Pockets of Hope, Pockets of Power. Exploring the potential of benefit-sharing mechanisms to reduce water conflicts in the Coello watershed

Abstract: Watersheds are patchy landscapes, hard to understand and deal with. Previous scholarship investigated various institutional arrangements to tackle classical problems related to the overuse, misuse and mismanagement of water resources. While studies eloquently identified conditions under which individuals cooperate and avoid a “tragedy of the commons” scenario, they hardly scrutinized the role of power in designing and maintaining these arrangements. Using an analytical model inspired by political ecology and new institutionalism thinking, this study suggests a more subtle and profound analysis of how watershed arrangements have the potential to affect power dynamics and thus address water conflicts. By means of a case study in the Coello watershed, Colombia, and through qualitative empirical data, the research reveals how power is embedded and shifted in watershed interactions. It also explores how landscapes of power are redefined with the creation of benefit-sharing mechanisms (BSMs), as new institutional arrangements. The study further demonstrates that this theoretically-triangulated approach offers a more holistic understanding of biophysical and social systems such as watersheds, an invaluable point of departure for designing appropriate answers for current environmental, social and economic challenges.