Transboundary water cooperation and joint river basin management are pivotal for climate resilient development in South Asia
Md. Arfanuzzaman
World Development Perspectives, 2025, vol. 38, issue C
Abstract:
Transboundary water cooperation and joint river basin management are critical for achieving climate-resilient development in South Asia. Home to major river systems such as the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra, the region’s water resources support nearly 1.9 billion people. However, climate change is altering monsoon patterns, increasing floods and droughts, and accelerating glacial melt, which affects water availability and threatens water-energy-food-environmental (WEFE) security, ecosystems, biodiversity, and livelihoods. This study underscores the importance of transboundary cooperation to address these risks, highlighting successful models of collaboration. Despite some initiatives, substantial gaps remain in integrated governance, climate-adaptive policy frameworks, equitable water sharing, basin-wide vulnerability reduction, empowering regional institutions, and data sharing among the South Asian basins. Barriers, such as geopolitical tensions, inadequate trust and confidence, unsustainable hydropower development, limited funding and stakeholder engagement hinder effective water resource management. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated climate-resilient strategies and basin wide approaches including flexible water-sharing agreements, improved disaster risk reduction systems, joint resource mobilization, capacity building, and enhanced community involvement. By fostering transboundary collaboration, South Asian nations can build resilience, reduce water conflicts, enhance WEFE security and well-being of millions who rely on these precious water resources, and promote sustainable development across shared river basins.
Keywords: Climate adaptation; Disaster risk reduction; Multilateral water partnerships; Regional cooperation; South Asia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292925000268
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:wodepe:v:38:y:2025:i:c:s2452292925000268
DOI: 10.1016/j.wdp.2025.100681
Access Statistics for this article
World Development Perspectives is currently edited by Ashwini Chhatre
More articles in World Development Perspectives from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().