scholarly journals Draft legal framework for shared water resources in the Arab World: is it really needed?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Imad Antoine Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Legal Framework

The legal frameworks of the Nile Basin: Opportunities and challenges / Cadres juridiques du bassin du Nil : opportunités et obstacles

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 185-203
Author(s):  
Dereje Zeleke Mekonnen
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Grand Challenge ◽  
Nile Basin ◽  
Freshwater Resources ◽  
Formidable Challenge ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Droit International ◽  
Legal Frameworks

The use of shared natural resources is a difficult task and the use of trans-boundary freshwater resources poses an even greater challenge, with a higher propensity for conflict. The belated development of international law in the area has contributed considerably to the difficulties. The essence of the international legal regime governing the use of shared water resources is anchored in the twin principles of equitable and reasonable use and no significant harm. Concluding a lasting deal governing the use and protection of shared freshwater resources by taking all relevant factors into account within an inclusive legal and institutional framework is the standard approach. The Nile Basin exhibits peculiar features that make equitable and sustainable use of the water resources a daunting task, depriving the Basin states of the opportunity for cooperative development and shared use. Ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of the Nile waters has been an elusive objective pursued by the riparian countries for over half a century. The existing legal frameworks, especially the colonial and early postcolonial ones, still constitute a formidable challenge to the new cooperative legal framework that began to take shape in the late 1990s, thus keeping the Basin in a legal and hydro-political stasis that has stalled progress and might even undo hard-won achievements. L’utilisation des ressources communes est une tâche difficile et l’utilisation transfrontalière des ressources en eau douce pose encore un plus grand challenge avec une grande propension au conflit. Le développement tardif du droit international dans la région a considérablement contribué aux problèmes. L’essence du régime juridique international régissant l’utilisation commune des ressources en eaux est soutenue par le double principe de l’utilisation équitable et raisonnable et pas de préjudice significatif. L’approche standard est de conclure un accord durable régissant l’utilisation et la protection des ressources communes en eau douce tenant en compte tous les facteurs importants dans un cadre juridique et institutionnel inclusif. Le Bassin du Nil présente des caractéristiques particulières qui rend l’utilisation équitable et raisonnable des ressources en eau une tâche ardue privant ainsi les États du Bassin de la possibilité d’un développement coopératif et d’une utilisation partagée. Assurer l’utilisation équitable et durable des eaux du Nil est un objectif illusoire poursuivi par les pays riverains depuis plus d’un demi-siècle. Les régimes juridiques existants, ceux spécialement coloniaux et post coloniaux, constituent toujours un énorme obstacle pour le nouveau régime juridique coopératif qui a commencé à prendre forme vers la fin des années 1990, maintenant ainsi le Bassin dans une stagnation juridique et hydro-politique qui a freiné les progrès et pourrait même éventuellement défaire les accomplissements durement acquis.

scholarly journals Adaptation to Climate Change Effects on Water Resources: Understanding Institutional Barriers in Nigeria

Climate ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Sola Ojo ◽  
Henry Mensah ◽  
Eike Albrecht ◽  
Bachar Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Resources Management ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Resources Management ◽  
Global Issues

Climate Change (CC) and variability are global issues that the world has been facing for a long time. Given the recent catastrophic events, such as flooding, erosion, and drought in Nigeria, many have questioned institutions’ capacity in managing CC impacts in Nigeria. This study explores emerging institutional barriers of adaptation to CC effects on water resources in Nigeria. The study data were obtained from in-depth interviews with institutional heads from water resources management and emergency management and a review of secondary literature from databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. The results show that inadequate hydrological data management, low awareness on how to adapt among the public and decision-makers, financial constraints, no political will to pass important bills into law, and inadequate institutional and legal framework are the main institutional barriers of adaptation to climate change in Nigeria. The study concludes that it is essential to strengthen the institutional and legal system, information management mechanism, public awareness, and participatory water resources management. The implications for further research are presented in the study.

Water Laws for Water Security in the Twenty-First Century

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Burchi
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
First Century ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Recommendations For Action ◽  
Management And Development ◽  
The Third World

Concern for the long-term sustainability of water resources development and use has gained definitive prominence on the agenda of the world community at the Second World Water Forum and Ministerial Conference held at The Hague in March 2000. The concept and goal of water security were loosely articulated there, by reference to ‘key challenges’, namely, meeting basic needs; securing the food supply; protecting ecosystems; sharing water resources; managing risks; valuing water; and governing water wisely. Governance, in particular, attracted attention and debate at the International Freshwater Conference held in Bonn, in December 2001, preparatory to the United Nations World Summit for Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002) and to the Third World Water Forum (Kyoto, 2003). Governance has also attracted the attention of the water ministers of African countries meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, in April 2002, and it has been echoed in the ensuing Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water committing African countries to put in place ‘arrangements for the governance of water affairs at all levels’. It is readily apparent that water security, and the governance issues which that concept and goal trigger in train, will be the mainstay of much contemporary international and domestic discourse about water resources. However, the authoritative pronouncements recalled earlier invariably fail to pin down with accuracy the concepts of ‘water security’, and of ‘good governance’ in relation to water. The ‘Recommendations for Action’ issued from the Bonn Freshwater Conference articulate seventeen priority actions in the field of water-related governance at the domestic and the international levels, which, in effect, help substantiate that elusive concept and translate it into measurable goals. Implicitly, action, in particular, at the domestic level is underpinned by legislation for the management and development of water resources, setting out a web of rights and obligations for the resource users, for government, and the members of civil society. This chapter will focus on such legislation, and, in particular, on the requirements for a supportive legal framework for the ‘priority actions’ recommended by the Bonn conference. A comparative state-of-the-art review and analysis of the contemporary legal framework for the management of water resources will first be made, and salient features and main trends highlighted.

Promoting water infrastructure investment to accelerate access to water in Tanzania: A legal analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-198
Author(s):  
JS Ombella
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Infrastructure Investment ◽  
Contributory Factor ◽  
Investment Incentives ◽  
Water Infrastructure ◽  
Water Sector ◽  
Specific Investment ◽  
Access To Water

Access to water in Tanzania is reportedly low. However, Tanzania is endowed with plenty of water resources both on the surface and underground. Notably, the uneven occurrence and natural distribution of such water resources limit many communities’ access to water. To guarantee access to water, there is a need to invest in the relevant infrastructures for extraction, treatment and supplying of water from water resources-rich areas to water-scarce areas. Investments in such infrastructures require a sound investment climate, finance, and technological expertise, which seem to be lacking in Tanzania and many other African countries. The absence of a robust legal framework that will cater to the promotion of investment in the water sector seems to be a contributory factor on poor infrastructure in the water sector leading to low access to water. This is because the poor legal framework limits private sector involvement and investment in the water sector due to fear of the risks involved, the lack of awareness of such investment opportunity, and the unclear framework of their participation to name but a few challenges. This article reviews the African regional (African Ministerial Council on Water Declarations) initiative on investment in the water sector and relevant domestic laws on water sector investments. The review reveals that Tanzania’s policy and legal framework is desirous to foster private water infrastructure investment. However, there are legal challenges in respect of the absence of water sector-specific investment incentives, inadequate data on the water sector and investment opportunities, limited human resources, narrow scope of domestic resource mobilisation and overlapping mandate of the established institutions, among others. To guarantee improved access to water Tanzanian water sector laws must address these challenges inhibiting the potential of private sector investment.

Agriculture in al-Hamdānī's Yemen: A Survey from Early Islamic Geographical Texts

2009 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 382-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Martin Varisco
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Arab World ◽  
The State ◽  
Islamic Period ◽  
Historical Texts ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Early Islamic Period ◽  
Agricultural Regions ◽  
Early Islamic

AbstractThe area of Yemen has been one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Arab World since the beginning of Islam. This article surveys the available knowledge from Arabic geographical and historical texts on the state of agriculture in Yemen during the early Islamic period up through the 10th century CE. The primary focus is on the work of Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī, including translation of a section on Yemeni agriculture from his Sifat jazīrat al-Arab. In addition to discussion of rain periods, water resources and agricultural methods, information on the known cultivated crops is provided. Depuis le commencement de l'ère islamique le Yémen constitue la région agricole la plus fertile du monde arabe. Cette contribution étudie l'agriculture au Yémen jusqu'au Xe siècle EC en exploitant les textes géographes et historiques arabes disponibles, tout d'abord les écrits de Abū Muhammad al-Hasan al-Hamdānī, y inclut la traduction de la section qui traite de l'agriculture yéménite de son Sifat jazīrat al-Arab.Des considérations sur les pluies saisonnières, les ressources d'eau douce, et la méthode de culture, l'étude nous révèle en outre des détails sur la nature des produits agricoles connus.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document