Columbia River Treaty and Governance Innovation

Jesse Baltutis | BIG Research Reports | #38

The Columbia River Treaty offers a relevant and timely point of focus for research on  governance innovation in transboundary water basins. A paper for the Borders in  Globalization (BIG) thematic area of ‘governance’ would explore water governance in the  Columbia River Basin from a ‘then’ and ‘now’ perspective. This approach would examine the evolution of water governance in the basin, from a traditionally state-centric  perspective to one that is increasingly – though perhaps incrementally – multi-level, and  explore how governance is being re-thought in recognition of the instability of climate  change. The social and ecological impacts of climate change on freshwater resources – especially those that cross an international boundary – is a topic of increasing interest to  scholars concerned with transboundary water governance challenges. 

Jesse Baltutis