Will Islamic Water Management Principles Be Included If the Helmand River Treaty Is Revisited?

Despite the importance of water management in Islamic culture, the role of religion has been underemphasized by scholars. Using the three criteria of equity, responsibility and sustainability, this study aims to assess whether Islamic water management principles are incorporated into the revision of the transboundary Helmand River Basin under the administration of the Taliban regime. In August 2021, Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, with a goal of ruling Afghanistan based on Islamic Sharia law, presumably including the management of the transboundary watercourses. One such basin is the Helmand, shared with the downstream Islamic Republic of Iran, with whom Afghanistan will likely revisit the transboundary Helmand River Treaty, possibly based on Islamic water management principles. We examine how principles of Islamic code may influence future negotiations, including the construction of dams on the upper Helmand River Basin initiated under the former administration.

ORGANIZATION OF SURFACE WATER MONITORING IN SUMY REGION

The article presents an analysis of water monitoring organization in the Sumy region. The reform of water resources management has placed the main burden on the implementation of the state water policy and ensuring the proper ecological condition of the water basin at the regional level of management. The European approach in the field of water resources management pays attention to water monitoring, which is an integral part of the state system of environmental monitoring in Ukraine. An analysis of implementation the basin principle in the region had been conducted. There are two sub-basins in the region: Desna Sub-Basin and Middle Dnieper Sub-Basin. Within the Desna sub-basin 121 massifs of surface waters have been identified, within the middle Dnieper sub-basin 230 massifs have been identified. The analysis of monitoring data on the state of surface waters, on the organization of monitoring of transboundary watercourses is carried out. The study found that farms have a significant impact on the condition of rivers. Due to the aggravation of the political situation, monitoring of transboundary watercourses is carried out only on the territory of Ukraine. The beginning of the introduction of a new approach to monitoring in Sumy region lays the foundations for the accumulation, systematization of data on the state of surface water bodies with the subsequent possibility of analyzing the existing situation with effective management decisions to achieve "good" ecological status of river basins.

The Ilisu Dam and Its Impact on the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq: Implications for the Future Directions of International Water Law

The law of international watercourses has been successful in providing some measure of assistance in conflict avoidance and resolution. However, evolution of this body of law, which has been gradual in nature, is facing challenges adapting to climate change and its grave consequences. Climate change is causing the glaciers of the world to melt, and resulting in unpredictable shifts in patterns of rainfall, thus seriously impacting shared watercourses. The history and ecology of the Tigris Euphrates Basin, and the issues surrounding Turkey’s recent impoundment of water behind the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris, provide an example highlighting such challenges. This monograph argues that international collaboration over transboundary watercourses is imperative for maintaining peace and stability and should force us to think of new ways to address these newly emerging and growing challenges in this field.

Transboundary watercourses, dams and human migration: an international water law perspective

This article examines the potential contribution of international water law (IWL) to alleviating the negative cross-border impacts of ‘dam-induced migration’, the displacement of individuals or communities resulting from dam construction. While much has been written on efforts to deal with this global problem in other areas of international law, the application of IWL in this context has yet to be meaningfully explored. But since dams are frequently constructed on transboundary watercourses, the principles of IWL (no significant harm, equitable and reasonable utilisation, and the duty to cooperate) may prove relevant and useful to mitigating the harmful cross-border impacts of dam-induced migration. The no significant harm principle requires States to comply with a due diligence standard of conduct designed to avoid, minimise, or compensate for significant harm that might result from the use of shared watercourses, including harm to human life or health. The equitable and reasonable utilisation principle obligates each basin State to use an international watercourse in a manner that is equitable and reasonable vis-à-vis the other States sharing it. The duty to cooperate requires States to collaborate in the management and use of shared watercourses and sets out concrete measures to enable collaboration, such as information exchange, consultations, and the establishment of joint institutions. Taken together, these IWL principles can effectively guide the planning, construction, and operation of dams on shared watercourses. Applying them to the specific issue of dam-induced migration, moreover, could promote inter-State cooperation and accountability, facilitate the resolution of disputes, and alleviate negative cross-border impacts. In this way, IWL can supplement other areas of international law in providing a comprehensive solution to the growing problem of dam-induced migration.

Legal Regimes for Sharing Transboundary Water

The law applicable to transboundary waters is a corpus juris that dates back to the 19th century. It originally focused on regulating the uses of transboundary watercourses for navigation and commercial transport. It was crafted primarily on the European and North American continents, and it has gradually become universally applicable, thereby taking a new shape. The regulation of transboundary waters was rooted in a strict dynamic of coexistence between sovereign entities: each acted as it saw fit with respect to “its” portion of the watercourse, which was treated at the same time as the image of the territory to which it is attached. The need for regulation only arose when uses affected the riparian states’ exercise of their “sovereign rights.” Since the 1990s, the law has tried to break away from this “classical” logic to make room for more community-based and even “ecosystem” notions based on aspects of joint management, and sometimes even pool of shared resources. A number of treaties have been negotiated and adopted by states bordering transboundary watercourses in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. They reflect, and sometimes even develop, some of the principles and rules enacted in broader forums, such as the United Nations (UN) or its Economic Commission for Europe, or the European Union. These efforts show the steps taken in the field of transboundary waters management, but they also reveal some of its limits, as they do not always comprehend all facets of water management and protection.

Montenegro makes important strides towards achievement of the SDGs

In 2018, Montenegro took an important step towards ratification of the Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. A multisectoral national consultation provided a forum where national stakeholders could assist in related decision-making. The Protocol is the first and only multilateral legal agreement linking sustainable water management and the prevention, control and reduction of water-related diseases in the pan-European region. It was adopted in 1999 at the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health in London and entered into force in 2005 as legally binding for the ratifying countries. To date, 26 countries have ratified it, covering about 60% of the population of the pan-European region. Montenegro is on the way to becoming the next country to ratify it and has used it as an instrument to strengthen national action towards progressively reaching regional and global WASH-related commitments, specifically in relation to SDG 3 (good health and well-being), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and the Ostrava Declaration on Environment and Health (2017).

Legal aspects of transboundary water management: An analysis of the intergovernmental institutional arrangements in the Okavango River Basin

The Okavango River Basin is a transboundary basin which serves as an important source of water resources for three riparian Southern African states, namely Angola, Botswana, and Namibia. If not properly managed, the Okavango River Basin is a potential source of conflict amongst the three countries. In order to reduce the likelihood of disputes among riparian states, the Governments of Angola, Botswana, and Namibia have signed and ratified an agreement establishing the institutional framework for the management of the shared water resources. This article discusses the legal aspects of the institutional arrangements in the Okavango River Basin. It highlights the importance of river basin organizations in the effective management of transboundary watercourses. This article concludes that the institutional arrangements between the riparian states with access to the Okavango River provide the framework for resolving possible disputes peacefully. Further, it concludes that these institutional arrangements promote co-operation over the management of the shared water resources.