Shared Borders, Shared Waters: Israeli-Palestinian and Colorado River Basin Water Challenges

This collection of papers examines water management in two of the world’s prominent, arid transboundary areas facing similar challenges. In the Middle East, the chronically water-short Israeli-Palestinian region has recognized the need both to conserve and supplement its traditional water sources. Across the globe on the North American continent, Arizona—a state in the southwestern United States bordering Mexico—relies significantly on the overallocated Colorado River, as well as on non-renewable groundwater supplies. For both regions, sustainable and cost-effective solutions clearly require innovative, multifaceted, and conflict-avoiding approaches. This volume is predicated on the role that “science diplomacy” can play in resolving difficult water-related issues. The history of natural-resources disputes confirms that the scientific approach can reveal ways to overcome division. Experience has shown that scientifically-trained experts who are sensitive to sociopolitical conditions can assist in developing and evaluating feasible water management solutions. The insights and expertise of a distinguished and diverse group of researchers fill these chapters. Contributors include established authorities as well as a number of budding scholars. In a field traditionally dominated by males and by engineers, this collection benefits from significant gender diversity and contributions from a broad spectrum of disciplines. Policymakers, water managers, specialists such as university researchers and consultants, and citizens all have an interest in finding sustainable strategies to address the many water-management issues discussed in this volume. The assembled papers underscore that much work remains to be done.

Table of Contents:
1. Water Development: Infrastructure and Institutions; 2. Political and Economic Perspectives; 3. Learning from Comparison; 4. Challenges, New and Old: Climate Change and Wastewater; 5. Expanding Water Supplies: Promising Strategies and Technologies.

About the Author :
Sharon B. Megdal is Director of The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center and C.W. and Modene Neely Endowed Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She also serves as Director of the University of Arizona Water Sustainability Program. Her work focuses on state, regional and transboundary water resources management and policy. She places particular emphasis on how to achieve desired policy objectives in terms of institutional structures and possible changes to them. In 2010, she was named Distinguished Outreach Professor by the University of Arizona, and she serves as an elected member of the Central Arizona Project Board of Directors. Sharon B. Megdal holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Princeton University. Robert G. Varady is deputy director of the University of Arizona’s Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, research professor of environmental policy and of arid lands studies, and adjunct professor of hydrology and water resources. Varady has written extensively on transboundary environmental policy, and on global water initiatives and international water governance. He is a former president of the International Water History Association. Varady obtained his Ph.D. in 1981 in modern history from the University of Arizona, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from the City College of New York and Polytechnic Institute of NYU, respectively. Susanna Eden is Assistant Director of the Water Resources Research Center, University of Arizona. She worked internationally as North American coordinator for the UNESCO IHP HELP (Hydrology for Environment, Life and Policy) Program. Her research centers on policy and decision making in water resources and the use of scientific information by stakeholders and decision makers. She holds a Ph.D. in Water Resources Administration from the University of Arizona.

Review :
As global environmental and demographic changes heighten competition for limited water resources, we are thankful for efforts that attempt to harness science to achieve effective water-management policies. Shared Borders, Shared Waters is that rare book that seeks to promote this aim by drawing on the expertise of scientists and practitioners from sometimes-contentious border regions. In spite of its conflict potential, water connects rather than divides, giving us hope for increased cooperation and conflict avoidance. For the arid areas that are the focus of this collection, the book offers the promise of the best of science diplomacy. — András Szöllösi-Nagy, Rector, UNESCO-IHE