Role of transboundary river cooperation in addressing the challenges of the water basin security.

53% of the world’s large lakes have shrunk and major rivers have been disappearing around the globe for the past 28 years, due to climate change and anthropogenic activities, causing global security issues. Currently, there are 2.3 billion people in water-stressed countries, 2.2 billion people without access to safe drinking water, 3.5 billion people without access to safely managed sanitation, and  2.2 billion people without handwashing facilities, as indicated in UN SDG statistics. These problems increase conflicts between neighboring states. The Pacific Institute’s annual Water Conflict Chronology report indicates (as cited in Forbes, August 23, 2023) that there were  “347 instances of water-related armed conflict in 2023, compared to 231 in 2022”. Limited cooperation between countries has become a trigger mechanism for breaking out such conflicts. According to the UN Water Conference Press Release (2023), 60% of the freshwater flows in the transboundary rivers and lakes and approximately 3 million reside in these wetlands.  However, approximately 60% of the basins sharing transboundary waters lack cooperative frameworks to share water states say scientists from the University of Missouri. Finally,UNDP report also states that half of the world’s transboundary waters still lack an operational cooperative arrangement and that there is an urgent need to support countries to develop the capacity to sustainably manage shared waters as the world approaches 2030. Hence, the Caspian Sea Basin has been growing exponentially since 2015 and has reached a record low level of water in the sea, threatening the region with similar socio-economic and security risks. Therefore, an urgency for improved cooperation has emerged as a need for a water diplomacy framework application and practice in the shared waters of the Caspian Sea Basin as well. M. Climes et al., (2019) define, “ Water diplomacy as an approach that enables a variety of stakeholders to assess ways to contribute to finding solutions for joint management of shared freshwater resources.” (Introduction sec.)  Thus, the purpose of this article explores the ways the water diplomacy approach impacts the regional water security in the shared water basin amidst climate change in the Caspian Sea Basin. The author looks at five indicators of water diplomacy that impact foreign policy and water management in the Caspian Sea Basin: political, cooperative, preventive, integrative, and technical.  

The research applies a qualitative approach. The interview questions will analyze the attitudes, opinions, and behaviors of actors such as politicians, governors, technical water experts, industries, and farmers on the Sea Basin coastlines. (small, medium, big) in Azerbaijan, Georgia (Kura River), and Russia (Volga River). In addition, desktop research will analyze the existing data and research, regulatory documents, and international conventions. The paper aims out how the five indicators political, cooperative, preventive, integrative, and technical have influenced the level of water in the transboundary rivers flowing through Georgia throughout time throughout the past 10 years. The findings will help to understand the key bottlenecks of the current cooperation in the Caspian Sea Basin and provide further recommendations for improving cooperation among the riparian countries in the basin.