ABSTRACT
Historically, most negotiations over the use of water have taken a zero-sum approach, meaning that gains to one party have almost always been matched by losses to others (Bingham et al 1994; Tilmant et al 2007; Sgobbi and Carraro 2011). A zero-sum, or win–lose, approach implies that the parties have not succeeded in creating enough value so that the competing interests of the parties can be met simultaneously. If enough value is created, it is possible that the most important interests of all the parties can be met (Lax and Sebenius 1986; Arnold and Jewell 2003: 68). In this chapter, we review the dynamics of zero-sum water negotiations as well as the alternative: a non-zero-sum or informal problem-solving approach to water management.
