Replication Data for: Agriculture and conflict and cooperation over international river basins: An analysis based on remotely sensed data

Agriculture is an undeniable factor in conflict and cooperation over international river basins. Yet, due to lack of data on agricultural land for each country within specific international river basins, comparatively few studies have systematically discussed and empirically investigated the role of agriculture in international water conflict and cooperation. This study contributes to filling this gap by using remotely sensed data of Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Land Cover from 2001 to 2007. The results suggest that agriculture has an important role in international water conflicts. Besides, the findings also indicate that upstream countries with larger area of agricultural land in themselves are not enough to trigger conflict over international river basins. Rather, its impact is constrained by agricultural land owned by downstream countries. This study highlights the importance of agriculture in international river basins, which could benefit governance of international freshwater resources.