Transboundary Resource Management Programme

Description

Climate change and resource scarcity pose severe threats to the welfare of millions globally. These threats become more acute in regions where critical natural resources, such as rivers, cross political boundaries and are compounded by political disagreements and mistrust.

The case of Syria, for example, illustrates how environmental stress, climate change, and mismanaged natural resources can exacerbate humanitarian crises, leading to regional destabilisation and prolonged conflict.

Prevailing strategies to address water and energy needs often focus on sector-based, supply-side solutions, intertwined with politically charged narratives of national self-sufficiency. This approach neglects the cross-border nature of many resources and their interdependence - energy is vital for water supply, water is necessary for power generation, and both are indispensable for food production.

This research programme aims to encourage pragmatic cross-border collaboration on natural resources in the eastern Nile Basin and the Jordan River Basin. It will scrutinise the interrelations between water, energy, and climate in these regions, developing future need scenarios, governance trajectories, and infrastructure growth paths.

The programme will also adopt a practical stance, fostering a multi-track and iterative process of solution exploration across each region. It will engage a diverse set of stakeholders, including local interest groups, academia, government researchers, and the general public, to discuss and collaborate on regional water and energy policies. This process will strive to cultivate trust and mutual understanding amongst the parties sharing the resources in question, steering towards politically feasible regional approaches that tackle key resource challenges. Solutions co-created with a broad spectrum of stakeholders can then inform government negotiations.

The programme aspires to aid in resolving transboundary resource conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa through practical and inclusive means. If successful, this could establish a new foundation for overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles impeding the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in the region.

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No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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