2.2 Delineating Transboundary River Basins: The Methodological Challenges
11
the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) maintained by the Oregon
State University.
5
Yet, despite recent political attention dedicated to the subject and the massive
improvement in digital mapping, the most widely referenced international databases
that exist on the subject today contain slightly different figures on the scale and
distribution of international river basins. Some of these variations are attributable to
differences in map coverage and technology. Others are due to deliberate choices over
the classification of various fluvial sub-systems. For instance, geographers usually
consider river systems to form a single basin solely on the basis of their confluence
into a single coastal unit (e.g. the Rhine/the Meuse/the Scheldt), while ordinary usage
refers to such rivers as autonomous. In many cases the catchment area of a river is
located almost exclusively in one country (e.g. 99% of the river Seine can be found
in France). Thus, in view of the insignificant contribution of the lesser riparian such
a basin is unlikely to qualify as international, even though in the strict sense of the
term it should be considered so. Changes in or uncertainties over political boundaries
evidently complicate the picture too (e.g. the gradual disintegration of Yugoslavia
since 1991 increased, in several steps, the number of international basins in the Balkan
region significantly). Finally, the rapid development of satellite imaging technologies
also necessitates the regular refinement of the core geographical information relating
to international river basins that may eventually lead to minor corrections in existing
databases.
Nevertheless, despite the above uncertainties and minor discrepancies it is widely
recognised that today we have a reasonably precise knowledge of the key relevant
indicators, such as the location and number of transboundary river basins around
the world (Biswas 2007). In the context of this study, however, figures relating to
international rivers systems are only used for illustrative purposes. Differences among
various datasets therefore do not influence the substance of the underlying research
objective and methodology.
2.3 Distribution of Transboundary River Basins
in the World
Transboundary river basins are ubiquitous around the world. The Transboundary
Freshwater Dispute Database identifies 263 international river basins (see Fig. 2.1).
According to this dataset the European continent has the largest number of international basins (69), followed by Africa (59), Asia (57), North America (40), and South
America (38). The number of countries that contribute to transboundary basins is
145, thus the majority of countries share at least one transboundary river basin with
neighbouring countries. 33 of these, including such sizeable countries as Bolivia,
Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hungary, Niger or Zambia have more
5 http://transboundarywaters.science.oregonstate.edu/content/transboundary-freshwater-disputedatabase (accessed 12 February 2019).
11
the Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) maintained by the Oregon
State University.
5
Yet, despite recent political attention dedicated to the subject and the massive
improvement in digital mapping, the most widely referenced international databases
that exist on the subject today contain slightly different figures on the scale and
distribution of international river basins. Some of these variations are attributable to
differences in map coverage and technology. Others are due to deliberate choices over
the classification of various fluvial sub-systems. For instance, geographers usually
consider river systems to form a single basin solely on the basis of their confluence
into a single coastal unit (e.g. the Rhine/the Meuse/the Scheldt), while ordinary usage
refers to such rivers as autonomous. In many cases the catchment area of a river is
located almost exclusively in one country (e.g. 99% of the river Seine can be found
in France). Thus, in view of the insignificant contribution of the lesser riparian such
a basin is unlikely to qualify as international, even though in the strict sense of the
term it should be considered so. Changes in or uncertainties over political boundaries
evidently complicate the picture too (e.g. the gradual disintegration of Yugoslavia
since 1991 increased, in several steps, the number of international basins in the Balkan
region significantly). Finally, the rapid development of satellite imaging technologies
also necessitates the regular refinement of the core geographical information relating
to international river basins that may eventually lead to minor corrections in existing
databases.
Nevertheless, despite the above uncertainties and minor discrepancies it is widely
recognised that today we have a reasonably precise knowledge of the key relevant
indicators, such as the location and number of transboundary river basins around
the world (Biswas 2007). In the context of this study, however, figures relating to
international rivers systems are only used for illustrative purposes. Differences among
various datasets therefore do not influence the substance of the underlying research
objective and methodology.
2.3 Distribution of Transboundary River Basins
in the World
Transboundary river basins are ubiquitous around the world. The Transboundary
Freshwater Dispute Database identifies 263 international river basins (see Fig. 2.1).
According to this dataset the European continent has the largest number of international basins (69), followed by Africa (59), Asia (57), North America (40), and South
America (38). The number of countries that contribute to transboundary basins is
145, thus the majority of countries share at least one transboundary river basin with
neighbouring countries. 33 of these, including such sizeable countries as Bolivia,
Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Hungary, Niger or Zambia have more
5 http://transboundarywaters.science.oregonstate.edu/content/transboundary-freshwater-disputedatabase (accessed 12 February 2019).