In Transboundary Water Cooperation in Europe, Gotz Reichert analyzes the multidimensional regime for the protection and management of European transboundary freshwater resources that is composed of international water law, the water law of the European Union, and domestic water legislation. Accordingly, qualitative and quantitative aspects regarding surface waters and groundwater are to be managed in an integrated manner to achieve "good water status" of rivers, lakes and aquifers. To this end, "international river basin management plans" provided for by the EU Water Framework...

In Freshwater Boundaries Revisited, Maria Querol analyzes the different methods applied in the delimitation of international rivers and lakes and the recent developments in the field. This monograph reassesses the diverse methods of boundary delimitation in view of the latest and abundant jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice and the tribunals under the aegis of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the subject. The author focuses on the influence of human considerations in the field under study and the legal consequences ensuing therefrom, in addition to drawing some...

In The Protection of Water During and After Armed Conflicts: What Protection in International Law?, Mara Tignino offers an analysis of the principles and rules protecting water in situations of armed conflicts. The monograph also gives insights on the legal mechanisms open to individuals and communities after a conflict. Practice of international organizations and judicial decisions are examined in order to define the contours of the norms dealing with armed conflicts and post-conflict situations. Beyond international humanitarian law, the author suggests that other areas of...

Entry into force of the UN Watercourses Convention in August 2014, and the opening of the UNECE Water Convention to all states in March 2016, are significant milestones in international water law. A comparative analysis of these two global water conventions and the 1995 Mekong Agreement reveals that all three instruments are generally compatible. Nonetheless, the international legal principles and processes set forth in the two conventions can render the Mekong Agreement more up-to-date, robust and practical. The Governance Regime of the Mekong River Basin: Can the Global Water Conventions...

In The Fairness 'Dilemma' in Sharing the Nile Waters, Zeray Yihdego enquires into the fairness issues in connection with the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in light of relevant colonial-era Nile treaties, post-1990 Nile framework instruments, and international watercourses law. The GERD is now a fait accompli, but fairness considerations will continue to be vital issues during its construction, filling, and operation. This monograph argues that the GERD is a symbol of a fair share of the Nile waters by Ethiopia, the realization of which depends on, inter...

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) have increasingly emerged as a valuable mechanism for drawing in investment and expertise from the private sector to meet public infrastructure needs. PPPs involving transboundary international waters require particular attention given their huge potential for social and environmental impact. Transboundary Waters, Infrastructure Development and Public Private Partnership examines what PPPs are and how they function in the context of transboundary waters. It explains how environmental and social "safeguards” operate in relation to PPPs and transboundary...

This work, Shared Water Resources in West Africa: Relevance and Application of the UN Watercourses and UNECE Water Conventions, addresses the question of whether riparian states in West Africa need to be parties to both the UN Watercourses Convention and the UNECE Water Convention, both of which have influenced current water regimes in the region. The initial transboundary water instruments in the region dealt primarily with navigation, later agreements addressed the need for cooperation, while recent regimes incorporate other principles of international water law articulated in the UN water...

In The Human Right to Water in Latin America, Anna Berti Suman investigates the development of the right to water and of water law in the Latin American context. By examining the significance of Latin American constitutional evolution, doctrine, and jurisprudence, the author illustrates the Latin American contribution in stimulating the social, political, and economic debate on the right to water, regionally and worldwide. Through an overview on the right to water in Latin American constitutions and of the main Latin American water management systems, Berti Suman argues that an analysis of...

The monograph discusses the various challenges facing shared water resources in South Asia, and the response of most these countries, presented in their calls for water security. Consequently, negotiating new transboundary water treaties amongst South Asia’s riparian countries has become a daunting task, and enforcing existing ones remains a real challenge.

Although the International Law Association (ILA) was established in 1873, it only turned its attention to the internationally shared water resources in 1954, when its half-century study of the applicable principles and rules of international law thereon began. The first ILA committee assigned to this task was the Rivers Committee, which, after a decade of intensive study and through several resolutions and statements, arrived unanimously at a set of articles reflecting customary international law, known as the Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers. The Helsinki...