Trans-boundary water agreements are usually conceived as allocation agreements. In other words, water is treated as if it were a pie to be divided among the riparian states. Though sometimes useful to avoid conflict in the short term, this approach is flawed as a way to ensure efficient, equitable, and sustainable management of water over the long term. This presentation proposes adoption of a joint management structure that allows for ongoing conflict resolution concerning water demands and does so in a way that effectively de-nationalizes and de-securitizes water uses. Though specifically applied to water shared by Israelis and Palestinians, the objectives, principles and institutional structure are relevant to any place in the world where trans-boundary water divides rather than unites two or more peoples.

The document that will be the subject of this talk, written by David Brooks and Julie Trottier, can be downloaded from http://foeme.org/www/?module=publications&project_id=54

Dr. Brooks can be reached at david.b.brooks34@gmail.com

Co-sponsored by the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy and the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES).

The views, opinions, advice or other content expressed by the author(s) or speaker(s) are their own and do not represent those of the Water Resources Research Center.