Browsing by Author "Weinthal, Erika"

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How Access to Clean Water Prevents Conflict
(2012) Faeth, Paul; Weinthal, Erika
"The number of people with improved access to safe drinking water is growing. According to UNICEF, since 1990, an additional 1.8 billion people are using an improved source of drinking water. Yet many people are living with water scarcity, particularly in Africa. The solutions highlighted here are just a few of the possible responses. Safe drinking water and sanitation in schools may serve as a way to keep girls in school, increasing their economic opportunities, and eventually, the health of their own children. Innovative ways to finance water entrepreneurs could open up an avenue for new investments and improve sustainability."
Water Sharing in Central Asia: Bargaining, Institutions, and International Cooperation
(1994) Weinthal, Erika
"Many scholars approach the study of cooperation on global environmental issues as a collective action problem where independent individual behavior leads to collectively suboptimal outcomes. In order to avert a 'tragedy of the commons', environmental problems ranging from the local level to the international level require collective action and cooperation between individuals, communities, and nation-states. Most of the world's aquifers and river systems are shared by more than one 'user', which often leads to conflict between riparian states over access to and the quality of water. If one state dumps pollutants into a river or withdraws water unilaterally for irrigation, the consequences of these actions may not be noticed only locally, but may also cause unforeseen problems for neighboring and downstream states. So that water users receive an equitable and uncontaminated share of the water supply, governments have tried to negotiate agreements with neighboring states to regulate the use and distribution of water resources."