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TRANSBOUNDARY WATER MANAGEMENTThe role of enabling factors in transboundary aquifer interactionNeutral state In-flux state Stabile stateEnablingfactorsCooperative dialogueAdditionalinformationCollective action/AgreementNo cooperation/no conflictCatalyzingeventEnablingfactorsEnablingfactorsConflictive dialogueAdditionalinformationMaintain status quo/No agreementSource: IGRAC 2012There are two key examples of project-based cooperation for transboundaryaquifers in which IGRAC participates. IGRAC providesproject management for the Protection and Sustainable Use of theDinaric karst Transboundary Aquifer System (DIKTAS) Project,which aims to improve the understanding of transboundary groundwaterresources of the Dinaric region of South-East Europe. DIKTASis the first ever application of an integrated, transboundary managementapproach to regional Karst water resources and ecosystems.The GEF Transboundary Water Assessment Programme (TWAP)is another key mechanism through which IGRAC is enacting internationalwater cooperation. The objective of the programme is toconduct a global baseline assessment of transboundary water systems,including groundwater. In this programme, IGRAC is also developingan information system to store, manage and disseminate informationderived from the TWAP assessment. In addition to addressing thetechnical aspects of groundwater cooperation, these projects examinethe role of groundwater governance in a transboundary context.The proper governance of transboundary aquifers requiresparticularly high levels of international cooperation and coordination.Consequently, IGRAC is increasingly involved withprogrammes on groundwater governance through actions suchas contributing to the formulation of the International LawCommission’s Draft Articles on the Law of TransboundaryAquifers. IGRAC also stresses the importance of using data andinformation as the basis for groundwater management. Access tothis information is crucial to all stakeholders involved in groundwatergovernance. Therefore, IGRAC is actively contributing tothe project Groundwater Governance – a Global Framework forAction. The project is designed to raise awareness on the importanceof groundwater resources for many regions of the world, andto identify and promote best practices in groundwater governanceas a way to achieve the sustainable management ofgroundwater resources.While the body of research about groundwatergovernance is rapidly developing and internationalactors are increasingly directing resources to this issue,there are still very few effective groundwater governanceregimes at the transboundary scale. In the absenceof good groundwater governance and in the face ofthreatened transboundary aquifers, some states haveexperienced conflict and others have been motivatedto seek out cooperative mechanisms for management.Legal regimes, in particular treaties, are commonlyespoused mechanisms for cooperation. Nevertheless, inkeeping with the Year of Water Cooperation, IGRACwanted to better understand who is cooperating overtransboundary aquifers, how are they cooperating, andwhat factors lead to this cooperation. Consequently,IGRAC engaged in an in-depth study of factors thatenable cooperation over transboundary aquifers.In recent years, significant attention has been givento the potential for conflict over water resources, especiallytransboundary resources. However, researchhas shown that it is considerably more likely thatstakeholders will use cooperative approaches thanconflictual ones. In a recent study by De Stefano et al.of 2,586 recorded ‘water events’ documented between1948 and 2008, only 31 per cent were consideredconflicts. While occurrences of specific cooperativeevents are relatively well documented through mediaand publicly available information, there is a gap inunderstanding what conditions facilitate sustained[ 41 ]