When Water Defines the Border; A case study of the hydropolitical vulnerabilities and resiliencies in the San Juan River Basin between Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Abstract: This paper examines the hydropolitical vulnerabilities and resiliencies in the San Juan River Basin located on the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. This examination is possible by studying the characteristics of vulnerable and resilient international river basins presented in a UNEP report from 2007. Further, this paper will assess the risks of escalating conflict and the possibilities of a good cooperation between the riparian countries. The hypothesis of this paper is that the relationship between two countries that share a river that also defines the border between them tends to be more conflictive than cooperative. The findings of this paper show that the relationship between Nicaragua and Costa Rica has been tense because of the prolonged border dispute, and this makes it harder for them to cooperate over the water resources they share. However, there seem to be political will to cooperate because the poor environmental condition of the San Juan River Basin.