Climate Change and Water Variability: Do Water Treaties Contribute to River Basin Resilience?

This analytical document shows that climate-driven water variability is a natural phenomenon observed across river basins, but predicted to increase due to climate change. Environmental change of this kind may aggravate political tensions. The study investigates whether basins governed by treaties witness less tension over shared water in comparison with those basins not governed by treaties, over the last sixty years. The results suggest that the presence of a treaty promotes cooperation.