Contested Waters and Clumsy Solutions

Nepal-India borderlands are increasingly vulnerable to the hydrological extremes of floods and drought, worsened by climate change in the Anthropocene. While major river basins along the India-Nepal border, such as the Koshi and Gandak, are governed by bilateral treaties, these have been controversial and inadequate. Simultaneously, hundreds of small rivers, rivulets, and streams flow from Nepal into India, remain outside formal bilateral institutional frameworks, and create complex challenges. The existing scholarship has focused on state-centric, technocratic, legal institutional, and fragmented community-based approaches, neglecting lived experiences and plural world views. Drawing on the Theory of Plural Rationality (Cultural Theory), developed by anthropologist Mary Douglas, this analysis examined how diverse governance rationalities (hierarchical, individualist, egalitarian, and fatalist) interact across three transboundary rivers: the treaty-based Koshi, the medium-sized and non-treaty Tinau, and the small and marginalised Pandai basin. For that, this study used the qualitative case study approach, drawing on desk review, field observation, and semi-structured interviews with multiple actors on Nepal-India borderlands with diverse world views. Findings showed that the dominance of the hierarchical and top-down governance model has deepened water-related vulnerabilities in the borderlands. In contrast, some spaces where multiple rationalities interact, through informal cooperation or polycentric arrangements, show greater adaptive capacity in managing water extremes. This study seeks to contribute to policy thinking by advocating for ‘clumsy solutions’ that embrace institutional diversity and allow dynamic interaction and negotiation among rationalities. Such an approach is particularly suited to the complex, contested, and climate-stressed realities of transboundary river governance in the Anthropocene. The chapter concludes that fostering pluralistic, adaptive, and multi-level governance is essential for sustainable and equitable water management in Nepal-India borderlands.