River Basin Organisations and the Governance of Transboundary Watercourses

This chapter defines transboundary waters and sheds light on the collective action problems they pose. It chronicles the rise of river basin organizations as the key regional institutions to manage and implement international water treaties and address collective action problems in transboundary waters. In examining questions of effectiveness, two important institutional design features of transboundary water governance are outlined: the role of stakeholder participation and the importance of science–policy linkages. Emerging challenges and controversies are addressed, including questions of adaptive capacity and matters of context in transboundary water governance. The chapter concludes with some suggested paths for future research, emphasizing institutional adaptation to future challenges.