Supporting the Development of Efficient and Effective River Basin Organizations in Africa: What Steps Can Be Taken to Improve Transboundary Water Cooperation Between the Riparian States of the Nile?

2014 ◽  
pp. 597-636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Morbach ◽  
Lars Ribbe ◽  
Rui Pedroso
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
Transboundary Water Cooperation

scholarly journals The Legitimacy of Dam Development in International Watercourses: A Case Study of the Harirud River Basin

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (02) ◽  
pp. 247-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Nagheeby ◽  
Mehdi Piri D. ◽  
Michael Faure
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
Water Law ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
International Water ◽  
Transboundary Water Cooperation

AbstractThis article examines the international legitimacy of unilateral dam development in an international watercourse from the perspective of international water law. Drawing upon technical analysis over the Harirud River Basin, the article discusses probable negative impacts of unilateral dam development in Afghanistan on downstream Iran and Turkmenistan. Competing claims are analyzed to assess emerging transboundary damage under customary international water law. Applying these insights to the case study, this article explores how legal norms and principles can contribute to transboundary water cooperation. It investigates how equitable and reasonable utilization, as required by the United Nations Watercourse Convention, could be reached and whether current activities are in conformity with international norms. Based on this analysis and in the light of international customary law, the article questions the compatibility of unilateral control and capture of water resources in Afghanistan, particularly through the Salma Dam, with ‘equitable and reasonable utilization’ and ‘no significant harm’ rules. The article also argues that building the Salma Dam results in significant transboundary harm to downstream states. Hence, such harm could be considered as significant transboundary damage. Conclusions point to an understanding of water law as a form of institutional guidance in order to provide a transparent setting for transboundary water cooperation among riparian states.

scholarly journals Current and future transboundary water cooperation over the YarlungZangbo/Brahmaputra River basin: from an interdisciplinary perspective

Water Policy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanmei He
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Water Diversion ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
Brahmaputra River ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
Social Environmental ◽  
Transboundary Water Cooperation

Abstract While all riparian states in the YarlungZangbo/Brahmaputra River basin have conducted or planned dam-building, water diversion or other water-related activities to meet their respective national policy goals, they are also undertaking fragmented cooperation to solve conflicts and disputes as they arise. Mainly using a combination of natural, economic, social, environmental, political and legal factors affecting transboundary water cooperation as its analytical framework, this article explores the features of the current cooperation practice among the riparian states, then analyses manifold challenges the practice faces. The author lastly envisions an available path where all riparian states develop multilateral cooperation to address the challenges in the future. This article suggests that the rationale for future cooperation is the policy of preventive diplomacy with the aim of avoiding water conflicts and significant transboundary harm; the basic prerequisite for future potential cooperation is trust building among the riparian states, especially between China–India and between India–Bangladesh; the suitable form of future cooperation is expected to be an inclusive, comprehensive and coordination-oriented River Basin Organization; and the focus areas for future cooperation are supposed to be data sharing and riparian activities that all or most of the riparian states are suffering from.

scholarly journals National Sovereignty Versus Transboundary Water Cooperation: Can You See International Law Reflected in the Water?

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 178-182
Author(s):  
Francesco Sindico
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Transboundary Water ◽  
National Sovereignty ◽  
Customary International Law ◽  
Aquifer System ◽  
Water Cooperation ◽  
Guarani Aquifer ◽  
International Water Law ◽  
Downstream Flow ◽  
Transboundary Water Cooperation

Could Turkey dam the Tigris and Euphrates and deprive its downstream neighbors of vital water resources? Could Brazil over-pump the Guarani Aquifer System to the detriment of the other aquifer states? Could Egypt put pressure on upstream Nile states and prevent them from developing river related infrastructure that might limit downstream flow? International law in the field of transboundary water cooperation has evolved and would appear to condemn unilateral practices such as the ones suggested above. However, hydro politics and the lack of reception of international water law instruments by many countries sometimes make it difficult to see international law properly reflected in the management of major rivers, lakes and aquifers around the world. In this essay, I first highlight what international law dictates when it comes to the tension between national sovereignty and transboundary water cooperation. I then explore how this tension plays out in the three examples noted above. Due to limited acceptance of the existing international, bilateral, or regional legal instruments, the resolution of the tension between national sovereignty and transboundary water cooperation will often be left to customary international law.

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