Just over half the world's population shares a river or lake basin with at least one other country. To sustainably manage those water resources for the health of people, ecosystems and economies, neighboring countries must work together. This trend away from multilateralism isn't unique to water. The world is seeing a decline in the general willingness of countries to jointly solve many interstate, regional and global challenges. It shows as countries, like the U.S., pull out of the global institutions, such as the World Health Organization, and drop their support for global climate goals. The breakdown in cooperation can have severe consequences. If one country takes more water than agreed upon, and builds dams or pollutes the water, its neighbors and their people, cities, agriculture, energy production and wildlife can suffer. That can ultimately destabilize local communities, deteriorate relations between countries and endanger regional peace and stability. We conduct research...
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