Management of Transboundary Watercourse in Euphrates-Tigris and Nile River Basins

Despite making up two-thirds of our planet, water remains one of the most contentious resource. Transboundary watercoursesTransboundary watercourse, in particular, require analytical scrutiny because they involve competing interests as shared resources among riparian states. Practices of dealing with these competing interests are rarely smooth and differ across basins and time. Per international law and organizational structure, this chapter compares transboundary watercourseTransboundary watercourse management practicesManagement practice of the Euphrates-Tigris (ET) and Nile River basinsRiver basin. The chapter examines whether joint institutional basin arrangements are in place in these basins and whether exemplary practices from the ET River basinRiver basin could be useful in dealing with gaps observed in the Nile River basin management and vice versa. While scrutinizing these foregoing issues, the chapter explores three areas in the ET and Nile River basinsRiver basin management. First, it highlights the governing legal frameworks of both basins per international laws. Then it addresses their administrative structures per objective organizational models and finally explores their likeness and difference as well as their gaps and better experiences to be adopted from each river basinRiver basin.