Conflict-resolution: Three river treaties

This paper is structured around three treaties: the Indus Treaty, the Mahak ali Treaty and the Ganga Treaty. In each case, the paper covers very briefl y the background to and nature of the dispute, the approach to a resolution , the major features of the treaty, the manner in which it has been operati ng, the difficulties encountered, and how these can be resolved. It then se ts forth some explanations and reflections that arise from these cases, inc luding the complex interaction between water issues and political relations : the twin dangers of big-country insensitivity or arrogance and small-coun try pathology; the need to guard against a doctrinaire approach to the ques tion of 'bilateralism' versus 'regionalism'; and the importance of not equa ting inter-country co-operation exclusively with a few large projects.