Journal of Policy & Governance

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VOLUME: 06(01) (JUNE 2026)

Journal of Policy & Governance is comprehensively covering the subjects of policy and governance in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach. By bridging both academic and professional domains, the journal provides professionals, practitioners, researchers, students, and policymakers, and any other persons with information on developments in the field of policy and/or governance.

VOLUME: 06(01) (JUNE 2026)

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M – 00636Analytical Article

Hydrodynamics and the Economic Imperative of Transboundary Water Cooperation in South Asia

Nusrat Yaqoob*1, Hasrat Arjjumend2

1Department of Economics, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan.

Email: nusratbaloch0301@gmail.com | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2985-5769

2The Grassroots Institute, 548 Jean Talon Ouest, Montreal, QC, H3N 1R5 Canada.

Email: president@grassrootsinstitute.net | ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4419-2791

*Corresponding author

Journal of Policy & Governance, 06(01) (June 2026), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060101

Received: 16 September 2025

Published: 27 June 2026

Reviewed: 14 May 2026

Accepted: 19 May 2026

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ABSTRACT

Hydro-politics and hydro hegemony in South Asia are deeply intertwined with economic imperatives, in which disputes over water sharing not only escalate political tensions but also impose substantial economic costs. Rapid population growth is a primary driver of the natural resource supply-and-demand gap. This study investigates the long-run hydrodynamics of South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka) by analyzing the interrelationships among water resources, energy policy, population growth, and the agricultural sector's physical output. For this study, the World Bank data from 1990 to 2024 were used to analyze the relationship between the strategic variables and cereal yield (kg per hectare). By using a single, pooled dataset for the region, the Pooled Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is applied to identify a common, long-run relationship among the variables. The dependent variable is cereal yield (kg per hectare), with independent variables including renewable freshwater resources, population growth, renewable energy consumption, and trade (% of GDP). Preliminary Phillips-Perron (PP) unit root and Bound tests confirm a statistically significant long-run cointegrating relationship. The findings reveal a nuanced, complex regional dynamic over the long run: renewable energy consumption and trade have a significant negative impact on cereal yields. Conversely, population growth demonstrates a significant positive long-run effect, highlighting demand as a key driver. A critical insight is the statistically insignificant long-run impact of renewable freshwater resources on cereal yield, suggesting a weak direct renewable internal freshwater resource impact link in the pooled data. The study concludes that the dominant long-term factor in South Asia's hydro-dynamic landscape is the economic imperative to meet the growing population's food needs, which may come at the expense of other policy goals such as trade liberalization and renewable energy expansion. The findings offer important policy implications for relevant stakeholders seeking to enhance regional cooperation within nations. In conclusion, it highlights the need to increase investment on advance hydrological modeling in reference to regional fresh water resource mapping and availability. Besides that, it significantly proves the importance of virtual water trade foot prints concerning to regional economic growth.

Keywords: ARDL; Hydro-Politics; South Asia; IWRM; Transboundary Water Governance; Water-Energy-Food Nexus

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HOW TO CITE THIS PAPER?
APA Style

Yaqoob, N., & Arjjumend, H. (2026). Hydrodynamics and the Economic Imperative of Transboundary Water Cooperation in South Asia. Journal of Policy & Governance, 06(01), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060101

Harvard Style

Yaqoob, N. and Arjjumend, H. (2026). Hydrodynamics and the Economic Imperative of Transboundary Water Cooperation in South Asia. Journal of Policy & Governance, 06(01): 1-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060101

ACS Style

Yaqoob, N., Arjjumend, H. Hydrodynamics and the Economic Imperative of Transboundary Water Cooperation in South Asia. Journal of Policy & Governance, 2026, 06 (01), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060101

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yaqoob, Nusrat, Arjjumend, Hasrat. 2026. “Hydrodynamics and the Economic Imperative of Transboundary Water Cooperation in South Asia”. Journal of Policy & Governance, 06 no. 01: 1-24. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060101

AAA Style

Yaqoob, Nusrat and Hasrat Arjjumend. 2026. “Hydrodynamics and the Economic Imperative of Transboundary Water Cooperation in South Asia”. Journal of Policy & Governance, 06 (01): 1-24. https://doi.org/10.33002/jpg060101

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Advisory Board

    Advisory Board

    * Prof. Dr. Ivanyshyn Volodymyr (Ukraine)

    * Mr. Tony Sevelka (Canada)

    Editors

    Executive Chief Editor

    Dr. Hasrat Arjjumend President & CEO

    The Grassroots Institute, Canada

    Deputy Editor-in-Chief

    Prof. Dr. Larysa Klymanska, Professor

    Department of Sociology and Social Work

    Lviv Polytechnic National University, Ukraine

    Associate Editor

    Dr. Mohanasundari Thangavel

    Assistant Professor (Economics)

    School of Humanities and Social Sciences

    Indian Institute of Technology Indore, India

    Dr. Ansari P. A.

    Post Doctoral Researcher

    Centre for West Asian Studies

    Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), India

    Ms. Nusrat Yaqoob

    PhD Fellow

    Department of Economics

    University of Karachi

    & Member, UNESC0-Water (Scientific Committee)

    & Global Climate Ambassador, GYCN-WBG MTE Cohort 2022

    Editorial Board

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