Policy & Diplomacy
Data and analysis are only as valuable as the action they inform.
Therefore, the Shared Waters Lab Partnership focuses on applied research that informs and shapes the policy and institutions that states rely on for managing shared water resources, while also providing education and capacity building to prevent conflict and increase equitable, sustainable cooperation for shared waters.
Research Impact
TFDD data and SWLP scholarship underpin a wide body of research across the field of transboundary water governance — from studies on hydropolitical vulnerability to work on international water law, treaty design, and climate-driven water stress. Our data has been used and cited in journals including Global Environmental Change, Water Policy, Water International, Nature Sustainability, Scientific Reports, and Environmental Research Letters, among others.
Informing Policy
TFDD data and SWLP analysis have directly informed policy documents and guidance produced by major international institutions, including:
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) and its Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP)
The World Bank
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
UNESCO-IHP
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
GIZ (German Agency for International Cooperation)
River basin organizations and government agencies worldwide
This work has contributed to documents such as ICPDR's Shared Basin – Shared Destiny: Principles of Effective River Basin Management, GEF/STAP's Fostering Cooperation and Managing Conflict, UNECE's Handbook on Water Allocation in a Transboundary Context, and the Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (TWAP), among others.
Facilitation, Training, and Capacity Building
Beyond research, SWLP directly supports the people negotiating and managing shared water resources. Led by OSU’s Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation, we facilitate and mediate discussions between stakeholders at the subnational and international levels, and run skills-building workshops for professionals ranging from graduate students to ministerial-level officials. Faculty regularly consult with governments and inter- and non-governmental organizations.
Recent and past engagements include:
Direct engagement with international bodies, including participation in United Nations meetings and events.
Engaging non-parties in river basin cooperation — advising the Nile Basin Initiative and Nile governments on options for informal and formal engagement of non-member states in basin management processes.
Negotiation and transboundary cooperation in the Mekong basin — including an Effective Negotiation Skills Building course and a training-of-trainers program on cooperation and hydropower.
Western U.S. water management training — including materials developed for the Bureau of Reclamation's Managing Western Water program.