Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation

December 2018
Together with partner universities - IHE Delft and University for Peace - OSU's Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation offers a Joint Master's Program in Water Cooperation and Diplomacy.  Watch Dr. Aaron Wolf and current students discuss the program, its unique features and what its bringing to the Aral Sea Basin. 
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December 10, 2018
TFDD Database Manager, Melissa McCracken, and co-author, Chloé Meyer, discuss a recently published journal article that evaluates the methodology for measuring cooperative arrangements for operational cooperation as part of the Sustainable Development Goals through Indicator 6.5.2. Through a national and global overview, they identify strengths and limitations of SDG Indicator 6.5.2. 
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February 22, 2018
The Geneva Water Hub interviews the PWCMT's Dr. Aaron Wolf as part of their Water Talks Series.  He discusses early warning mapping for anticipating and prevent water conflicts. 

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November 1, 2018
The PWCMT's Dr. Aaron Wolf speaks to NBC News about recent news regarding the Island of Peace on the border between Jordan and Israel.  The island was established as part of the 1994 peace and water sharing agreement between the two countries. 
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September 2018
Manager of the Transboundary Boundary Freshwater Dispute Database and PhD Candidate, Melissa McCracken, has published a review of the methodology of Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 6.5.2 as part of the Global Water Partnership's Technical Background Papers series. It presents three methods for measuring cooperation to compare methodologies and presents several recommentations and guidance in the hope of aiding better monitoring, understanding, and use of SDG 6.5.2.

August 30, 2018
The Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation's Dr. Aaron Wolf discusses climate change, water shortage, and the potential for conflict and cooperation over shared waters, as part of a larger article on climate variability and water scarcity and their potential to impact hotspots globally.  
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August 16, 2018
Aaron Wolf, a professor and director of the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, has spent most of the last three decades compiling evidence that undermines conventional wisdom: Yes, water causes conflict, especially when two or more countries share it, and especially when it’s running out—but in the majority of cases, conflicts can be mitigated or resolved through mediation and cooperation. 

August 16, 2018
Todd Jarvis, director of the Institute for Water and Watersheds at Oregon State University, agrees that amendments to such compacts are not unusual and even to be expected. He cites the Colorado River Compact, which dates from the 1920s. That agreement, he says, was signed during a period of abundant water. With the region now under siege by drought, some experts are looking to alter how the compact apportions available water.

July 2018
The SDC Climate Change and Environmental Network has just published a Nexus Brief on Fragility and Conflict. The brief reviews the nexus of environment, climate change, fragility and conflict, while highlighting how an international process could improve the common understand of the dynamics of the nexus and develop preventative measures to conflict risk. The TFDD contributed data on transboundary water cooperation and conflict to the report. Check out Figure 6 for great visualization on hydropolitical tension and conflict potential! 

May 8, 2018
Researchers at Florida International University have taken a closer look at water-related terrorism. While attacking water resources and infrastructure is not a new development, they found that it is on the rise, with a 263% increase from 1970 to 2016. The most common target of water-related terrorism was attacks on water infrastructure, rather than using water as a weapon.  In the future, they intend to look at regions with high numbers of water-related terror incidents, impacts to transboundary watersheds, and potential threats to highly developed water systems.