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Shared river basins in disputed territories: A case study of Indus and Brahmaputra
Author(s) -
Yaqoob Asma
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
world water policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2639-541X
DOI - 10.1002/wwp2.12000
Subject(s) - indus , hydropower , riparian zone , water security , geography , water resources , water resource management , environmental science , geology , structural basin , geomorphology , ecology , engineering , habitat , electrical engineering , biology
The present study seeks to explain how the growing water insecurity in the Brahmaputra and Indus basins has remained an underexplored factor in delaying peace building along disputed borders of Southern Tibet and Kashmir. The new water challenges such as natural flow variation, change in land use, water quality, and hydropower development posed by climate variability and domestic compulsions in both Indus and Brahmaputra have resulted in power competition for the riparian states. Mutual interests are the single most peace‐inducing force in the present international order but could only occur under particular conditions and through a set of norms. A failure of regional states to engage in institutional rapprochement to ensure water security is indicative that inter‐state conflicts may flare again especially in the wake of growing water pressures on shared water resources.