Shared water resources in the Great Lakes and in the Jordan River basin: Comparative models in inter-jurisdictional water management

The period from 1909 to 1987 could be characterized as achieving notable successes in the management of the Great Lakes waters. The successes during this interval provide important lessons for shared water resources elsewhere. However, the period from 1987 forward saw more obstacles in restoring and maintaining the waters in the Great Lakes basin. Since 1987, progress toward delisting and restoring beneficial uses in the most degraded locations known as the geographic Areas of Concern (AOCs) (e.g. the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers) has been slow. Cleanup and restoration actions have been completed for only five of the 43 AOCs that were identified in the Great Lakes basin. Meanwhile, in the Jordan River basin, various bilateral agreements were signed to divide and manage the water resources but with little success, with the exception of the successes achieved between Jordan and Israel on the Aqaba Gulf. These successes provide lessons for other parts in the world that are attempting to achieve effective transboundary environmental outcomes. This thesis examines the factors that impede progress in the restoration of the beneficial uses in the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers AOCs and provides recommendations to advance implementation of the restoration process for the two rivers. This thesis also examines the conflict and the agreements over the shared water resources in the Jordan River basin and proposes a model consisting of three elements (political, socio-economic, and scientific) to create sustainable solutions to the water problems and improve management of the shared water resources in the basin based on the historic successes achieved in the Great Lakes region. A comparative analysis of the management of shared water resources between the two basins provides a series of principles that are applicable to shared water resource management in other parts of the world.