Research and Projects

US and North American Research and Projects

Chewaucan Basin Project

Tribes, multi-generational ranching families, environmentalists, migrating shorebirds, and many others call Lake Abert and the Chewaucan Basin in southern Oregon home. The Partnership for Lake Abert and the Chewaucan Basin, in collaboration with Oregon Consensus and Oregon State University, are working to address the challenges of water management in the basin.  Housed on this page is a database of information about the Chewaucan basin, drawing on traditional ecological knowledge, lived experience, and scientific knowledge, that together form the basis of a joint fact finding effort.

United States Water Transfer Assessment
This story map was developed by undergraduate students in an International Water Policy class at Oregon State University. It compares four proposed megaprojects to help mitigate the growing water crisis in the southwestern U.S. The ecological, economic, social, and spiritual impacts of the four water transfer routes are evaluated: Saskatchewan River to the Front Range, Willamette River water transfer to Lake Shasta, Colubmia River water transfer to the California Bay area, and demand management.

Lowndes County, Alabama: A sanitary emergency in the heart of the US
This story map was created by a group of graduate students at Oregon State University.  It illuminates the issue of hookworm and sewage mismanagement in Lowndes County, Alabama. Special thanks to Catherine Flowers for sharing her experience working to combat environmental injustice.

Collection of Research and Datasets on the Columbia River Basin
Research and data collected on the Columbia River Basin from projects completed from 2010 to the present. Includes collaboration with the Universities Consortium on Columbia River Governance, the film A River Loved, and Master's and PhD research by OSU graduates.

U.S. Western Water Institutional Solutions Project
A collaboration between OSU and the US Bureau of Reclamation from 2005-2012 that aimed to increase institutional capacity in the BOR and further understanding water conflict and cooperation in the western U.S.

Basin Level Datasets for Anticipating Future Water Scarcity and Conflict in Oregon
A set of data and research (2008) complied to gain an understanding of water resources in Oregon that compares hydrologic data, demographic data and hydro-political data.

Collection of Research and Datasets on the Colorado River Basin
Research and data collected by then-OSU student Nathan Eidem on the Upper Colorado River Basin for his PhD dissertation.  Includes a searchable database of events in the regions from 1970-2005.

International Research and Projects

Student Research in the Water Cooperation and Diplomacy Joint Education Programme
Read about the exciting research completed by graduates (2017 to the present) from the Joint Masters Water Cooperation and Diplomacy Programme between Oregon State University, IHE-Delft, and University for Peace.

TREADS Database on Interstate River Governance in India
Led by Dr. Srinivas Chokkakula, MoJS Research Chair of Water Conflicts and Governance at the Centre for Policy Research, the TREADS programme encompasses research and policy interests in transboundary political ecologies, river water governance, and development studies. Linked above is the TREADS database for interstate water conflict and cooperation events occuring within India.

Gender in Water Governance
Learn about how gender dynamics are embedded within water resource governance by browsing our collection of original research from scholars and students affilitated with the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation. Publications, student dissertations, and videos explore topics such as the role of women in water diplomacy, gender divides in natural resource management, and representations of gender in water governance and management.

Navigating Cultural Currents: the Sixaola River Basin Story
This is a collection of Dacotah Splichalova's research for her Master's thesis (2017) that explores the importance of culture and values held for water resources in the Sixaola River Basin between Costa Rica, Panama, and indigenous territories.

Investigating Management of Transboundary Basins between Sovereign Countries and Non-Sovereign Entities
This is a collection of Mehmet Altingoz's research for his Master's thesis (2017) on hydro-political tension risks in transboundary basins with non-sovereign entities.

Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme - River Basins Component
In partnership with UNEP-DHI and GEF, OSU researchers collaborated to complete the most comprehensive assessment (2016) of the world’s 286 transboundary river basins and to identify hotspots at risk from a variety of issues, including water quantity, water quality, ecosystems, governance, and socioeconomics.

Basin Rights of International Rivers - International River Law Network
Visiting Scholar and Associate Professor of International Law at Hohai University, Dr. Wang Zhijian, presents a model (2015) for estimating the basin rights of international rivers to aid in determining appropriate allocations between basin states.

Mechanisms of Cooperation for States' Construction of Large-Scale Water Infrastructure Projects in Transboundary River Basins
This is a collection of Dr. Jacob Petersen-Perlman's research for his PhD dissertation (2014), publications, content analysis, maps, and other works.

International River Basin Management in the Face of Change: Syr Darya Basin Case Study
This is a collection of Dr. Mariya Pak's research for her PhD dissertation (2014) on the Syr Darya River Basin and the Isfara River in the Ferghana Valley. It includes related publications and translated treaties and agreements analyzed in the dissertation.

Human Security Dimensions of Dam Development in the Nile and Mekong River Basins
This is a collection of Dr. Jennifer Veilleux's research for her dissertation (2014) that includes related publications, content analysis, maps, photographs.

Integrative Dam Assessment Modeling (IDAM)
This tool (2011) is designed to integrate biophysical, socioeconomic, and geopolitical perspectives into a single cost/benefit analysis of dam construction. The tool holds 21 different impacts of dam construction within three parameters of socio-economic, geopolitical, and biophysical categories.  Both the IDAM Manual and the associated peer-review paper are available for download.

Regional Water Governance Benchmarking Project (ReWaB)
A study of water governance capacity (2010) in five Middle East North Africa Region (MENA) countries: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, and Oman, including a collection of searchable legal and policy documents from each country, as well as records from workshops held in the MENA region.

Mapping the Resilience of International River Basins to Future Climate Change-Induced Water Variability
The World Bank commissioned a report (2010) investigating interactions of climate change and related water variability and the capacity of transboundary water resource management. The results show differences in both vulnerability to climate change-induced water variability and adaptation capacity across river basins.

Hydropolitical Vulnerability and Resilience along International Waters
Directed by Dr. Aaron Wolf and supported by UNEP (2005-2009), this is a five-part series of continental reports focuses on the hydropolitical vulnerability and resilience along international waters containing treaty information, cooperative agreements and pertinent basin and regional maps.

Case Studies - Water Conflict Resolution
Fourteen Cases Studies (2008) compiled by Dr. Aaron Wolf and Dr. Josh Newton summarize the process of conflict resolution in 14 transboundary basins for comparative purposes.

Atlas of International Freshwater Agreements
This Atlas (2002), directed by Dr. Aaron Wolf in collaboration with UNEP and the FAO, contains a historical overview of international river basin management; a detailed listing of more than 400 international freshwater agreements; and a collection of thematic maps.

Basins at Risk
The Basins at Risk (BAR) project (2001) addresses a series of overarching gaps in research on freshwater resources and international conflict by providing a quantitative, global scale exploration of the relationship between freshwater resources and conflict.

Indigenous Water Conflict Resolution Methods
This paper (2000), by Dr. Aaron Wolf, investigates how indigenous peoples of two dryland regions –  the Berbers of the High Atlas Mountains and the Bedouin of the Negev Desert – approach negotiations brought about by water scarcity and fluctuation, and their methods are described in the context of current international hydro-politics.