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UNITED STates institute of peace

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“[S]cientific cooperation 

serves to realign states’ 

interests from a zero-sum 

perspective to a more comprehensive approach based on 

interdependence...A multidisciplinary, cooperative approach 

is appropriate, given that the 

interconnected scientific and 

engineering problems of the 

basin go well beyond legal 

wrangling over water rights.”

April 22, 2010 

The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin: A 

Science Diplomacy Opportunity

Summary

•	 Iraq’s post-conflict struggles for sustainable economic growth and regional stability are undermined in both the short and long term by poor water management in the Tigris-Euphrates basin. 

•	 Poor regional water management has negative effects on Iraq’s regional political relationships, 

its economy and its ecology. 

•	 Despite the severity and urgency of many of these concerns, diplomatic deadlock persists as 

a result of zero-sum politics, unequal power relationships between regional players, lack of 

transparency in data sharing, and intragovernmental dynamics. 

•	 These concerns are best addressed through regional scientific cooperation. This approach 

should be based on the creation of networks that facilitate collaboration between both 

technical and diplomatic stakeholders. 

Introduction

The Euphrates and Tigris rivers have been a source of tension between Iraq and its neighbors for 

generations. Iraq is heavily dependent on those two rivers for fresh water for drinking, sanitation 

and irrigation, while Turkey has tightened its control of the headwaters through extensive hydroelectric dam projects. Zero-sum competition is reinforced by 10–20 year projections indicating 

that water demand will exceed the supply for the region as a whole. 

Near-term drought poses even more urgent threats. Iraq’s director of water resources, Oun 

Thiab Abdullah, said in May 2009 that Iraq faced “a catastrophe” during the summer unless Turkey 

triples the Euphrates water flow. Though impending drought was not a core campaign issue for 

the recent 2010 Iraqi elections, it is sure to present a challenge for the new Iraqi government. 

In this context, this Peace Brief outlines the threats posed by poor water management in the 

Tigris-Euphrates basin to Iraq and the region at large. It also describes the political interests that 

underlie the current deadlock, and the role that regional scientific collaboration can play in creating sustainable diplomatic solutions to these issues.

Consequences of Poor Water Management 

Political, economic and ecological fallout 

Iraq faces one of the world’s most challenging water management situations, and its effects are far 

reaching. These challenges are numerous and interlinked, having significant impact on:

Joel Whitaker

E-mail: jwhitaker@usip.org

Phone: 202.230.1101

Anand Varghese

E-mail: avarghese1@usip.org

Phone: 202.429.7179

peaceBrieF20
© USIP 2010 • All rights reserved.

The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin: A Science Diplomacy 

Opportunity page 2 • PB 20 • April 22, 2010

•	 Regional politics: Iraq’s vulnerability as the downstream nation has complicated relations 

with its neighbors, as Turkey and Syria balance their national interests with the need for 

sustainable stewardship of the two rivers. The lack of regional agreements and institutions 

for transboundary water management makes it even more difficult to pursue long-term 

solutions to these challenges. The second year of drought in the summer of 2009 caused 

severe hardships, raising tensions between Iraq and its neighbors over the declining Tigris 

and Euphrates rivers. Iraqi ministers and legislators criticized Turkey and Syria for using 

hydroelectric dams to limit flows from the rivers’ headwaters, while Iraq was faulted by its 

neighbors for inefficient water management. 

•	 The economy: Left without sufficient water for irrigation, southern Iraq’s fragile agricultural 

sector has produced a record low wheat crop, and thousands of Marsh Arabs have abandoned their farms. Water quality is so poor that Basra and other southern cities import 

desalinated water from the United Arab Emirates. Three thousand people were evacuated 

from two villages due to water scarcity and sanitation problems. Nasiriyah lost 50 percent 

of its hydroelectric power during the summer of 2009 due to low water levels.

•	 The ecology: The ecosystems that rely on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers are quite fragile, 

especially the marshes of southern Iraq. Two years of drought have caused severe salination, 

displacing many farmers and villagers, and have caused serious water quality challenges in 

Iraqi cities. 

Factors for Political Deadlock

Despite the enormity of the threats posed by poor water management in the Tigris-Euphrates 

basin for both Iraq and its neighbors, there has been little political progress made towards 

addressing them. Water ministers from Iraq, Turkey and Syria held a joint meeting in September 

of 2009, which proved to be inconclusive. Political inertia in the region is the result of a number of 

inter- and intrastate factors:

•	 Perception of misaligned interest. Like all extractable resources, interstate freshwater management is perceived as an inherently zero-sum political issue. When domestic political 

actors lobby for more freshwater resources, they are typically unsympathetic to the needs 

of neighboring states. Indeed, any concession made by one government in this regard can 

undermine their domestic political futures. These pressures are particularly high for the 

governments that control upstream dams, like Turkey. 

•	 Unequal power relationships. Turkey’s geographical and political position makes it a dominant player in the region. In the September talks, ostensibly convened to begin negotiations 

with Iraq and Syria on water-sharing, Turkey’s energy minister ruled out increasing its water 

delivery to its downriver neighbors. Absent greater geopolitical leverage or wider international pressure, there appears to be little that Iraq and Syria can do to change this dynamic. 

•	 Lack of open technical data. A crucial roadblock is the lack of agreement on actual flow 

levels and water quality because of deficient measurement technologies, limited public 

hydrological data, and insufficient technical expertise to make environmental and agricultural impact assessments based on generally accepted scientific standards.

•	 Intragovernmental relationships. Water management in Iraq is not centrally administered. 

The Ministry of Water Resources takes the lead on water related issues, but its purview is 

limited. The ministry decides water distribution between regions, but it has little to do with 

ensuring water quality, proper agricultural use, and the supply of safe drinking water to 

urban populations. Iraq’s Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Planning and Development 

Cooperation, Ministry of Environment and various local bodies deal with these issues 
© USIP 2010 • All rights reserved.

The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin: A Science Diplomacy 

Opportunity page 3 • PB 20 • April 22, 2010

jointly. These internal dynamics add another stratum of political interests that inhibit coordinated problem-solving. 

Existing International Efforts

The international community has supported some efforts at water management at the local and 

national levels in Iraq. Notable examples include USAID, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the 

United Nations Environment Program in Iraq, and the World Bank in Syria. However, these have 

not yet supported a comprehensive approach that could enable regional collaboration, sustained 

over the long term by strengthened national and regional institutions in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The 

international community needs to help foster and support a regional approach. 

Recommendations

1. Invest in Scientific Cooperation for Regional Water Management and Conflict Resolution

To deal with the interrelated political, economic, and ecological issues that arise for Iraq from poor 

water management in the Tigris-Euphrates basin across various time horizons, we recommend 

an approach that has regional scientific cooperation as its foundation. Scientific cooperation 

initiatives in river basins ranging from the Nile to the Mekong have demonstrated that enhanced 

management of transboundary water resources provides a strong basis for economic growth and 

political stability. Our fundamental assumption is that the scientific elements of such a strategy 

make trust and cooperation possible since stakeholders have a common understanding of the 

problem based on accepted scientific standards, thus bringing political rhetoric more in line with 

reality. International scientific collaboration can break a diplomatic logjam. 

Furthermore, President Barack Obama’s recent pledge to invest in scientific collaboration 

during his Cairo address to the Arab world has triggered the U.S. government’s renewed interest 

in building domestic technical capacity in Iraq and in supporting regional scientific collaboration 

initiatives. The time is ripe for such an approach. 

Specifically, we argue for a two-pronged programmatic approach to water management in 

post-conflict Iraq: 

•	 Support for regional technical cooperation

•	 Support for regional policymaking and diplomatic initiatives

2. Support Regional Technical Cooperation

Regional cooperation between scientists, academics and technical experts on water management 

can help tackle various parts of the political challenges outlined in earlier parts of this Peace 

Brief. Firstly, they serve to create more open forums for information and technical data sharing. 

Most data about water usage, flow and quality have been guarded as a national security secret to 

conceal violations of pledged water management practices, making it difficult to depoliticize the 

issue with trusted information. Regional cooperation breaks collective action problems underlying 

the resistance to sharing sensitive data. It also enhances the development of technical expertise, 

leveling the playing field between counterparts over time. 

Secondly, scientific cooperation serves to realign states’ interests from a zero-sum perspective 

to a more comprehensive approach based on interdependence. Turkey has resisted the establishment of a joint regulatory body, but the door is opening to technical collaboration, which had 

been dormant since the 1991 Gulf War. A multidisciplinary, cooperative approach is appropriate, 

given that the interconnected scientific and engineering problems of the basin go well beyond 
© USIP 2010 • All rights reserved.

The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin: A Science Diplomacy 

Opportunity page 4 • PB 20 • April 22, 2010

legal wrangling over water rights. For example, outdated technology for agriculture (90 percent of 

Iraq’s water usage) exacerbates water shortages in the entire region and has caused severe downstream salination. But the 2007-2010 Iraqi National Security Strategy states that decreasing water 

flow “directly threatens environmental and nutritional security [and] stems from...large dams in 

Turkey and Syria...that do not take into consideration the rights of Iraq.” Thus, the improvement of 

water management capacity in Iraq is in the interest of both Turkey and Syria, promoting efficient 

water usage throughout the region and warding against possible conflicts. 

A technical cooperation program should aim to create the following elements:

•	 Practices for reliable end-to-end data collection about water flow, water quality, salinity, 

precipitation, irrigation and consumption rates.

•	 Practices for data management, exchange and public availability according to the most 

advanced technical standards.

•	 Institutional forums to promote exchange and cooperation among technical experts in the 

region. 

Participants involved in regional technical cooperation should represent a range of disciplines, 

including:

•	 Hydrologists and geologists: to facilitate the development of shared databases of hydrological 

information, designed to be apolitically managed, analytically useful, and publicly available.

•	 Environmental scientists/engineers and biologists: to facilitate information sharing and joint 

study of the fragile ecosystem of the river basin, and to assess potential ecological effects of 

development projects.

•	 Agronomists and biotechnologists: to facilitate assessment of current agricultural practices’ 

impact on the ecosystem and long-term water supply, and to evaluate opportunities to 

invest in irrigation and food-production practices that require less water and energy.

•	 Energy experts: to facilitate impartial data collection on the effects of upstream hydroelectric projects on downstream water supplies, and to involve leaders in alternative solar and 

wind energy to enable integrated regional energy and water planning.

3. Support Regional Policymaking and Diplomatic Initiatives

The second piece of a regional cooperation strategy should involve bringing together scientists, 

policymakers, bureaucrats, ministerial staff, and other decision-makers from various relevant 

ministries in all three countries. This would engender a number of positive outcomes that specifically address concerns we have outlined. 

Firstly, by engaging ministerial staff from water, environmental, and natural resource ministries 

in the three countries, this phase would establish a foundation for ongoing institutionalized 

collaboration for “Track Two” science and engineering diplomacy that would reduce the likelihood 

of tensions over scarce water resources spilling over into a cause of conflict in the region.

Secondly, by bringing together staff from these different ministries, the diversity of intragovernmental concerns can be brought to bear on the issue, ensuring that multilevel stakeholders 

are engaged and have buy-in in the final diplomatic outcomes of cooperation. This whole-ofgovernment approach is vital to effective regional cooperation. 

Thirdly, this would help Iraqi, Syrian and Turkish scientists and engineers establish regional 

bonds, accelerate their professional development and networks, adopt leading international 

standards and data management tools, and deepen constructive engagement with governmental 

decision-makers. 
© USIP 2010 • All rights reserved.

United States 

Institute of Peace

1200 17th Street NW

Washington, DC 20036

202.457.1700

www.usip.org

About This Brief

This Peace Brief was written by 

Joel Whitaker, senior adviser to 

the Center of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding at the United States Institute 

of Peace, and Anand Varghese, 

program assistant to the Center 

of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding.

USIP provides the analysis, training and 

tools that prevent and end conflicts, 

promotes stability and professionalizes 

the field of peacebuilding.

For media inquiries, contact the office 

of Public Affairs and Communications, 

202.429.4725

This phase of engagement should aim to achieve some or all of the following outcomes: 

•	 Trilateral agreements on practices for monitoring and reporting data on water quality and 

quantity.

•	 Cooperative approaches to developing, operating and maintaining major water projects for 

energy, irrigation and water supply.

•	 Cooperative approaches to environmental protection of the shared river basin.

•	 The establishment of joint technical facilities to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing among scientists and engineers in the region.

•	 Additional mechanisms for coordinating water policy and allocations, potentially including 

the formation of a transboundary water commission empowered to resolve disputes.

The Tigris-Euphrates River Basin: A Science Diplomacy 

Opportunity page 5 • PB 20 • April 22, 2010