Euphrates-Tigris River Basin Water Management as Conflict Prevention

Abstract

The water dispute in the Euphrates-Tigris basin originated due to competitive water development projects. Notwithstanding the failures in inter-state water cooperation, the main challenge in the basin is to coordinate water management in the midst of the current state of affairs. Yet, since the early 2000s a partial institutionalization of water cooperation had begun before it was abruptly halted in 2011. When it has a chance to resume, transboundary water cooperation should start from a variety of perspectives and issues, which may again provide opportunities for regional cooperation