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This chapter focuses on a key formal institution, that is, international law, and
also discusses briefly some key actors related to international governance related to
food, energy, and water security. While formal laws created and enforced by formal
governmental actors (hard law) are an important governance tool, it is important to
note that many other governance processes and tools exist inside and outside of
these more formal government arrangements. Given the context of this book, this
chapter looks particularly at the interlinkages between food, energy, and water security in international law. It examines how international treaties and customary
international law in respect of each of these sectors take into account the other two
sectors.
Much of international governance related to food, energy, and water is motivated
by the interlinked concepts of food, energy, and water security (see Sect. 3.2).
A nexus approach to food, energy, and water security aims to integrate the many
different aspects of management and governance of these resources across sectors
and scales (Hoff 2011). Such scales range from local to regional and even to a global
scale, and an increasing amount of literature looks at the nexus from perspectives of
local sociopolitical structures like cities (Chap. 18) and natural structures like watersheds (Chap. 19) which can encompass all or parts of several countries.
While policy and decision-making in relation to each sector should therefore
always consider the effects on the other two, international FEW governance has
traditionally taken place in separate food, energy, and water “silos.” Binding legal
instruments and concrete obligations (hard laws) directed at all three sectors are
scarce, typically provisions in one sector having only implicit connections to the
other two sectors. The importance of the nexus approach and cross-sectoral linkages
are more explicitly expressed in non-legally binding (soft law) instruments and
policy papers.
We argue that, while explicit interlinkages between food, energy, and water are
largely missing from international law, legal instruments leave much room for interpretation to enhance the nexus approach. A nexus approach allows for the possibility of achieving synergies and enhancing trade-offs between the water, energy, and
food sectors. This is by no means easy and often leads to conflicting views on the
most sustainable and equitable uses of our limited natural resources. Integrated
FEW governance is thus also inherently political.
The structure of the chapter is as follows. Section 6.2 describes some critical elements of contemporary international FEW governance. Sections 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5
look at these elements from the perspective of each sector along with interlinkages.
Section 6.6 presents the conclusions, placing the analysis in a broader context. In
addition to the recommendations for further reading and the chapter references,
readers should explore treaties and declarations (Appendix C) and relevant case law
(included within a section at the end of the chapter).
A. Belinskij et al.
This chapter focuses on a key formal institution, that is, international law, and
also discusses briefly some key actors related to international governance related to
food, energy, and water security. While formal laws created and enforced by formal
governmental actors (hard law) are an important governance tool, it is important to
note that many other governance processes and tools exist inside and outside of
these more formal government arrangements. Given the context of this book, this
chapter looks particularly at the interlinkages between food, energy, and water security in international law. It examines how international treaties and customary
international law in respect of each of these sectors take into account the other two
sectors.
Much of international governance related to food, energy, and water is motivated
by the interlinked concepts of food, energy, and water security (see Sect. 3.2).
A nexus approach to food, energy, and water security aims to integrate the many
different aspects of management and governance of these resources across sectors
and scales (Hoff 2011). Such scales range from local to regional and even to a global
scale, and an increasing amount of literature looks at the nexus from perspectives of
local sociopolitical structures like cities (Chap. 18) and natural structures like watersheds (Chap. 19) which can encompass all or parts of several countries.
While policy and decision-making in relation to each sector should therefore
always consider the effects on the other two, international FEW governance has
traditionally taken place in separate food, energy, and water “silos.” Binding legal
instruments and concrete obligations (hard laws) directed at all three sectors are
scarce, typically provisions in one sector having only implicit connections to the
other two sectors. The importance of the nexus approach and cross-sectoral linkages
are more explicitly expressed in non-legally binding (soft law) instruments and
policy papers.
We argue that, while explicit interlinkages between food, energy, and water are
largely missing from international law, legal instruments leave much room for interpretation to enhance the nexus approach. A nexus approach allows for the possibility of achieving synergies and enhancing trade-offs between the water, energy, and
food sectors. This is by no means easy and often leads to conflicting views on the
most sustainable and equitable uses of our limited natural resources. Integrated
FEW governance is thus also inherently political.
The structure of the chapter is as follows. Section 6.2 describes some critical elements of contemporary international FEW governance. Sections 6.3, 6.4, and 6.5
look at these elements from the perspective of each sector along with interlinkages.
Section 6.6 presents the conclusions, placing the analysis in a broader context. In
addition to the recommendations for further reading and the chapter references,
readers should explore treaties and declarations (Appendix C) and relevant case law
(included within a section at the end of the chapter).
A. Belinskij et al.