Water Diplomacy in Action

Today we face an incredibly complex array of interconnected water issues that cross multiple boundaries: Is water a property or a human right? How do we prioritize between economic utility and environmental sustainability? Do fish have more rights to water than irrigated grain? Can we reconcile competing cultural and religious values associated with water? How much water do people actually need? These questions share two key defining characteristics: (a) competing values, interests and information to frame the problem; and (b) differing views - of how to resolve a problem - are related more to uncertainty and ambiguity of perception than accuracy of scientific information.

These problems - known as complex problems - are ill-defined, ambiguous, and often associated with strong moral, political and professional values and issues. For complex water problems, certainty of solutions and degree of consensus varies widely. In fact, there is often little consensus about what the problem is, let alone how to resolve it. Furthermore, complex problems are constantly changing because of interactions among the natural, societal and political forces involved. The nature of complexity is contingent on a variety of contextual characteristics of the interactions among variables, processes, actors, and institutions. Understanding interactions and feedback loops between and within human and natural systems is critical for managing complex water problems. [NP] This edited volume synthesizes insights from theory and practice to address complex water problems through contingent and adaptive management using water diplomacy framework (WDF). This emerging framework diagnoses water problems, identifies intervention points, and proposes sustainable solutions that are sensitive to diverse viewpoints and uncertainty as well as changing and competing needs. The WDF actively seeks value-creation opportunities by blending science, policy, and politics through a contingent negotiated approach.

Rooted in the ideas of complexity science and mutual gains negotiation, this volume shows why traditional systems engineering approaches will not work for complex water problems and what emerging tools and techniques are needed to resolve them. This collection successfully synthesizes insights from theory and practice to advocate for contingent and adaptive management using a water diplomacy framework. 

Complex water problems cannot be resolved by numbers or narratives. Contingent and negotiated approaches are necessary for actionable outcome. In the face of a constantly changing array of interconnected water issues that cross multiple boundaries, the challenge is how to translate solutions that emerge from science and technology into the context of real-world policy and politics. Water Diplomacy in Action addresses this task by synthesizing two emerging ideas––complexity science and negotiation theory––to understand and manage risks and opportunities for an uncertain water future. Rooted in the ideas of complexity science and mutual gains negotiation, this edited volume shows why traditional systems engineering approaches may not work for complex problems, what emerging tools and techniques are needed and how these are used to resolve complex water problems. 

List of Figures; List of Tables; The Blind Men, the Elephant and the Well: A Parable for Complexity and Contingency - Maimuna Majumder; Preface; Part I. Roots and Causes of Complexiety and Contingency in Water Problems; Chapter One Complexity and Contingency: Understanding and Managing Complex Water Problems - Shafiqul Islam; Chapter Two Leveraging Diplomacy for Resolving Transboundary Water Problems - Benjamin Pohl and Ashok Swain; Part II. Tools, Techniques, Models and Analyses to Resolve Complex Water Problems; Chapter Three Ten Bankruptcy Methods for Resolving Natural Resource Allocation Conflicts - Mahboubeh Zarezadeh, Ali Mirchi, Laura Read and Kaveh Madani; Chapter Four Flexible Design of Water Infrastructure Systems - Melanie Wong Turlington, Richard de Neufville and Margaret Garcia; Chapter Five Extreme Value Analysis for Modeling Nonstationary Hydrologic - ChangeArpita Mondal and P. P. Mujumdar; Chapter Six The Water– Food Nexus and Virtual Water Trade - Joel A. Carr and Paolo D’Odorico; Chapter Seven A Hybrid Analytical Approach for Modeling the Dynamics of Interactions for Complex Water Problems - Yosif Ibrahim and Shafiqul Islam; Chapter Eight A Call for Capacity Development for Improved Water Diplomacy - Dena Marshall, Léna Salamé and Aaron T. Wolf; Chapter Nine Water Complexity and Physics- Guided Data Mining - Udit Bhatia, Devashish Kumar, Evan Kodra and Auroop R. Ganguly; Part III. Case Studies; Chapter Ten The Nature of Enabling Conditions of Transboundary Water Management: Learning from the Negotiation of the Indus and Jordan Basin Treaties - Enamul Choudhury; Chapter Eleven Mediation in the Israeli– Palestinian Water Conflict: A Practitioner’s View - Patrick Huntjens; Chapter Twelve Risk Distribution and the Adoption of Flexibility: Desalination Expansion in Qatar - Abdulla AlMisnad, Richard de Neufville and Margaret Garcia; Chapter Thirteen The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: Conflict and Water Diplomacy in the Nile Basin - Ronny Berndtsson, Kaveh Madani, Karin Aggestam and Dan- Erik Andersson; Chapter Fourteen Engaging Stakeholders for Water Diplomacy: Lessons for Integrated Water Resources Management - Bhadranie Thoradeniya and Basant Maheshwari; Chapter Fifteen Strategic Insights for California’s Delta Conflict - Mohammad R. Moazezi, Kaveh Madani and Keith W. Hipel; Notes on Contributors; Index.