CRT Library

Columbia River Treaty: the Economics of an International River Basin Development

“September, 1964, marked the culmination of a major effort at international cooperation. At that time the United States and Canada ratified the Columbia River Treaty, which provided for joint development of the Columbia River Basin. The two countries agreed to a formula for sharing the various benefits of this development, primarily electrical power and flood control. This treaty marked the conclusion of twenty years of investigation and negotiations by various agencies of the two governments. The long lapse of time between the decision to investigate the possibilities of development and the final agreement can be explained by the enormous engineering, economic, political, and administrative complexities involved in constructing a plan that attempts to be at once technically sound, economically justified, and political acceptable to all the parties concerned. The Columbia River Treaty, Dr. Krutilla feels, represents a notable achievement in international cooperation. However, if this achievement is to be of value to other countries with similar possibilities for cooperation, the development and implementation of the Treaty must be analyzed in technical detail from many perspectives. While the focus of this study is primarily on economic considerations, the author does not lose sight of social and political factors. The study is built around two broad questions. First, what was the basis for the selection of projects in the Treaty system and how closely did the selection adhere to economic criteria? Second, how does the division of the benefits from the cooperative venture affect each party of the Treaty? Part I contains a generalized and theoretical discussion of the problems and objectives of international river development. In Parts II and III the Columbia Treaty is analyzed in the light of the criteria developed in Part I.” (Taken from book cover.)

Note: the full text is not available in the CRTDL. For library availability, check http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/231824

Author: Krutilla, John V.
Publisher: Resources for the Future
Date: 1967