Boundaries of Benefit Sharing: Mapping Conflict and Cooperation in the Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa Sub-Basin
Publisher: Water Security
Author(s): Joanna Fatch and Larry A. Swatuk
Date: 2018
Topics: Conflict Causes, Cooperation, Governance, Land, Livelihoods, Renewable Resources
Countries: Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania
Over time, debate with regard to transboundary water governance has advanced beyond the water wars adage to the acknowledgement of the co-existence of conflict and cooperation in the relations among riparian states in managing this shared resource. At the same time, scholars have explored the idea of ‘benefit sharing’ in relation to moving beyond inter-state disputes regarding access to specific quantities of blue water. This study explores these related ideas in the context of the Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa (LMNN) sub-basin of the Zambezi River Basin. The LMNN illustrates a complex decision context wherein sovereign states pursue a range of perceived benefits to be derived from the sub-basin. Grounded within the Transboundary Water Interactions Nexus (TWINS), the study takes a bilateral perspective – termed as decision contexts – in mapping the interactions between sub-basin riparian states. The study is qualitative employing in-depth interviews and document surveys to gather data. These methods are utilised in order to trace the evolution of the state interactions between Malawi and Tanzania on the Songwe; Malawi and Tanzania on the Lake Malawi/Nyasa; Malawi and Mozambique on the Lake Malawi/Niassa; and, Malawi and Mozambique on the Shire – Zambezi. Using content analysis, process tracing and the thematic approach to analyse data, the study systematically searches for patterns in the ways in which riparian states interact. Lake Malawi/Nyasa has been featuring in international news as a result of the boundary dispute on the Lake between Malawi and Tanzania. However, as seen in the different decision contexts, there is cooperation and conflict in different forms in existence in the sub-basin. These relations are not static but dynamic, with riparian states reacting and responding as opportunities arise and contexts change. Put differently, focusing on the Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa sub-basin as a basin in conflict because of a persistent border dispute ignores all the other interactions that are occurring within it. The sub-basin, rather, demonstrates that (i) physical water scarcity is not a driver of conflict in the LMNN sub-basin; (ii) states cooperate and conflict on a wide variety of activities; and (iii) transboundary water interactions are dynamic and fluid, often shifting dramatically over time. The benefits to be derived from the sub-basin are numerous, so facilitating this complex mix of cooperation and conflict over time.