AccelNet: PEER2PEER International Convergence Research Networks in Transboundary Water Security

Webinar

Toward the Estimation of Global Snow-Derived Water Resources

September 15, 2025

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

Materials

Webinar Presentation Slides

About

Mountain snowpacks serve as a vital seasonal water reservoir for many downstream ecosystems and human populations. Despite its importance, characterizing the amount of water stored in snowpacks and how it varies over space and time has largely eluded hydrologists. In this talk, Professor Steve Margulis of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will cover a survey of work in his group aimed at characterizing mountain snow. A unifying theme is the use of data assimilation to tie together remote sensing observations and hydrologic models. The talk will highlight some ideas using existing spaceborne measurement techniques and those expected to be available in the future.

Speaker Bio:

Steve Margulis graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California (1996) and received an M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (in 1998 and 2002 respectively) with an emphasis on hydrology, remote sensing, and data assimilation. Steve joined the faculty of the UCLA Civil and Environmental Engineering Department in 2002, where he has been since, and currently serves as the Department Chair. One focus of his work has been on estimation of snow-derived water resources across the globe.

Contact

Contact us

(202) 334-2459
Accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop

2025 AccelNet PEER2PEER Workshop: Advanced Technologies for Transboundary Water Resources Management: Between Science Diplomacy, Global Water Security, and Peace-building

June 25 - 26, 2025

Past

About

The goal is to convene water researchers, students, policymakers and community leaders in this workshop to exchange knowledge on advanced techniques & technologies for transboundary water resources management. This workshop will be co-led by co-PI Prof. David Feldman and partner and co-host Augustina Alexander (University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania). The objectives of the workshop are to discuss:

Novel advanced techniques & technologies for transboundary water resources management;
Policy approaches to make international collaboration more effective;
Practices for increasing input of water experts into policymaking;
Impacts of extreme events and hazards on global security and diplomacy;
Concerns that international cooperation compromises national interest and security;
How science diplomacy can help successfully manage security challenges;
Case studies in different basins exemplifying success and failure in connecting science to diplomacy, global security and peace-building within different scientific and diplomatic systems;
How science cooperation on water security can transcend transnational tension.

Contact

Sofia Bowman

(202) 334-2459
Accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Advancing Knowledge and Action on the Global Water Crisis across Transboundary Regions

February 25, 2025

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

The work of the Global Center for Understanding Climate Change Impacts on Transboundary Waters focuses on understanding and mitigating an intensifying water crisis by addressing regional needs for water resources management guidance and preparing communities and ecosystems within transboundary water systems for hazards accompanying climate change. This work is motivated by significant gaps in the coordination of management processes, implemented throughout multiple jurisdictions, on a transnational level. The fragmentation of responsibility across decision making entities over water resources management is highly evident in transboundary water basins which intersect multiple sovereign nations, including those of Indigenous Peoples. Managing water resources in these multijurisdictional settings requires coordination of diverse governance structures, stakeholder groups, and management strategies to disseminate scientific resources including shared data and model development.

The work presented here focuses on increasing resilience of communities to impacts on climate change by integrating research across organizing clusters focused on 1) reliable projections of the expected frequency and intensity of climate change impacts; 2) understanding of climate change impacts on ecological and social systems and outcomes; and 3) building capacity for governance and management systems that increase resilience in communities across multiple scales. While the Global Center ultimately envisions working with communities on multiple continents, the focus of this presentation will be on recent advancements within the basins of the Laurentian Great Lakes and the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo.

Contact

Daniel Placht

(202) 334-2459
Accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Ensuring inclusion and equality in transboundary water cooperation – Integrative gender approaches to data collection, analysis and stakeholder engagement

October 28, 2024

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

Water resources are often shared across political boundaries; therefore, transboundary water management cooperation is critical for the protection of livelihoods and development. Global warming makes transboundary cooperation even more urgent. These insights remain theoretical if stakeholders are not properly represented and involved. The recognition of women as key stakeholders in water management and their representation in water governance mechanisms, especially in transboundary water administration, is still inadequate. Diverse barriers often prevent women from fully participating in transboundary water management. These include insecure land and water rights; impediments to access to shared communal natural resource assets; limited participation in decision-making and governance processes; gender-segregation in technical education, and the invisibility of women’s work in water management.

Awareness of these matters has increased in national and international organizations, and some progress has been made, marked by a heightened recognition of the gendered aspects of water-related issues, and of the impact of the leadership of many women in driving positive change. Scarcity of gender-disaggregated water data is one of the most significant obstacles to robust analyses and improved management of water resources, and this of course especially applies to transboundary water management with its inherent complexity. The webinar will present a Gender Integration and Equality Approach to water management that has the principal goal of ensuring balanced and meaningful participation of different social groups at all stages of management and governance of water resources. It includes tools to improve the availability of water and gender data and analysis, as well as stakeholder engagement to better address the constraints women and disadvantaged social groups face and to unlock their potential as key actors. We address specific challenges imposed by the complexity of transboundary water management.

Contact

RoseParker

(202) 334-2709
Accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Transboundary Water Governance and the Colorado River

September 16, 2024

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

Like other transboundary rivers around the world, the Colorado River is characterized a long, complicated history marked by conflict and cooperation. Home to some 40 million people and supporting agricultural economies, cities, and Tribal communities, the river is seen as the lifeblood of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Today, the basin faces a changing climate, a vanishing delta, and a structural deficit, among other ecological and political challenges. Negotiations are underway within the United States, and bilaterally between the United States and Mexico, to manage and share the declining river flows. This webinar will trace the evolution of this 75+ year transboundary relationship outlining the history and examining the modern governance context. It will reveal the role of science, non-state actors, and institutional arrangements to foster collaboration and promote diplomacy in the face of broader inequities and governance failures.

Contact

RoseParker

(202) 334-2709
Accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Meeting

2024 AccelNet PEER2PEER Workshop: Learning Resilience – Lessons for Managing Transboundary Water Resource Vulnerabilities

June 24 - 25, 2024

Past

Agenda

Download the Agenda

About

The 2023 Accelnet PEER2PEER workshop in Samarkand, Uzbekistan gathered researchers to share their views on how to build a comprehensive assessment framework for identifying, averting, and adapting to transboundary water system vulnerabilities in Central Asia and beyond. Ideas were generated on: 1) integrated approaches to water management that embrace hydrology, ecology, and institutions; 2) regional cooperation; 3) adapting to climate change; 4) acquiring/ using data for cross-disciplinary collaboration; and 5) building innovation capacity.

As a next step, the 2024 PEER2PEER Workshop will address ways to transform these ideas into lessons that can be applied on local through trans-national levels to achieve resilience in the face of climate change and other vulnerabilities. The workshop aims to produce four major outcomes:

Expanding on ideas generated in Samarkand: The workshop will consider whether there are clear paths forward to implement ideas, and if not, what more is needed.
Identifying new research needs: The workshop will identify additional issues that require further examination and refinement, using initial lessons generated in Samarkand as a point of departure.
Generating new educational and outreach strategies: The workshop will look at what tools can be used to ensure that these lessons are widely disseminated throughout Central Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere.
Generate a journal article: The workshop will produce a journal article synthesizing the topics and ideas generated over the course of the 2023 and 2024 workshops.

Contact

Rose Parker

(202) 334-2709
Accelnet@nas.edu

Location

Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center

100 Academy Way

Irvine CA 92617, USA

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Workshop Closed

Accelnet PEER2PEER Workshop: Opportunities for Building Resilience in the Face of Transboundary Water Resource Vulnerabilities - A Focus on Central Asia

November 1 - 3, 2023

Past

About

The Accelnet PEER2PEER Workshop: Opportunities for Building Resilience in the Face of Transboundary Water Resource Vulnerabilities - A Focus on Central Asia, will take place November 1 -3, 2023, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in partnership with Samarkand State University and the International Water Management Institute.

The objective of this workshop is to explore opportunities for building a comprehensive assessment framework for identifying, averting, and adapting to vulnerabilities in transboundary water systems. The workshop will focus on challenges faced by nation-states in Central Asia. However, problems and lessons relevant to the United States, Middle East and North Africa, and elsewhere will also be discussed. The workshop will take place over two days, with a site-visit on day 3.

The PEER2PEER program is a network of networks in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and the United States that works to synergize research initiatives, share data and tools, and foster collaboration in transboundary water security scholarship and capacity building to address gaps in research and education. This workshop will successfully contribute to best practices on water security in these regions and build sustainable partnerships with high level individuals and academic institutions.

Contact

Rose Parker

(202) 334-2709
Accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Blue Gold Rush: Transboundary water resources management issues for the Hawizeh Marsh

September 26, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

The Hawizeh Marsh, a unique wetland of the Mesopotamian marshes on the Iraq-Iran border, is recognized as a wetland of international importance. The marsh has been shrinking, and there has been little research into its degradation. This study aims to reconstruct historical water regimes in the contributing basins (Tigris and Karkheh River Basins, TKRB) to investigate factors that have affected the well-being of the marsh.

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used for this study. The model was calibrated and validated using nine river gauging stations. Results indicated that inflows to the marsh decreased by 65% and 80% in the '90s and 2000s, respectively, compared to the '80s. The reductions in streamflow were caused by decreased precipitation and water abstraction. The annual rainfall dropped by 14% and 38% in the '90s and 2000s, respectively, compared to the '80s. The highest water abstraction was seen in the Karkheh dam, which caused a reduction of 45% in the annual streamflows. Average annual evaporative losses from Tharthar Lake (2700 km2) were very high (2260 hm3 [cubic hectometer]). Although the Hawizeh marsh has been shrinking for the last three decades, recent satellite images (2013) have shown that the marsh has been reviving, mainly due to increased precipitation from 2011 to 2013.

The revival of the marsh is promising; however, if the planned dams on TKRB are implemented, the future of the marsh remains uncertain. The sustainability of the Hawizeh Marsh will require integrated water resources management among the riparian countries to rehabilitate and maintain this unique wetland.

Contact

RoseParker

(202) 334-2709
Accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Water Cooperation and Reforms in Central Asia: Lessons Learnt and Outlook

June 13, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

Abstract

Water resources governance and management in the transboundary context are key elements of regional stability and security for Central Asia. Countries in the region have long been competing over water resources. Despite the political commitment to cooperation, water policies of the five Central Asian republics – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – have largely been driven by uncoordinated and partly contradicting national strategies. Over the 25 years of the post-soviet period, water issues have transformed from techno-economic into socio-political. Although institutional structures and procedures for the region-scale allocation of water resources have been sustained, even after the collapse of the Soviet system, the water issues have been gradually nationalized by the five independent states. The current state of water affairs in the region is more about the coordination of five different water policies rather than regional water governance and management. Therefore, efforts on promoting regional transboundary cooperation by creating solitary water policies for Central Asia will not be successful. The core idea of regional cooperation should shift to efforts on coordination of different aspects of the water policy of each individual country. This webinar analyzes changes in regional-level water cooperation and alterations in national water systems and local levels for the last 29 years. The webinar will highlight linkages of water development at different levels and will focus on the most significant differences in the water sector transformation in Central Asia and in other regions such as South Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

This project and webinar are supported under National Science Foundation Award #2114701.

Contact

Contact us

accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Transboundary waters: threats or opportunities? The case of the US-MX border

April 26, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

Abstract

Approximately 2 out of 5 people in the world depend on shared water resources for drinking and domestic use. The reliance on shared resources worldwide is increasing as domestic reserves are getting exhausted. The potential for conflict over shared waters is on the rise, but also its potential for cooperation and even as an element of peace amongst nations. The case of the US-Mexico border depicts interesting conditions where potential threats could also trigger opportunities for improvement of our current shared management models, cooperation over shared resources under current challenging climatic conditions, and the ever negligent assessment of the "white elephant": shared groundwater resources.

Dr. Rosario Sanchez is a Senior Research Scientist at the Texas Water Resources and Associate Graduate Faculty of the Water Management and Hydrological Sciences Program at Texas A&M University. She is Co-Chair of the Transboundary Aquifers Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologists and, Founder and Director of the Permanent Forum of Binational Waters. She is the PI of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Act Program (TAAP) for the state of Texas, founder of the Transboundary Water Portal and leader of the transboundary groundwater research team. She published the first complete map of transboundary aquifers between Mexico and the United States in 2021 and coined the term “transboundariness” that defines the strategic value of an aquifer that happens to be located at the border between two or more countries. She has 25 years of academic and work experience on transboundary issues between Mexico and the United States both in the academia and the public sector. She is Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association and the Texas Water Journal. She is serving at international panels and committees at UNESCO, International Groundwater Resources Assessment Center (IGRAC) and the International Water Resources Association (IWRA). She has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Monterrey Tech, a master’s degree in Diplomacy from the Institute of Diplomatic Studies Matias Romero (Foreign Service Academy), and a PhD in Water Management and Hydrological Sciences from Texas A&M University. She is passionate about science and policy, science diplomacy, water as a tool for peace and cooperation, international water law, and negotiation skills over shared waters.

This project and webinar are supported under National Science Foundation Award #2114701.

Contact

Accelnet

accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Transboundary Water Management at the Mano River Union

January 26, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

Abstract

This talk will cover a brief history of the Mano River Union, it's functions, and the transboundary initiatives that the union has embarked on since its formation. The initiatives include the development of a framework for the establishment of the transboundary basin authority, the formation of transboundary committees, the development of protocols, and ongoing activities such as training workshops, community sensitization and awareness raising on transboundary issues, the development of a Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) report, and the ongoing development of a Strategic Action program (SAP). The talk will highlight the opportunities and challenges that these efforts present.

Mohamed Sahr Egbenda Juanah is the Director of Hydrological Services at the National Water Resources Management Agency in Sierra Leone. He is a water resources management expert who holds a double Master of Science in Environmental Systems and Processes and in Freshwater Quality Monitoring and Assessment. With over 10 years of experience in identification, preparation, appraisal and supervision of water resources programs, Mr. Juanah is the national focal point of the SDG 6.5.2 and the Mano River Union (MRU) Transboundary programs. He has played key roles in the formulation of the MRU transboundary management authority, the formation of MRU transboundary water management committees, and the development of the Transboundary Diagnostic Assessment report and the Strategic Action Program of the MRU transboundary basins, and has participated in numerous workshops, trainings, and transboundary meetings.

This project and webinar are supported under National Science Foundation Award #2114701.

Contact

Contact us

accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

Climate Change in Transboundary River Basins: A look at the Blue Nile River

December 9, 2022

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

Abstract

With the threat of climate change, trans-boundary river basins become hotspots for tension, rivalry over resources, and possibilities of ‘water wars’. There is no difference in the Blue Nile River Basin between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, where there have been decades of tension over water usage. Much of the empirical evidence from literature suggests that along global transboundary river basins, that we are more inclined to move towards cooperation than conflict (Wolf et al. 2003). Add climate change however, into this mix, and the situation becomes that much more complex. With the urgency of climate change, the need to act has become more pressing. This webinar will look at how climate change can be an opportunity for cooperation and collaborative pathways forward on the Blue Nile River Basin, as opposed to the rhetoric of propelling systemic conflict on this Basin. It will examine empirical evidence on the ground with various modalities of collaboration between the countries of this transboundary river basin.

Lama Elhatow has 15+ years of work experience in the Environmental field, 11 of which are as an Environmental and Social (E&S) Specialist at IFC (part of the World Bank Group) working on projects in sectors including Manufacturing, Infrastructure, Services and Financial Markets. She has worked on a wide range of projects across Middle East and North Africa as well as a few projects in Sub-Saharan Africa including Mozambique and Nigeria. Many of Lama’s projects include complex infrastructure such as hydropower development on a transboundary watershed in Pakistan, as well as the world largest solar park – the Benban solar park in Aswan, Egypt where she acted as the E&S focal point lead at IFC. Lama has a Bachelors degree (B.Sc.) in Construction Engineering and a Masters degree (M.Sc.) in Environmental Engineering from the American University in Cairo, Egypt. Her Doctorate degree (PhD) in sustainability from Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, has enabled her to work across various cross-cutting fields to assess the ecologic, economic, policy oriented, social, and governance related factors related to water and climate change. Her dissertation: “Climate Change as an opportunity for cooperation on the Blue Nile River Basin” has utilized the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach to outlining win-win benefit sharing opportunities for the three countries of the Blue Nile for a sustainable transboundary approach to water management. Lama was also engaged in the UNFCCC climate change negotiations for 5 years from 2009-2014 as a climate policy officer, working with governments in the Arab region to reduce their GHG emissions whilst following both the mitigation and adaptation tracks quite closely through the International NGO Climate Action Network (CAN). Lama is a passionate environmentalist and an avid learner of the complexities of our ecosystem and is often amazed at the interconnectedness of everything within it.

This project and webinar are supported under National Science Foundation Award #2114701.

Contact

Contact us

accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Contested Waters: Scalar politics of water conflict in Jordan & Pakistan

October 31, 2022

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM (ET)

Past

About

This event is part of a webinar series on Transboundary Water Security being organized by Accelnet PEER2PEER.

Dr Daanish Mustafa obtained his BA in Geography from Middlebury College, USA, his MA from University of Hawai'i Manoa, and his PhD in Geography from University of Colorado.

He has taught at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and then at the University of South Florida, St Petersburg, before finding his intellectual home in the Department of Geography. While at King's, he has received the School of Social Science and Public Policy excellence in teaching award.

His research has been funded by the Belmont Forum, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Department for International Development (DfID), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), National Geographic Society, Royal Geographical Society, and the British Academy.

Daanish was the co-author of the first climate change response strategies for Pakistan, in addition to being the lead author for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Pakistan five-year flood response strategy. In addition, he has also undertaken policy-related work with the DfID, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Stimson Centre, and United States Institute for Peace (USIP).

Abstract

Literature in transboundary water conflict has rarely taken into the account the politics of water across spatial scales, and how the recurring themes of water conflict from local to sub-national scale have an imprint upon international scale water conflict. Drawing upon case studies of upstream downstream, inter-provincial and inter-regional water conflict in Jordan and Pakistan I try to unpack the scalar politics of water conflict. The key argument is that water conflict displays fractal characteristics across spatial scales. In order to nuance our understanding of transboundary water conflict we have to engage with power politics at the sub-national scale which drive the national agendas.

This project and webinar are supported under National Science Foundation Award #2114701.

Contact

Contact us

accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

Webinar

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Water Conflicts and Cooperation: Lessons from Around the World

September 27, 2022

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (ET)

Past

About

This event is part of a webinar series on Transboundary Water Security being organized by Accelnet PEER2PEER. The inaugural speaker, Prof. Aaron Wolf, Oregon State University, will discuss “Water Conflicts and Cooperation: Lessons from Around the World”.

Water management is, by definition, conflict management: Whether in the Western US or internationally, competing stakeholder interests include domestic users, agriculturalists, hydropower generators, recreators, and environmentalists – any two of which are regularly at odds, and the complexity of finding mutually acceptable solutions increases exponentially as more stakeholders are involved. Add international boundaries, and the difficulty grows substantially yet again.

While press reports of shared waters often focus on conflict, what has been more encouraging is that, throughout the world, water also induces cooperation, even in particularly hostile basins, and even as disputes rage over other issues. This has been true from the Jordan (Arabs and Israelis) to the Indus (Indians and Pakistanis) to the Kura-Araks (Georgians, Armenians, and Azeris), as well as here in the US where collaborators span political and economic spectrums.

This presentation will discuss conflict and cooperation over shared water resources internationally and in the US West, and reflect on processes of conflict transformation, including lessons from both Western and spiritual models of dialog.

Aaron T. Wolf, PhD is a professor of geography at Oregon State University, USA, with an appointment as professor of water diplomacy at IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands. He has acted as consultant to the US Government, the World Bank, and several international governments and development partners on various aspects of water resources and conflict management. A trained mediator/ facilitator, he directs the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, through which he has offered workshops, facilitations, and mediation in basins throughout the world.

This project and webinar are supported under National Science Foundation Award #2114701.

Contact

Contact us

accelnet@nas.edu

Disclaimer

It is essential to the National Academies mission of providing evidence-based advice that participants in any of our meetings or events avoid political or partisan statements or commentary and maintain a culture of mutual respect. The statements and presentations during our meetings or events are solely those of the individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of other participants or the National Academy of Sciences, which is a non-partisan, tax exempt organization that includes under its Charter the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine, and that operates the National Research Council.

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AccelNet: PEER2PEER International Convergence Research Networks in Transboundary Water Security

Description

Collaborators

Steering Committee

Project Team

Sponsors

Staff

Major units and sub-units

Toward the Estimation of Global Snow-Derived Water Resources

2025 AccelNet PEER2PEER Workshop: Advanced Technologies for Transboundary Water Resources Management: Between Science Diplomacy, Global Water Security, and Peace-building

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Advancing Knowledge and Action on the Global Water Crisis across Transboundary Regions

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Ensuring inclusion and equality in transboundary water cooperation – Integrative gender approaches to data collection, analysis and stakeholder engagement

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Transboundary Water Governance and the Colorado River

2024 AccelNet PEER2PEER Workshop: Learning Resilience – Lessons for Managing Transboundary Water Resource Vulnerabilities

Accelnet PEER2PEER Workshop: Opportunities for Building Resilience in the Face of Transboundary Water Resource Vulnerabilities - A Focus on Central Asia

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Blue Gold Rush: Transboundary water resources management issues for the Hawizeh Marsh

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Water Cooperation and Reforms in Central Asia: Lessons Learnt and Outlook

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Transboundary waters: threats or opportunities? The case of the US-MX border

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Transboundary Water Management at the Mano River Union

Climate Change in Transboundary River Basins: A look at the Blue Nile River

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Contested Waters: Scalar politics of water conflict in Jordan & Pakistan

PEER2PEER Seminar Series: Water Conflicts and Cooperation: Lessons from Around the World

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