Help:Key Questions and Transferrable Knowledge
Contents
Introduction
Each case study has a section for including “key questions” – questions for which you can develop a case-specific answer (“focused”), but the questions are also generally applicable to multiple-cases (“broad”). You could imagine that with enough case-specific insight, multiple answers to each question could be synthesized to provide evidence that would be useful in addressing other ongoing or emergent water conflicts or complex management issues. The hope is that case-specific insight to these questions will provide first glimpses into emergent patterns for further research by scholars, or perhaps to examples of implementation practices that could be useful to water professionals looking to find out more about how others have addressed problems similar to the challenges they face.
The list of questions were originally populated from input from Shafiqul Islam and Larry Susskind, as well as adaptation of questions addressed by students from Tufts University in Water Diplomacy Seminar assignments. The list may be appended or revised.
Adding Key Questions to Cases
Users may select from the list of questions when adding or editing cases. Please answer the question as it pertains to your case and provide a suggestion for how this might have broader implications. Answers should be brief and may refer to material in the case.
How AquaPedia Readers can Use Key Questions
Each Key Question is linked to the case within which they appear and also to all other answers to that question. Users can view Key Questions within an individual case, and also on a special page that lists all of the answers to a particular key question. This provides a quick way to find cases that deal with a specific issue that may be transferrable to other cases.
Suggesting New Questions or Question Revision
Contributing users who would like to see new questions should request them on the discussion page for this article. In your request, please list the type/topic for the question (either a current/existing topic/type or to suggest a new one), the question you would like, and a short explanation for why it should be added.
List of Current Key Questions
Below is a list of Key Questions that are currently available. Please report any inaccuracies to an administrator. They are presented in no particular order and are generally organized by type/topic of question.
Dams, Hydropower and Infrastructure
- How do issues of equity and development impact the identification of stakeholders in cases involving hydropower or other revenue generating water infrastructure?
- What calculations and considerations should be investigated by countries looking to harness additional hydropower? Which potential outcomes should be investigated or identified?
- What role(s) can hydropower play in a nation's energy strategy?
- Where does the benefit “flow” from a hydropower project and how does that affect implementation and sustainability of the project?
Urban Water Systems and Water Treatment
- How can increasing urban water demand be balanced between the needs of the urban population and industry?
- What approaches are most beneficial for rapidly growing cities in the developing world to link water management to sustainable urban growth strategy?
Transboundary Water Issues
- How can mutual trust amongst riparians be nurtured? What actions erode that trust?
- How can packages or options that link issues creatively or build on possible technology innovations be employed to create non-zero sum choices within negotiations that include water resources?
- What considerations can be given to incorporating collaborative adaptive management (CAM)? What efforts have the parties made to review and adjust a solution or decision over time in light of changing conditions?
- What kinds of water treaties or agreements between countries can provide sufficient structure and stability to ensure enforceability but also be flexible and adaptable given future uncertainties?
- What mechanisms beyond simple allocation can be incorporated into transboundary water agreements to add value and facilitate resolution?
Desalination
- What roles can desalination play in a country's national water policy and what energy ecological and water quality considerations ought to go into making such a decision?
- What types of benefit sharing models can be used to make desalination more economically feasible and beneficial in water-scarce regions?
Influence, Leadership and Power
- How can government be dis/incentivized to offer an inclusive planning process?
- How do national policies influence water use at the local level?
- How does asymmetry of power influence water negotiations and how can the negative effects be mitigated?
- To what extent can international actors and movements from civil society influence water management? How and when is this beneficial/detrimental and how can these effects be supported/mitigated?
- What effective mechanisms can downstream riparians use to protect their water related interests/rights?
- What role can agricultural subsidies play in finding solutions to complex water management problems?
