtressourcen vermögen zu erklären, wie menschliche Interaktionen in Zusammenhang mit solchen Konflikten über begrenzte Ressourcen zustande kommen. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeit zeigen ebenfalls, welche Wirkungen die Charakteristika verschiedener Gruppen von Wassernutzern und deren spezifische Abhängigkeit von Wasserressourcen auf ihre Fähigkeit zur politischen Einflussnahme ausüben. Solche Ausprägungen von Ressourcenabhängigkeiten bedingen Machtasymmetrien und erhöhen das Ausmaß willkürlicher Umverteilungen von Wasser. Die Untersuchung identifiziert eine Literaturlücke im Bereich der Politik der Wassergovernance, indem sie den Wählereinfluss als Machtressource im Land-Stadt-Konflikt um Wasserressourcen empirisch belegt. Die Arbeit zielt insgesamt darauf, das Erklärungspotential von Eigentumsrechtstheorien zu nutzen und anhand von Wasserkonflikten in Hyderabad ein Beispiel zur Anwendbarkeit aktueller Theorien institutionellen Wandels zu geben. / Hyderabad’s inter-sectoral water conflict and competition between the city’s urban needs and the agricultural sector have been fueled by persistent arbitrary water reallocations against the prescribed allocation guidelines. To translate the key question into Ostrom’s language; this study seeks to unravel the persistence of rules-in-use, despite the rules-in-form already in place within the realms of property rights. Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development framework identifies exogenous variables and its influences on the role of institutions which shapes human interaction and decision making processes. It attempts to explain how the existing water-allocation mechanism has propagated the way rules and actors currently interact to influence such arbitrary water re-allocation. Knight’s distributional theory of institutional change and his concept of power resources provide good explanations of human interaction in the context of such conflicts over limited resources. The study results also reveal how the characteristics of water-user groups and its dependence on water resource have the ability to exert political influence over water allocation. Such attributes of resource dependence characterizes power asymmetry, thereby increasing the scale of arbitrary water reallocations. Henceforth, this study addresses the gap in ‘politics of water governance’ in existing literature by empirically deriving ‘political electorate’ as a power resource in rural-urban water contestation. Overall, this study seeks to employ the theoretical explanations of property rights and attempts to provide a case on the applicability of contemporary theories of institutional change by taking the case study of Hyderabad’s water contestation.

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.