Environmental Problems: The ACF River Basin Conflict

            Often when dealing with a particular environmental issue, the process of classification is fairly straightforward, and to the point.  However, in the case of the ACF River Basin, classifying the environmental problem occurring within this region may prove to be quite complicated, and solving this issue may be even more of a challenge.  This may deal with the complexity of this issue, which can make it somewhat difficult to apply it to one distinct classification.  When taking a look at the ACF River Basin conflict, one might even argue that the issue falls under a number of classifications.

            The ACF River Basin conflict, also known as the “tri-state water dispute”, is an environmental problem that involves Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, and the rights they have over two major river basins that are shared by the three states.  This ongoing issue centers on the threats presented by the overconsumption of freshwater in the ACF River Basin, and has been occurring since 1990.  This river basin is not only needed by all three states as a source of drinking water, but also for agriculture, fisheries, as well as energy production, so the issue primarily centers on how to fairly allocate it.  And because this water supply is so heavily relied on by the entire region, these states are also faced with the challenge of conserving it as well.

            The first of the four types of environmental problems mentioned in class includes shared natural resource problems.  This is most likely the best suited classification of the problem involved with the tri-state water dispute, as it essentially describes the issue at hand; the ACF River Basin being the shared natural resource.  However, solving this issue has by no means been easy, as it has been going on for over twenty years.  One potential answer may be to bring in an outside mediator, such as a district court from another state, in order to avoid a biased decision in determining how to best deal with the situation.  The level of demand required by each of the states involved in this conflict makes setting limits for sharing this resource extremely difficult to assess.  

            The second type of environmental problems discussed includes trans-boundary externality problems, and while the issues of the ACF River Basin primarily deal with allocating the water source, this classification may apply in situations where one of the three states significantly pollutes a portion of the river basin.  Such a case might include an accident occurring at a nuclear power plant located within the river basin, or perhaps an incident that negatively impacts its fisheries.  

            While the tri-state river dispute does not fall under the classification of a linked issue problem, it in some way represents a global commons problem on a much smaller scale. This is simply due to the fact that a number of states with separate jurisdictions are all consuming a single “common” resource.  The issues regarding the ACF River Basin can be applied to the tragedy of the commons in that a number of separate entities are all consuming more water than they should be, which in turn will negatively impact all of them in the long term.  Using this classification, however, would probably still not be the most appropriate means of identifying this particular issue.

            Although one could make the argument that the ACF River Basin conflict can take on multiple classifications, it is probably most accurately described as a shared resource problem.  This is not only the simplest classification for this issue, but the one that best suits it as well.  However, finding a solution to this environmental problem is still an uncertain and ongoing process that many take many more years to resolve.