About the talk
Political relations include the multi-scalar politics of actors other than nation states. The overarching aim of the presentation is to study the engagement of non-state actors in transboundary governance of rivers, taking the example of Kosi, and the impact that improved access to information may have on this engagement. It does so by looking at the three factors that are said to affect transboundary water cooperation—the particular context of the river (geographical, historical, social, and ecological), institutions, and political relations.
The unique transboundary context of the Kosi, with its substantial elevation drop, high siltation and course shifting gives rise to various challenges in its transboundary governance like management of the flood protection works. This has led to multiple layers of institutions and transboundary agreements. The political history of the river has been fraught. Negotiations over contentious issues like execution of the project, land ownership and sovereignty, etc. have been exacerbated by the disparity of size between the two nations. The discourse surrounding them reinforces antagonisms, which can be combatted through better access to objective and authentic information.
The floods in 2008 and the prevention of a flood in 2014 present an interesting case study to understand how adverse impacts of such events can be mitigated and how access to information can play a role in this.