This research explores the mechanisms of Track III diplomacy employed by EcoPeace Middle East, in the context of environmental peacebuilding within the Jordan Basin region. Focusing on how these mechanisms contribute to improving water quality and quantity, the study delves into their processes in facilitating cooperation among conflicting parties—Israelis, Palestinians,...
The success or failure of river basin organization (RBO), when they deal with disputes, might rely on the source of conflict along with other factors such as institutional design, legal attributes and conflict resolution mechanism of the organization. However, little attention has been paid to the research which studies a...
Given the recent attention to dams in developing countries as a means to efficiently utilize water resources, mitigating the negative environmental and social impacts they have on riparian states is of utmost importance. This thesis presents a global review of how basin countries, through international water treaties (IWT), ensure that...
Although newly independent Central Asian states in 1991, including Kyrgyzstan, started developing their own foreign water policies, Kyrgyzstan’s independence period demonstrated the challenges of determining foreign water policy independently. The conceptual framework of a two-level game was applied in the study to understand and answer the question about how domestic...
The conservation community has long recognized the critical role that agricultural landowners play in efforts to improve fish and wildlife habitat in order to recover threatened and endangered species. In many rural areas dominated by agricultural working landscapes, government agencies like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) struggle to...
In the past fifty years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have become alarming global pollutants. In 2019, the United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ultimately classified them as emerging contaminants and established an action plan to address PFAS and protect public health through developing, identifying, monitoring, and remediating current...
Water and climate change are interconnected with each other. Water is a medium through which the climate change manifests its far-reaching consequences on society. Sustainable water management practices are fundamental in implementing effective climate change adaptation. Given an influential position as global water actors, international water organizations (IWOs) play a...
Despite being internationally recognized as basic human rights, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) insecurity continues to exist throughout the United States, particularly among low-income and unhoused portions of the population. Previous investigations into the intersection of WASH and people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in the US have primarily taken place in...
Power can be defined as the ability to influence the processes, decisions, and outcomes of an activity in favor of the will of a strong actor and its allies. Strategic actions in situations where there is asymmetric power can change the result of decisions. In this research, I will examine...
Ambiguity is a typical element of treaty documents. Its success in accommodating divergent interests, creating boundary conditions leading to dispute prevention and facilitating the conclusion of agreements has been widely recognized, yet less is known whether or not intentional ambiguity or unintentional ambiguity, or perhaps both, lead to challenges or...
In this research, the paradiplomacy concept is analyzed in terms of transboundary water cooperation and called "Blue Paradiplomacy", where two case studies: 1) the Great Lakes region and 2) the Central Asian region, are presented and compared. The concept of paradiplomacy is applied within the context of multi-level governance, and...
In the face of the global climate crisis, paired with current and future risks over water resources, the importance of effective water resources management cannot be overstated. However, there is a significant lack of specific metrics used to track water stewardship on a broad scale. Thus, in order to track...
The Klamath River Basin (KRB) is one of the most contested basins of the Western U.S. with respect to water. Multiple stakeholders, including Tribes, farmers, state and federal agencies, and environmental advocates, are in frequent conflict over water rights and water use. Removal of the four hydroelectric dams is one...
In the process of building international water policies and management institutions, like international treaties and River Basin Organizations, States simultaneously signal the values that they view as most important in these different institutions. Examining expressed and acted-upon values for transboundary freshwater management are currently under-explored areas where overlapping lenses of...
Considering the negative impacts of climate change along with the rapid increase in population in Islamic dominated states, e.g., the Middle East, water tension among upstream and downstream states is increasing. Despite the importance of water in Islamic culture and studies, the role of religion has been under-valued and under-emphasized...
This study explores the role of emotions in extensive hydraulic projects that become part of nation-state building processes and have transboundary impact. The main objective is to investigate how political leadership uses emotional narratives to foster water nationalism in the case of the Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) in Turkey. The...
Countries with shared common resources increasingly encounter water issues that transcend national borders, and international actors (IAs) like international organizations or development agencies play a significant role in addressing them. Realizing the benefits that IAs provide by contributing to peaceful reconciliation of diverging interests over shared water management, states have...
Despite increased understanding of the benefits of wetlands, global wetland area continues to decrease. Wetlands are being lost at an alarming rate, and with them, biodiversity, floodwater storage, water purification, and countless other functions. There is little information available about mechanisms to manage transboundary wetlands. While the Ramsar Convention is...
Research into the phenomenon of adaptation has surged in recent years as people across the globe face evolving climate situations. The role of women in this adaptation research, and in policy discussions, is often unclear or entirely unaddressed. An array of literature exists on the inclusion of women into environmental...