The Role of Law in Transboundary River Basin Disputes


Book Description

"This book examines the role legal rules play in the resolution of disputes in transboundary river basins. When states fail to resolve disputes over shared water resources, many cast such failures on inadequate or ineffective legal rules. With this view in mind, this book examines the role that legal rules do, and can, play in aiding the peaceful settlement of disputes and furthering cooperation between different parties. Building on the interactional theory of law, the book formulates three analytical frameworks: the effect of norm-generating processes, the effects of water-related agreements and/or arrangements in the basins, and the effect of international water. It uses these frameworks to assess the role of law in the processes of cooperation and peaceful settlement of disputes on transboundary river basin by drawing on four illustrative case studies: the Jordan River Basin, the Nile River Basin, the Mekong River Basin and the Indus River Basin. In doing so, the book presents a unique perspective on the multi-functional role of legal rules in those processes. Tapping into the global discussion on water security and water-related conflicts, this book stimulates readers to explore broader or interdisciplinary perspectives for understanding water-related issues. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in water resource management, water law, environmental politics, conflict resolution and sustainable development more generally"--




Transboundary Water Management


Book Description

The management of water resources across boundaries, whether sub-national or international, is one of the most difficult challenges facing water managers today. The upstream exploitation or diversion of groundwater or rivers can have devastating consequences for those living downstream, and transboundary rivers can provide a source of conflict between nations or states, particularly where water resources are scarce. Similarly, water based-pollution can spread across borders and create disputes and a need for sound governance. This book is the first to bring together in a concise and accessible way all of the main topics to be considered when managing transboundary waters. It will raise the awareness of practitioners of the various issues needed to be taken into account when making water management decisions and provide a practically-based overview for advanced students. The authors show clearly how vital it is to cooperate effectively over the management of shared waters to unlock their contribution to regional sustainable development. The book is largely based on a long-running and tested international training programme, run by the Stockholm International Water Institute and Ramboll Natura, and supported by the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (Sida), where the respective authors have presented modules on the programmes. It addresses issues not only of conflict, but also of managing power asymmetries, benefit-sharing, stakeholder participation, international water law, environmental water requirements and regional development. It will be particularly useful for those with a background in hydrology or engineering who wish to broaden their management skills.




Principles of Water Law and Administration


Book Description

This book, which was first published in 1992 and then updated in 2007, provides a tool for dealing with the legal and institutional aspects of water resources management within national contexts and at the level of transboundary water resources. Like its two previous editions, it seeks to cover all aspects that need to be known in order to attain good water governance, but it provides updates concerning developments since 2007. These relate, inter alia, to the following: - the “greening” of water law, which calls for the progressive integration of environmental law principles into domestic and international water law; - the adoption, by the International Law Commission in 2008, of the Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers, and subsequent developments; - the emergence of the right to water as a self-standing human right; - the adoption of domestic water laws supporting integrated water resources management (IWRM) and enhanced public participation in planning and decision making; - the integration into these laws of tools facilitating adaptive water management as a response to climate variability and change; - progress in the implementation of EU law; - recent international agreements and judicial decisions; - efforts of regional organizations other than the EU to steer cooperation in the management of transboundary water resources and the harmonization of national laws; - institutional mechanisms for the management of transboundary water resources (surface and underground). Unique in its scope and nature, the book identifies the legal and institutional issues arising in connection with water resources management and provides guidelines for possible solutions in a manner accessible to a wide range of readers. Thus, it is a useful reference for lawyers and non-lawyers — engineers, hydrologists, hydrogeologists, economists, sociologists — dealing with water resources within government institutions, river basin commissions, international organizations, financing institutions and academic institutions, among other things, and also for students of disciplines related to water resources.




Transboundary Resources Law


Book Description




International Trade in Water Rights


Book Description

International Trade in Water Rights provides a new approach to the questions raised by international water transfer projects: To whom does water belong? More precisely, what rules should govern international water transfers from transboundary watercourses? These issues are usually studied through the lenses of international trade law. International Trade in Water Rights offers a new approach by highlighting the fundamental issue of domestic and international water property regime and introducing the difference between trade in water and trade in water rights. International Trade in Water Rights analyses the conditions under which market-based instruments could participate in the resolution of water disputes over international watercourses and recommendations are made based on the study of two cases of inter-state water trading in the Colorado River Basin and in the Murray Darling Basin. It is argued that the recognition of water as an economic good in domestic water reform will increasingly impact the management of international watercourses. The book is of key interest to water professionals, economists, lawyers, and political scientists dealing with transboundary disputes over water.




Inter-state Water Law in the United States of America


Book Description

In Inter-state Water Law in the United States of America: What Lessons for International Water Law?, Rhett Larson offers lessons for international water law based on the successes and failures of inter-state water apportionment in the United State of America.




Bridges Over Water: Understanding Transboundary Water Conflict, Negotiation And Cooperation (Second Edition)


Book Description

Bridges over Water places the study of transboundary water conflicts, negotiation, and cooperation in the context of various disciplines, such as international relations, international law, international negotiations, and economics. It demonstrates their application, using various quantitative approaches, such as river basin modeling, quantitative negotiation theory, and game theory. Case-studies of particular transboundary river basins, lakes, and aquifers are also considered.This second edition updates the literature on international water and in-depth analyses on political developments and cooperation between riparian states. With an appended chapter on principles and practices of negotiation, and a new case study on the La Plata Basin, this edition is a timely update to the field of transboundary water studies.




Research Handbook on Freshwater Law and International Relations


Book Description

Recent decades have seen pivotal changes in the management and protection of water resources, with human rights, environmental and water law each developing a strong interest in the conservation of fresh water. This surge in interest has meant that dispute settlement mechanisms, along with diplomatic tools, are becoming increasingly necessary for conflict resolution. This Handbook offers an analysis of the interaction between law and various forms of knowledge and expertise, ranging from economics to environmental and social sciences. Leading scholars examine general and specific water legal regimes and analyse the interplay between various disciplines in order to establish the extent to which law is informed by each.




Water Law


Book Description

This volume of the Elgar Encyclopedia of Environmental Law provides thorough and detailed coverage of the changing meanings and roles of water law, from the local to the global. It examines the rules of ownership, rights of use, and dispute resolution that address access, allocation, and protection of water resources. Written by leading scholars and practitioners from across the globe, this authoritative volume will be a vital resource for all scholars and students of environmental law.




International Water Law and the Quest for Common Security


Book Description

The world’s freshwater supplies are increasingly threatened by rapidly increasing demand and the impacts of global climate change, but current approaches to transboundary water management are unsustainable and may threaten future global stability and international security. The absence of law in attempts to address this issue highlights the necessity for further understanding from the legal perspective. This book provides a fresh conceptualisation of water security, developing an operational methodology for identifying the four core elements of water security which must be addressed by international law: availability; access; adaptability; and ambit. The analysis of the legal framework of transboundary freshwater management based on this contemporary understanding of water security reveals the challenges and shortcomings of the current legal regime. In order to address these shortcomings, the present mindset of prevailing rigidity and state-centrism is challenged by examining how international legal instruments could be crafted to advance a more flexible and common approach towards transboundary water interaction. The concept of considering water security as a matter of ‘regional common concern’ is introduced to help international law play a more prominent role in addressing the challenges of global water insecurity. Ways for implementing such an approach are proposed and analysed by looking at international hydropolitics in Himalayan Asia. The book analyses transboundary water interaction as a ‘case study’ for advancing public international law in order to fulfil its responsibility of promoting international peace and security.