How Water Quality in Transboundary River Systems Affects Water, Sanitation, and Foreign Policy | 1 How Water Quality in Transboundary River Systems Affects Water, Sanitation, and Foreign Policy David Tipping, 2001 By David C. Tipping Edited by Yeareen Yun Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency of the Australian government. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of any Australian government entity, or other organization or professional association. 1. INTRODUCTION Access to adequate water supply and sanitation is the core premise of local level water security. Effective management of transboundary river basin systems and water quality risks is therefore fundamental to social progress and quality of life. Improved water quality management benefits many individual lives in riparian nations, and, as demonstrated by the annual new year blessing of the fish migrations, society at large throughout the Mekong River Basin. In 2001, the author investigated the use of sustainable development indicators to improve the institutional effectiveness of international environmental management regimes. A new framework was designed to evaluate beneficial uses of water. In addition, a case study was developed on the Lower Mekong River Basin system, which integrated measures of water and environmental quality and socio-economic development. The research objectives were: (1) improving the understanding of water quality issues; (2) benchmarking water resources management performance at local, national and regional levels; and (3) enhancing technical and administrative capabilities of transboundary river basin management regimes through capacity development focused on the achievement of sustainable development objectives, and obligations and duties under international law. This paper introduces the Mekong River Drinking Water Supply Index (DWSI) that was developed as a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of international treaty regime water quality management. It discusses new research that investigated whether the DWSI model could be optimized using fewer variables, while maintaining sensitivity to changing environmental and social conditions in an ecological system. | 2 How Water Quality in Transboundary River Systems Affects Water, Sanitation, and Foreign Policy The findings suggest there is potential to reduce the number of variables in the DWSI, though the author considers that the model would lose its sensitivity to detecting spatial and temporal trends in water quality. Moreover, this loss of sensitivity would limit a capability to evaluate the performance of institutions and policies. This would curtail the ability of policymakers to inform governments and stakeholders on how best to achieve sustainable development outcomes and objectives, while meeting their obligations and duties to the international community of states. 1.1 Water Quality Modeling Over the last 20 years, water quality modeling for international or transboundary river basin systems has become an increasingly important area of planning and management for sustainable development, as well as a basis for the evaluation of international treaty regimes or multi-state commissions that are established to implement sustainability agreements in [1] accordance with international public law. The impact of water quality goes beyond just water and sanitation issues. It affects foreign policy as water and sanitation are basic human rights that states and nations have obligations to respect, protect and fulfill. [2] Water is undoubtedly the most universal necessity for humans. To ensure the adequate supply of water, effective governance of water is crucial. The development and implementation of policies, establishment of institutions and public engagement and consultations represent a starting point. Governance becomes more complex when there is a further requirement to manage water resources systems in a transboundary context. [3] Water governance issues are extremely important to the civil society ideal. The provision of wholesome and clean water for human consumption and hygiene, as well as for irrigated agriculture, is the foundation of global poverty reduction and sustainable development, and, a precondition for human development. The intrinsic value of water underscores the need for effective systems of water governance, particularly when water crosses borders, for human civilization to continue to thrive. Effective water governance has become one of the major challenges for human societies in [4] the twenty-first century. Whether it relates to the sharing of water resources for irrigation [5] in food production (as in the internally displaced person camps of Darfur, Sudan), for meeting essential drinking water supply and sanitation needs (as in the favela settlements of [6] Porto Alegre, Brazil), or for productive fishery habitat maintenance (as in the flooded forest [7] of Lake Tonle Sap, Cambodia), complex water issues are assuming critical proportions. New tools and methods of understanding sustainable development are needed in order to predict and prevent the perpetuation of such market failures that can undermine the value | 3 How Water Quality in Transboundary River Systems Affects Water, Sanitation, and Foreign Policy of water. 1.2 Cooperation in Transboundary Systems Water governance and management are crucial for socio-economic development. In unmanaged transboundary river basins, water can become more finite when human and natural factors and constraints are summed up. Unchecked development and use of water can promote over-extraction and degradation of water quality, to the point that alternative beneficial uses of water are limited, or no longer possible or acceptable. Similarly, environmental changes and/or natural disasters can heighten water supply risk and create more uncertainty for communities. Sustainable socio-economic development becomes a question of cooperation between different political entities at multiple levels of governance. Such cooperation can take on many forms in differing regional and international contexts. When dealing with basic health, environmental and livelihood issues, efficient and effective collaboration and cooperation to [8] meet sustainability goals needs to be based on sound scientific information. Haas writes, “Regimes built with usable knowledge appear to be more effective at inducing states to achieve their intended goals of improving environmental quality… institutionalized knowledge has contributed to more effective multilateral environmental management.” One major challenge is how best to manage the quality of a finite supply of freshwater, while maintaining both the environmental quality and natural resource base of the human [9] system. Individuals and business entrepreneurs place different values on wholesome and [10] clean water. In contrast, nations and states are governed by public international law, while promoting the common good for diverse populations. Water issues arise through rapid and continued population growth and socio-economic development, which place increasing demands on the resource base. Technology and modern lifestyle expectations can further heighten these demands for water. In unmanaged transboundary river basins, ecological systems can reach a breaking point, tending towards tensions and conflicts between stakeholders, or nations or states having land in the basin. Such conflicts, in turn, harm people’s ability to use water for their needs, which can further exacerbate such tension and conflict. Treaties allow for more flexible allocations of water supply, including groundwater in aquifers. Treaties create more efficient management practices to mitigate environmental [11] externalities and reduce the potential for conflict, and yet treaties sometimes fail to address all externalities. Many externalities that fall on third parties are not foreseen or | 4 How Water Quality in Transboundary River Systems Affects Water, Sanitation, and Foreign Policy [12] considered by those whose actions create them. The approach taken to managing transboundary environmental resources has been to [13] establish international regimes or multi-state commissions with specific mandates. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) is the intergovernmental and international organization that oversees the 1995 Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin between Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Under this agreement, the four nations agreed to “cooperate in all fields of sustainable development, utilization, management, and conservation of the water and related resources of the Mekong River Basin, such as navigation, flood control, fisheries, agriculture, hydropower [14] and environmental protection”. 1.3 Measuring Sustainable Development The benefits derived from unmanaged transboundary river basin systems are not usually shared equally among all stakeholders, international persons having land in the basin. The sharing of these resources has given rise to more than 400 international treaties on water issues. In 2001, in order to support member states of the Mekong River Commission and to enlighten policymakers and stakeholders on the risks and implications of political choices on water, the author investigated the use of sustainable development indicators to improve the institutional effectiveness of international environmental management