The costs of diffused responsibility

Abstract

A major research project at the Australian National University's focuses on federal hydrological systems, both national and international raising concerns about intergovernmental and inter-agency conflict, low decision making, accountability, and high transaction costs. The project is more relevant to open access resources that effectively featuring institutional framework, controlling and regulating the behavior international hydrological systems. The major concerns embossed are the conflict between the competing pressures and arguments for centralized coordination and devolution, investigating within the context of five federal systems concretely the US, Australia, Europe, India, and China. The investigations of the changing relationship between the Australian national and the state government along with the management of cross-border hydrological systems, proving essential water supply enough for the population residing in the concerned area were also emphasized. The project reveals declining environmental conditions and supply security, and the erosion of resource security among most large hydrological systems thereby increasing threat of ecosystem collapse.