Introduction Conflict through use Conflict through pollution Distribution conflict Environmental conflict Suggested solutions

Transcription

1 Introduction Conflict through use Conflict through pollution Distribution conflict Environmental conflict Suggested solutions

2 What does everyone in the world have in common concerning water?? 1. It is the foundation of human life. 2. It is a finite and scarce resource. 3. It is a common and divided resource.

3 Coming to an Agreement The difficulty of international law being reactive rather than concretely proactive United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Water Courses: The principle that all states bordering an international watercourse can utilize the resource in an equitable and reasonable manner in order to achieve optimal and sustainable utilization. The state is, however, obligated to undertake all necessary measures to ensure that such utilization does not lead to any of the other riparian states suffering significant harm. However, the other states also need to tolerated some disadvantages caused by the legitimate use of the water resource by the other riparians, as long as this damage is not considerable (Haftendorn pg. 66). Main point: General, subjective and open to interpretation, therefore, it is usually up to the states involved to come to an agreement.

4 Coming to an agreement Major Problem: Upper states want to retain status quo if there are no other incentives --economic incentives (less effective with a finite resource), lawsuits Factors that affect agreements: Military power Political tensions Trust issues Existing relationships (trade, European Union, interaction) --maintaining positive relationships Outside influences --typically reactive not preventative --mediators, neutral experts, international and regional conventions/coalitions --encourage trust, maintain public interest, transfer information

5 Water Usage: conflicts can arise from the use of common water resources. 1. Conflict through use Construction of power-station on upper course of river 2. Conflict through pollution Disposing of waste water in rivers whose length and drainage area crosses national borders 3. Distributional conflict: relative shortage Extensive water use in upper riparian countries leaving reduced flows downstream 4. Distributional conflict: absolute shortage Situations where there is simply not enough water

6 Conflict through use Definition: A conflict through use could be found in a situation where one state using the river, for example as a waterway, clashes with another state citing environmental concerns over the other state s activities. Construction of dam

7 Case Study: Itaipu Dam Conflict Brazil and Paraguay wanted to place a dam on the Parana near Itaipu. Argentina criticized the project in fear of consequences for lower basin region. Conflict Issues: 1.Parana flows through Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay before reaching the La Plata Basin. Altercations between states regarding the use of Parana prevailed. 2.Upper-lying states (Brazil and Paraguay) called upon their national right to act on the Parana 3.Argentina called on a resolution from the UN for the provision of sufficient information and consultation.

8 Case Study: Pollution on the Rhine European river shared by the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria; Drains into the North sea through the Netherlands Upper Large chemical industries in Switzerland and Germany French potassium mines Lower Netherlands use river for drinking water and agriculture mainly Rotterdam has to remove toxic mud Chemical waste, salt, heavy metals

9 The Political Process 1950 downstream states create International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine Against Pollution 1963 Berne Convention calls for states to investigate the scale of pollution and suggest solutions 1976 environmental ministers from the downstream states sign Chemical Agreement which assigned clean up costs France 30%, Germany 30%, Netherlands 34%, Switzerland 6% To try to create effective results the Netherlands have to create a dilemma situation which is bad for all groups and therefore, a solution must be created. --in exchange the Netherlands agree not to sue Germany and Switzerland for their salt emissions --France declines to ratify Chemical Agreement in note the lack of success of regional organizations: the European Union couldn t come to a solution because not all members of the Union are affected equally by the pollution

10 The Political Process 1983 change in the French government leads to ratification of Chemical Agreement being taken up again Note the outside influences that start to influence the conflict and solution process at this moment: --Dutch nurseries argue for compensation for protective measures having to be taken against high chlorine content and also work on public relations campaigns --transnational interest groups founded International Waterworks Association in in 1970s that helps to mediate in this situation 1986 series of chemical accidents create/retain public interest 1987 Chemical Agreement comes into force 1991 replaced by and even stricter agreement which called for the regulation of salt levels

11 Distribution Conflict Relative Distribution: Disparity over use of water between upper and lower lying states Euphrates, Nile, Ganges rivers Absolute Distribution: not enough water to meet the needs of the states involved. Colorado, Rio Grande, Jordan rivers The privileged state in both types of conflict has to give up some of its advantages to reach agreement Can lead to violence

12 Euphrates River Headwaters in Turkey, flows through Syria and Iraq Syria depends heavily on Euphrates which makes up 86% of water resource Iraq is heavily dependent on Euphrates but also has Tigris Turkey only uses 10% of water but with GAP plan could use up to 50%

13 GAP Greater Anatolia Project aims to further develop Turkey. Lower flow to Syria and Turkey Talks between countries but no agreement. Bilateral agreement: 1987 and 1990

14 Jordan River Six day war in 1967 Changed water scenario Israel gained control of most of the water Israeli-Jordanian Peace Agreement Jordan got Yarmuk Israel got Jordan Build a joint dam

15 Jordan River 1996 Taba agreement Israel recognized Palestinians right to water on their territory Water commission established No agreement with Syria Largely due to Israel not willing to give up Golan Heights

16 The politics of ecosystem management in rivers Ecosystem management refers to the observation and alteration of flora and fauna through human interference. Ecosystem management politics generally involve alterations to the number of particular species in an ecosystem. This is also true for the governing of ecosystems in rivers, although law implementation is far more difficult in the aquatic environment than on land.

17 Invasive species Invasive species in rivers can alter ecosystems drastically, and often result in a high amount of native species displacement. Government policy is most commonly based on the eradication of these species from the ecosystem. Laws to wipe out these invasive species from rivers include laws that encourage the fishing/killing of these species (such as with Asian carp in the Mississippi) or the addition of toxic substances to rivers that may kill fish without harming animals out of water that eat them (such as invasive vertebrae in Chile's rivers). Reducing the fertility of species are usually more effective in the long term. Fish fertility in the Great Lakes has fallen due to the use of oestrogen in the lakes.

18 Overpopulation Sometimes, a river's population approaches the river's carrying capacity. Once this carrying capacity is exceeded, the population experiences what is known as an 'overshoot'. As a result of overshoot, species begin to die out, and either continue to die until the species is extinct from that area, or they continue to die until a suitable level below the carrying capacity is reached. Governing bodies will usually follow the same methods as with species invasion (reducing fertility and culling). Another method is the introduction of a new species to the river to adjust the river's ecosystem. Alternatively, laws may be enforced that produce physical barriers that force species to move to another aquatic environment.

19 Increased death rates/extinctions Conversely, a river's population may begin to die at an increasing rate. Environmental causes may include overfeeding, overpopulation resulting in a lack of resources, excessive competition with other species and a reduced amount of nutrient cycling in the river. Human causes are far more severe, and usually include pollution from agriculture and industry, overfishing/excessive harvesting, overuse of the river system (for entertainment purposes etc), the implementation of river structures such as dams and embankments etc. Human activity has caused more extinctions than any natural process.

20 Other ecosystem policies Fishing bans and restrictions are common policies that affect river ecosystems, whether it is to protect species in river environments or because the ecosystem population is considered sacred to a group of people. In Wisconsin, there have been debates over the amount of Walleye that Native Americans can harvest, as catch rates are restricted.

21 Suggested Solutions The improvement of information exchange and the promotion of confidence between states Disconnection from other national politics Possibility of trade-offs between economic, ecological, social and political benefits The use of arbitration, mediation and intervention

22 Dolatyar, Mostafa and Gray, Tim S.(2000) 'The politics of water scarcity in the Middle East', Environmental Politics, 9: 3, Freeman, Kevin. "Water Wars? Inequalities in the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin." Geopolitics 6, no. 2 (September 2001): 127. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 27, 2010). Haftendorn, Helga. "Water and International Conflict." Third World Quarterly 21.1 (2000): EBSCO. Web. 15 Apr < 110&sid=8ebaaf f4-b5db-b75d28e10b54%40sessionmgr4>. K&_user=571676&_coverDate=11%2F30%2F1998&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort =d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchstrid= &_rerunorigin=scholar.google&_acct= C &_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=571676&md5=e9d8d9854fbb56860cdc43 dd47c Growth rates, salt tolerance and water use characteristics of native and invasive riparian plants from the delta of the Colorado River, Mexico - Invasive vertebrate species in Chile and their control and monitoring by governmental agencies gy+of++rivers+laws&ots=hnnmvsgco7&sig=5d8utgg2qoducohjacanteej4vm#v=onepage &q=ecology%20of%20%20rivers%20laws&f=false The Fisherman's Problem OUrLDUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=ecology+of++rivers+laws&ots=3Q1uxI6VzI&sig=PD5RnIUaBgi TQoXr9vILxgpfIW0#v=onepage&q=ecology%20of%20%20rivers%20laws&f=false River ecology and management