Watering down divisions in Cyprus : bi-communal policy networks and water governance in Nicosia

• Main Author: Brouma, Anthi Dionysia
• Published: SOAS, University of London 2013
• Subjects: 550
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.594067

The purpose of this study is to identify the types of bi-communal water cooperation in Cyprus. The island faces conditions of moderate to severe water scarcity that influences every aspect of daily life; it is impossible to take water out of politics or politics out of the management of water resources. To add to this complexity, the politico-military events of 1974, with the resulting de facto division of the island, have separated the available water resources between two divergent, yet interdependent, entities. Based on evidence of existing and well-functioning bi-communal engagement in the wastewater sector despite the post-1974 political disparities and military hostilities, the thesis identifies and analyses this type of engagement with the threefold objective of: a) Conducting an integrated presentation of conventional water resources management based on information from both sides of the island; b) Examining selected discursive water themes, through which to highlight the value of viewing them through the theoretical lens of policy analysis; and c) Evaluating the applicability of the policy network analytical framework in the case of Cyprus, thus contributing through empirical work to the better understanding and potential further development of the framework. Methodologically, the thesis is based on 55 semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders as the primary source of information, complemented by secondary documentation. The analysis covers the entire island of Cyprus during the post-1974 era up to the summer of 2008, when a new round of official direct bi-communal discussions placed Cyprus into a new political paradigm. The study shows that informal bilateral communication clusters i) emerged in the post- 1974 era in the water sector in the city of Nicosia (shared wastewater treatment and drinking water supply systems), ii) have evolved over time into water policy networks and iii) have spilled-over into the rehabilitation of the old sections of the capital.