The Role of Energy in Transboundary Water Governance

To say the management of water resources in the 21st century is a complex task is putting it mildly. Balancing anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic water needs while accounting for variables such as local hydrology, meteorology, and geology, is no easy task. Throw in the added topological complexity of multiple countries with competing interests tasked with managing a single transboundary water resource and all of a sudden, the odds of winning the lottery start to look promising. Nevertheless, the task of managing the world’s freshwater resources cannot be ignored or left to chance, especially given the linkages to energy development. The stakes are simply far too high. When solving any type of problem, one should start by breaking it into manageable pieces. Complex or overwhelming problems in particular, are more manageable with fewer or better understood variables. When it comes to water management issues, such as Transboundary Water Management (TWM), dealing with each basin individually and understanding the situation’s underlying causes, is critical. There are at least as many solutions to the management of transboundary waters as there are transboundary river, lake, or aquifer basins. Approximately 276 river basins cross the political boundaries of two or more countries1, and are home to approximately 40 percent of the world’s population. Globally about 30-50% of the world’s population depend on groundwater sourced from 608 transboundary aquifer systems.2