Pollution of shared freshwater resources in international law

AbstractOn 11 December 2008 the UN General Assembly adopted a set of draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers which had been prepared by the International Law Commission (ILC) between 2002 and August 2008. These draft articles are the first official instrument that lays down rules of international law for the management and protection of groundwater, which makes up 97 per cent of the Earth's freshwater resources, excluding the resources locked in polar ice. This article discusses the contribution of the draft articles to the development of international water law. It first provides some background on the importance of shared groundwater resources, then describes the ILC's work on transboundary aquifers, and finally assesses in detail the draft articles and the way ahead.

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Rethinking the management of transboundary freshwater resources: a critical examination of modern international law and practice

Natural Resources Forum ◽

10.1111/j.1477-8947.2000.tb00926.x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 21-30 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jeffrey Albert

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Critical Examination ◽

Freshwater Resources

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Part I Introduction, 1 Human Use of Fresh Water and the Era of Water Scarcity

The Law of International Watercourses ◽

10.1093/law/9780198736929.003.0001 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

McCaffrey Stephen C

Keyword(s):

International Law ◽

Fresh Water ◽

Water Scarcity ◽

Human Populations ◽

Natural Conditions ◽

Freshwater Resources ◽

Human Use ◽

Valuable Role

This introductory chapter discusses the importance of water to humans, its growing scarcity relative to human populations, and, consequently, the increasing potential for water-related conflicts between States. Humans are straining the limits of a resource essential to their survival. Moreover, humans are capable of altering natural conditions to the point that their neighbors are deprived of fresh water they need and have historically relied upon. While international law plays an important role in resolving conflicts between states, it can play an even more valuable role in preventing them, in establishing conditions that are conducive to cooperation among states sharing freshwater resources. Indeed, cooperation is itself a logical outgrowth of rules of international law applicable in this field.

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