PONE-D-22-27342Benefit sharing in international rivers: A Q-Methodology study of regional understanding and perception in AsiaPLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Partly

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

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Reviewer #1: The paper is addressing a complicated and widely disputed problem of cooperation on transboundary water resources: benefit sharing and ecological benefit compensation. The chosen Q methodology makes possible the objective and impartial description of perceptions and views of researchers, civil society actors and decision makers without the authors having to take a firm position on issues on which there is a wide-ranging and far from conclusive debate is going on within the academic community. The paper makes a useful contribution to this debate by highlighting the necessity of further progress on reconciling potentially competing interests over shared water resources. The significant differences among the three "strains of views" identified by the authors reveal the fact that international water law (and here the authors could have mentioned the 1992 UNECE Water Convention, to which any state can accede now, i.e. which is an authoritative document on international water law) takes too narrow an approach. The authors correctly point out that at present international water law does not offer any solid guidance on benefit sharing and environmnetal benefit compensation. The resulting, often contraditory viewes of experts identified by the Q methodology reveals that loopholes in international water law make it more difficult to negotiate bilateral or multilateral agreements on the join, cooperative management of shared transboundary water resources. The paper, by highlighting these differences, usefully contributes to the ongoing discussion on the need to further develop international water law so it would provide more guidance than at present on benefit-sharing. The paper presents in a balance manner an impressive number of publications on benefit sharing and ecological benefit compensation without passing a judgement on concrete, disputed issues thanks to the use of Q methodology. The use of Q methodology is particulary useful for facilitating further progess in water diplomacy, as experts and decision makers that prepare negotiating strategies need to be aware of the percetions and understandings of the negotiating partners, beyond a thorough knowledge of specific problems. The main strength of the paper is its innovative use of Q methodology. At the same time, the methodology also limits the depth of analysis. The paper provides only a snapshot of the present positions of a limited number of a (not necessarily fully representative group of) experts from a limited number a countries. While it mentions significant developments in the position of China on international water cooperation, it does not do the same for the water cooperation policies of neighbouring countries. To sum up: analyzing the views and perceptions of experts on benefit sharing and ecological benefit compensation from three geographical regions (China, South-East Asia and South Asia) using the Q methodology successfully draws attention to the need for the further development of international water law and for a more thorough theoretical and professional grounding of hydro-diplomacy. At the same time, the differences of opinion revealed by the Q methodology clearly indicate that experts in benefit-sharing still have considerable work to do. The growing water scarcity caused by climate change makes it more urgent than ever to intensify research and scientific exchange in this field.

Reviewer #2: The abstract should be more compact; the results should be indicated as well. Among the key words, the geographical locations should be mentioned as well ("e.g. "China").

In the 2. Chapter ("Conceptualization...") it is not clear, why a specific field ("2.1 Contextualizing benefit sharing in Asia") is discussed before a general one ("2.2 Definitions of benefits" - BTW, this title is too general, benefits of what?).

While I fully agree with the authors' choice to make a conceptualization, the "real" literature review is missing. I recommend to include an overview of the literature of the topic, includong non-Asian focused papers as well.

Recommendations and implications are not defined within the conclusion chapter. Limitations should be described as well.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Márton Krasznai

Reviewer #2: No

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Benefit sharing in international rivers: A Q-Methodology study of regional understanding and perception in Asia

PONE-D-22-27342R1

Dear Dr. Xu,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

László Vasa, PhD

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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