Skip to main content
Log in

Transboundary Water Resources in Southern Africa: Conflict or cooperation?

  • Thematic Section
  • Published:
Development Aims and scope

Abstract

Literature suggests a linkage between internationally shared water resources and conflict potential. Anthony R. Turton, Marian J. Patrick and Frédéric Julien examine transboundary water resource management in southern Africa, showing that empirical evidence indicates a propensity to cooperation. They use the Hydropolitical Complex concept to explain why states might choose cooperation over conflict where a critical shared resource could limit future development potential.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amery, H.A. (1997) ‘Water Security as a Factor in Arab-Israeli Wars and Emerging Peace’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 20 (1): 95–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, P.J. (2000) ‘Southern African Water Conflicts: Are they inevitable or preventable?’, in H. Solomon, and A.R. Turton, (eds.) Water Wars: Enduring myth or impending reality? African Dialogue Monograph Series No. 2 Durban: ACCORD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, P.J. (2002) ‘Avoiding Conflicts over Africa's Water Resources'’, Ambio 31 (3): 236–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, P.J. and A.R. Turton (2005) ‘Transboundary Water Resource Management in Southern Africa: Opportunities, challenges and lessons learned’, in L. Wirkus (ed.) Water, Development and Cooperation – Comparative Perspectives: Euphrates–Tigris and Southern Africa, Bonn: BICC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, P.J. and A.R. Turton (in press) ‘Water and Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: Emerging concepts and their implications for effective water resource management in the southern African region’, in H.G. Brauch, J. Grin, C. Mesjasz, N.C. Behera, B. Chourou, U.O. Spring, P.H. Liotta, and P. Kameira-Mbote (eds.) Globalisation and Environmental Challenges, Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

  • Ashton, P.J., A. Earle, D. Malzbender, M.B.H. Moloi, M.J. Patrick and A.R. Turton (2006) ‘A Compilation of all the International Freshwater Agreements Entered into by South Africa with other States’, Water Research Commission Report No. 1515/1/06, Pretoria: WRC.

  • Betts, R.K. (ed.) (1994) Conflict after the Cold War: Arguments on causes of war and peace, New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biswas, A.K. (1978) ‘Environmental Implications of Water Development for Developing Countries’, in C. Widstrand, (ed.) Water and Society: Conflicts in Development 1: The social and ecological effects of water development in developing countries, Oxford: Pergammon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulloch, J. and A. Darwish (eds.) (1993) Water Wars: Coming conflicts in the Middle East, London: Victor Gollancz.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buzan, B. (1991) People, States and Fear: An agenda for international security studies in the post-cold war era, London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buzan, B., O. Wæver and J. de Wilde (1998) Security: A new framework for analysis, London: Lynne Rienner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centre for Natural Resources, Energy, and Transport of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations (CNRET) (1978) Register of International Rivers, Oxford: Pergamon Press.

  • Conca, K. (2006) Governing Water: Contentious transnational politics and global institution building, Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diehl, P.F. and N.P. Gleditsch (eds) (2001) Environmental Conflict, Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falkenmark, M. (1989) ‘The Massive Water Scarcity Now Threatening Africa: Why isn't it being addressed?’ Ambio 18 (2): 112–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey, F.W. (1993) ‘The Political Context of Conflict and Co-operation Over International River Basins’, Water International 18 (1): 54–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furlong, K. and N.P. Gleditsch (2003) ‘The Boundary Dataset’, Conflict Management and Peace Science 20 (1): 93–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furlong, K., N.P. Gleditsch and H. Hegre (2006) ‘Geographic Opportunity and Neomalthusian Willingness: Boundaries, shared rivers, and conflict’, International Interactions 32 (1): 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gleditsch, N.P., K. Furlong, H. Hegre, B. Lacina and T. Owen (2004) ‘Conflicts over Shared Rivers: Resource scarcity or fuzzy boundaries?’, paper given at the 45th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association on ‘Hegemony and its Discontents’, Montreal, Canada, 17–20 March 2004.

  • Hegre, H., T. Ellingsen, S. Gates and N.P. Gleditsch (2001) ‘Towards a Democratic Civil Peace? Democracy, Political Change and Civil War, 1816-1922’, American Political Science Review 95 (1): 33–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T.F. (1990) Environmental Change and Violent Conflict, CISS Emerging Issues Series, Occasional Paper No. 4 Cambridge: American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T.F. (1991) ‘On the Threshold: Environmental changes as causes of acute conflict’, International Security 16 (2): 76–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T.F. (1994a) ‘Environmental Scarcities and Violent Conflict: Evidence from cases’, International Security 19 (1): 5–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T.F. (1994b) ‘Environmental Changes as Causes of Acute Conflict’, in R.K. Betts (ed.) Conflict after the Cold War: Arguments on causes of war and peace, New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T.F. (1996) ‘Environmental Scarcity, Mass Violence and the Limits to Ingenuity’, Current History 95 (604): 359–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T.F. (1999) Environment, Scarcity and Violence, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irani, R. (1991) ‘Water Wars’, New Statesman and Society 4 (149): 24–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klare, M.T. (2001a) ‘The New Geography of Conflict’, Foreign Affairs 80 (3): 49–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klare, M.T. (2001b) Resource Wars: The new landscape of global conflict, New York: Metropolitan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mansfield, E.D. and J. Snyder (2002) ‘Democratic Transitions, Institutional Strength and War’, International Organization 56 (2): 297–337.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O'Keeffe, J.H., M. Uys and M.N. Bruton (1992) ‘Freshwater Systems’, in R.F. Fuggle and M.A. Rabie (eds.) (1992) Environmental Management in South Africa, Johannesburg: Juta & Co..

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Loughlin, J., M.D. Ward, C.L. Lofdahl, J.S. Cohen, D.S. Brown, D. Reilly, K.S. Gleditsch and M. Shin (1998) ‘The Diffusion of Democracy, 1948–1994’, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 88 (3): 545–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, D., M. Daoudy, S. McCaffrey, J. Öjendal and A.R. Turton (2006) Transboundary Water Cooperation as a Tool for Conflict Prevention and Broader Benefit-sharing,Global Development Studies No. 4, Stockholm: Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sadoff, C.W. and D. Grey (2006) Water for Responsible Growth, Washington: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Starr, J.R. (1991) ‘Water Wars’, Foreign Policy (82): 17–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toset, H.P.W., N.P. Gleditsch and H. Hegre (2000) ‘Shared Rivers and Interstate Conflict’, Political Geography 19 (6): 971–996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R. (2000) ‘Water Wars in Southern Africa: Challenging conventional wisdom’, in Solomon, H. and Turton, A.R. (eds.) Water Wars: Enduring myth or impending reality? African Dialogue Monograph Series No. 2 Durban: ACCORD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R. (2002) ‘Hydropolitics: The concept and its limitations’, in A.R. Turton and R. Henwood (eds.) Hydropolitics in the Developing World: A southern African perspective, Pretoria: AWIRU.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R. (2003) ‘Environmental Security: A southern African perspective on transboundary water resource management’, Environmental Change and Security Project Report (9): 75–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R. (2004) ‘The Evolution of Water Management Institutions in Select Southern African International River Basins’, in Tortajada, C. Unver O. and Biswas A.K. (eds.) Water as a Focus for Regional Development, London: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R. (2005) ‘A Critical Assessment of the River Basins at Risk in the Southern African Hydropolitical Complex’, paper given at a workshop hosted by the Third World Centre for Water Management and the Helsinki University of Technology on ‘The Management of International Rivers and Lakes’, Helsinki, Finland, 17–19 August 2005.

  • Turton, A.R., R. Meissner, P.M. Mampane and O. Seremo (2004) A Hydropolitical History of South Africa's International River Basins, Water Research Commission Report No. 1220/1/04, Pretoria: WRC..

    Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R. and A. Earle (2005) ‘Post-Apartheid Institutional Development in Selected Southern African International River Basins’, in Gopalakrishnan, C. Tortajada C. and Biswas A.K. (eds.) Water Institutions: Policies, performance and prospects, Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R., A. Earle, D. Malzbender and P.J. Ashton (2005) ‘Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along Africa's International Waters’, in A.T. Wolf (ed.) Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Africa, Nairobi: UNEP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turton, A.R., L.K. Godfrey, F. Julien and J. Hattingh (2006) ‘Unpacking Groundwater Governance through the Lens of a Trialogue: A Southern African case study’, paper given at the ‘International Symposium on Groundwater Sustainability’, Alicante, Spain 24–27 January 2006, forthcoming chapter in a book as yet untitled.

  • Wendt, A. (1992a) ‘Anarchy is What States Make of It: The social construction of power politics’, International Organization 46 (2): 391–425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wendt, A. (1992b) ‘Levels of Analysis vs. Agents and Structures’, Review of International Studies 18 (2): 181–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, A.T. (1999a) ‘The Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database Project’, Water International 24 (2): 160–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, A.T. (1999b) ‘Water Wars and Water Reality: Conflict and cooperation along international waterways’, in S. Lonergan (ed.) Environmental Change, Adaptation, and Human Security, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, A.T. (2005) ‘Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience: Series introduction’, in A.T. Wolf (ed.) Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters: Africa, Nairobi: UNEP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolf, A.T., S.B. Yoffe and M. Giordano (2003) ‘International Waters: Identifying basins at risk’, Water Policy 5 (1): 29–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoffe, S.B., A.T. Wolf and M. Giordano (2003) ‘Conflict and Cooperation over International Freshwater Resources: Indicators of basins at risk’, Journal of the American Water Resources Association 39 (5): 1109–1125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Additional information

Suggests a linkage between internationally shared water resources and conflict

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Turton, A., Patrick, M. & Julien, F. Transboundary Water Resources in Southern Africa: Conflict or cooperation?. Development 49, 22–31 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1100269

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1100269

Keywords

Navigation