Transboundary Water Management in Central Asia and the Iberian Peninsula: Path Dependence Approach

Nurdaulet Zatilla; Antonio Alonso Marcos

doi:10.52536/3006-807X.2024-3.05

Authors

Nurdaulet Zatilla L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan Author
Antonio Alonso Marcos CEU Universidad San Pablo, Spain Author https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5266-8622

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52536/3006-807X.2024-3.05

Keywords:

water security , transboundary water management, Iberian Peninsula, Central Asia

Abstract

This article examines the historical background and the state of the art of transboundary water management in the Central Asian region, which includes the republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, on one hand, and the Iberian Peninsula, which consists of the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Portugal, on the other hand. These distances from each other regions are studied for the reason that both of them are located in arid landscapes and further climate change is posing grave challenges to transboundary water security. By highlighting the differences and similarities in the water management practices of Central Asia and the Iberian Peninsula, this article employs a path-dependence approach to shed light on new perspectives on good water management. As a result of identified opportunities, the Central Asian states could enhance their policy in the water management system and adopt new measures based on positive foreign experience.

Author Biographies

Nurdaulet Zatilla, L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan

PhD student at Faculty of International Relations (Kazakhstan)
Antonio Alonso Marcos, CEU Universidad San Pablo, Spain

Professor at Faculty of Law, CEU Universidad San Pablo (Spain)

References

Alimdzhanov, B. (2015). Pozicija rossijskoj administracii v irrigacionnom voprose Turkestana (1867-1917 gg.) [The position of the Russian administration on the irrigation issue of Turkestan (1867-1917)]. Vestnik Kyrgyzsko-Rossijskogo Slavjanskogo Universiteta, 15(10), 16–18.

Azimzhon, A. (2023). Hlopok i kolonizacija Srednej Azii [Cotton and the colonization of Central Asia]. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/record/8051777

Bochkareva, I. (2021). The Irrigation Issue in Russia’s Policy in Turkestan (end of the XIX – beginning XX centuries). Bylye Gody, 16(3). https://doi.org/10.13187/bg.2021.3.1399

Bukowski, J. J. (2011). Sharing Water on the Iberian Peninsula: A Europeanisation Approach to Explaining Transboundary Cooperation. Water Alternatives, 4(2), 171–196. http://www.water-alternatives.org/.

Carius, A. (2006). Environmental Cooperation as an Instrument of Crisis Prevention and Peacebuilding: Conditions for Success and Constraints. Adelphi Consult. https://adelphi.de/system/files/mediathek/bilder/us_503_-_carius_environmental_peacemaking_06-07-02.pdf

Choriev, Sh. Sh. (2014). Arhivnye dokumenty CGA RUz – vazhnyj istochnik po izucheniju problem obespechenija Turkestanskoj ASSR vodoj v 1917—1924 gg [Archival documents of the Central State Administration of RUz are an important source for studying the problems of providing the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic with water in 1917-1924]. Dokument. Arhiv. Istorija. Sovremennost'. — Ekaterinburg, 2014, 262–265.

Council of the European Union. (2008). The Albufeira Convention – an example of bilateral cooperation in the management of shared river basins with the benefit of compliance with the WFD. In Env 136 (Issue 7167/08). Council of the European Union. https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-7167-2008-INIT/en/pdf

de Amorim, W. S., Valduga, I. B., Ribeiro, J. M. P., Guazzelli Williamson, V., Krauser, G. E., Magtoto, M. K., & de Andrade Guerra, J. B. S. O. (2018). The nexus between water, energy, and food in the context of the global risks: An analysis of the interactions between food, water, and energy security. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 72, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2018.05.002

Gleason, G. (2003). Russia and the Politics of the Central Asian Electricity Grid. Problems of Post-Communism, 50(3), 42–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2003.11656038

Kabilov, H. (2012). Usilenie pravovoj osnovy sotrudnichestva – trebovanie segodnjashnego dnja [Strengthening the legal basis for cooperation is a requirement of today]. Central'noaziatskaja Mezhdunarodnaja Nauchno-Prakticheskaja Konferencija. Kruglyj stol «Usilenie pravovoj osnovy sotrudnichestva». http://icwc-aral.uz/20years/abstracts.htm

Lopes, P. D. (2012). Governing Iberian Rivers: from bilateral management to common basin governance? International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 12(3), 251–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10784-012-9175-0

Martínez-Fernández, J., Neto, S., Hernández-Mora, N., del Moral, L., & La Roca, F. (2020). The Role of the Water Framework Directive in the Controversial Transition of Water Policy Paradigms in Spain and Portugal. Water Alternatives, 13(3), 556–581. http://www.water-alternatives.org/.

Miralles-Wilhelm, F. (2016). Development and application of integrative modeling tools in support of food-energy-water nexus planning—a research agenda. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 6(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-016-0361-1

Nagata, K., Shoji, I., Arima, T., Otsuka, T., Kato, K., Matsubayashi, M., & Omura, M. (2021). Practicality of integrated water resources management (IWRM) in different contexts. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 38(5), 897–919. https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2021.1921709

O sotrudnichestve v sfere sovmestnogo upravlenija ispol'zovaniem i ohranoj vodnyh resursov mezhgosudarstvennyh istochnikov [On cooperation in the field of joint management of the use and protection of water resources from interstate sources], (1992). https://ecifas-tj.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/1.-sog.-mezhgosudarstvennyh-istochnikov-1.pdf

O sozdanii Syrdar'inskogo bassejnovogo upravlenija po mezhrespublikanskomu raspredeleniju vodnyh resursov (Uprvodhoz «Syrdar'ja») [On the creation of the Syrdarya Basin Administration for the inter-republican distribution of water resources (Uprvodkhoz "Syrdarya")], (1987). http://www.cawater-info.net/bk/water_law/pdf/prikaz-syrdarya.pdf

O statuse Mezhdunarodnogo Fonda spasenija Arala (MFSA) i ego organizacij [On the status of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) and its organizations], (1999). https://ecifas-tj.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/5.-sog.-o-statuse-mfsa-i-ego-organizaczij-1.pdf

O’Hara, S. (2000). Lessons from the past: water management in Central Asia. Water Policy, 2(4–5), 365–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1366-7017(00)00010-6

Ormysheva, Т. А., & Kukeyeva, F. Т. (2016). Sotrudnichestvo stran Central'noj Azii po resheniju problemy transgranichnyh rek: analiz osnovnyh soglashenij [Cooperation between Central Asian countries to solve the problem of transboundary rivers: analysis of the main agreements]. Vestnik KazNU. Serija Mezhdunarodnye Otnoshenija i Mezhdunarodnoe Pravo, 73(1).

Polozhenie ob upravlenii Turkestanskogo kraja [Regulations on the management of the Turkestan region]. (1886). Presidential Library named after B.N. Yeltsin. https://www.prlib.ru/item/438081#v=d&z=2&n=5&i=3840342_doc1_4D4527A0-D297-4C0C-8208-5E33794751A0.tiff&y=389&x=576

Sharipova, B. (2023). Trust in Transboundary Water Cooperation: A Social Constructivist Approach. In Theorizing Transboundary Waters in International Relations (pp. 51–65). Springer International Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-43376-4_4

Soares, P. M. M., Careto, J. A. M., Russo, A., & Lima, D. C. A. (2023). The future of Iberian droughts: a deeper analysis based on multi-scenario and a multi-model ensemble approach. Natural Hazards, 117(2), 2001–2028. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-05938-7

Suleimenova, Z. (2021). Water security in Central Asia and Southern Caucasus. Asia-Pacific Sustainable Development Journal, 27(1), 75–93. https://doi.org/10.18356/26178419-27-1-4

Thiel, A. (2004). Transboundary resource management in the EU: transnational welfare maximization and transboundary water sharing on the Iberian Peninsula? Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 47(3), 331–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/0964056042000216492

Treaty on boundaries between Spain and Portugal from the mouth of the Minho River to the junction of the river Cay a with the Guadiana, (1864). https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%201288/volume-1288-II-906-English.pdf

United Nations. (2015). World Population Prospects The 2015 Revision. United Nations. https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/Key_Findings_WPP_2015.pdf

United Nations (2023). Population. United Nations. Retrieved March 29, 2024, from https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/population

Vodnyj zakon Turkestanskoj Respubliki [Water law of the Turkestan Republic], (1922). http://www.cawater-info.net/bk/water_law/pdf/hist-92-1922.pdf

Zakon ob utverzhdenii osnov vodnogo zakonodatel'stva Sojuza SSR i Sojuznyh Respublik [Law on approval of the fundamentals of water legislation of the USSR and Union Republics], (1970). http://www.cawater-info.net/bk/water_law/pdf/ussr-10-12-1970.pdf