Transboundary governance in the La Plata River basin: status and prospects

ABSTRACT

The La Plata River Basin’s transboundary institutional arrangement is a complex system with different geographical bases and scopes, including 14 international organizations, four technical committees and one groundwater commission (not yet implemented). This article examines this institutional architecture by outlining the characteristics of cooperative arrangements established under treaties as a way of analyzing how the process of water governance takes place between riparian states. The large number of institutions contrasts with the modest number of joint actions and projects, which prompts questions about their role in the governance process, especially considering the lack of transparency and information about their performance.