Transboundary Water Resources Management Practices: Comparative Analysis of Nile and Senegal River Basins

Abstract

This study discusses the existing transboundary water resource management practices in Nile and Senegal River basins. By identifying key drivers of change that contribute to successful management of shared water resources, this study draws lessons in building effective institutional frameworks towards a common call for cooperative utilization of Nile waters. It adopted a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) design, with in-depth qualitative analysis of selected cases and Key Informant Interviews (KII) to analyze the drivers of change and evolution of the institutional frameworks that have been governing the Nile and Senegal River Basins and how they are affecting the cooperation process. The study argues that the compound effects of hydro-ecological phenomenon, legal regimes, historical beliefs and unilateral actions of the riparian’s have been among the major factors that have influenced the cooperation process and determined their outcomes. The study has put forward some recommendations aimed at striking win-win solutions that could pave the way for Nile riparians come to a cooperative framework. These include, among others, focusing on benefits sharing than water allocations, focusing on scientific or technical issues than political, understand the views of local actors, contest the legitimacy of the old-regimes through re-negotiation of Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) with Egypt and Sudan, and change power relations in the basin.