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10th Conference on Applied Infrastructure Research “Institutional Models in Infrastructure Sectors – Conceptual Issues and Empirical Evidence” Friday, 7 October, 201114:15 – 15:00 Technical University Berlin “Water Allocation and Use: Recent Research and Policy Issues” Frank A. WardNew Mexico State University USA
Q: What modern water policy debates influence the allocation and use of water? A: Dividing Transboundary Waters Focus of Talk: Dividing the Waters for Peace
Road Map • River Basins • Background Issue • Principles • Need for Water Sharing Agreements • A Successful Agreement: The Rio Grande Compact • A Controversial Agreement: The Pecos Compact • A Model Agreement: Sharing Inflows
Nile • Could IRBA help inform debates on alternative ways of sharing the Nile’s flows among its countries? Especially • Ethiopia • Sudan • Egypt
Rio Grande • Rio Grande Compact: It defines rules for sharing water among the US riparians: • Colorado • New Mexico • Texas
Tigris-Euphrates • Can IRBA help identify economic effects of water sharing arrangements among riparians?
Balkh Basin, Afghanistan • Main staple is wheat • 14 canal systems share River’s water. • Mirabs’ communication • Little central or regional govt. authority to enforce water rights. • Water wasted at top of watershed. So no reliable water at lower lands. • How should water rights be defined and river flows shared for promoting peace and food security?
Background • Previous IRBA • Nile, Egypt • Balkh, Afghanistan • Murray, Australia • Rio Grande, USA • Amu Darya, Central Asia • Tigris-Euphrates • Nilufur, Turkey • Jordan
Background • Aims: Examine barriers and opportunities for forging sustainable international water sharing agreements.
Background • Means: Identify and illustrate principles that motivate cooperation among states to draft and implement lasting settlements.
Principle • For a water sharing agreement to last, all parties must secure and sustain a greater benefit with the agreement than without. • For an agreement to sustain these benefits, it must have flexibility to adapt to future changes in • water supplies • population • climate • technology • infrastructure • political boundaries • economic activity
Benefits of Transboundary Water Sharing Agreement (in promoting peace) • Each state develops water independently, needing only to meets downstream obligations…new lands, new reservoirs, growing populations,… • Reduces uncertainty • Future population • Future industry, environmental needs
Example Structure of Integrated River Basin Analysis: Rio Grande
Constraints • Irrigable land, Headwater supplies • Sustain key ecological assets • Hydrologic balance • Reservoir starting levels (sw, gw) • Reservoir sustainability constraints (sw, gw) • Institutional • Endangered Species Act • Rio Grande Compact (CO-NM; NM-TX) • US Mexico Treaty of 1906 • Rio Grande Project water sharing history (NM/TX)
Gauged Flows: Hydro Balance • E.g.: Lobatosgauge (CO-NM border): X(Lobatos_v,1) = X(RG_h,1) - X(SLV_d,1) + X(SLV_r,1)
Results: Rio Grande Basin • Policy: Subsidize drip irrigation with an upper bound on existing depletions to guarantee downstream delivery obligations
One Successful Sharing Agreement: The Rio Grande CompactDivides Annual Natural Flows
Rio Grande Compact: Has a Water Sharing Formula(1000 acre feet / year) • Colorado delivers to New Mexico • New Mexico delivers to Texas
Results: Economic value of water sharing under the Rio Grande Compact • Colorado: knows it has an upper bound on delivery requirements • New Mexico: has a guaranteed water supply from CO and an upper bound on deliveries to Texas. • Texas: has a guaranteed supply • Total Value of Compact: about 30% of economic value of water would be lost without RG Compact. All states would have a lower value of water because of greater uncertainty of supplies
One Controversial Agreement: The Pecos River Compact • “. . . New Mexico shall not deplete by man's activities the flow of the Pecos River at the New Mexico-Texas state line below an amount which will give to Texas a quantity of water equivalent to that available to Texas under the 1947 condition. . . “
Water Sharing Agreements and Infrastructure • Sustained international water agreements can enhance the development of water infrastructure. Examples • reservoirs • irrigation facilities • water treatment facilities • piped in water • peace pipelines • environmental restorations
Needs for future Research • What can be done to promote establishment of water sharing agreements when current conditions don’t favor them? • When governments are corrupt • When there is no history of water sharing among the communities? • When water rights are poorly defined or assigned to the most powerful • When two countries won’t talk to each other? • Could an IRBA promote discussion?