201
The Energy Charter Treaty (see Sect. 6.2.3) began as a framework for Western
Europe to respond to the changes in eastern Europe following the end of the Cold
War, before being expanded. An Energy Charter Treaty was adopted in 1994 and
went into force in 1998. A subsequent International Energy Charter was adopted in
2015 by 64 states to provide the framework process to develop a larger treaty. The
ECT includes provisions on non-discrimination in trading conditions (based on
WTO rules); ensures stable movements of energy across international borders; and
plays a significant role in trade dispute resolution.
7.5 International Water Trade (and Virtual Water Trade)
Water is not formally traded in any significant volume between nations at the present time, with only limited exceptions, such as bottled water and beverages. This is
because water is too heavy and is priced so low that water tankers and water pipelines
are not yet economically feasible. The fact that water infrastructure tends to be both
very expensive and also nationally financed likewise discourages the construction
of the transboundary water infrastructures that would convey traded water.
On the other hand, transboundary rivers and other fresh waters that cross or
straddle national boundaries are incredibly important for many nations’ water supplies. Transboundary waters are shared, not traded, although an implicit water trade
of a sort exists in the treaties and de-facto agreements between nations. Transboundary
waters are common among the world’s nations, owing to the tendency of rivers to
disrespect political boundaries, with roughly 263 transboundary river basins and
300 transboundary aquifers in the world, involving nearly all of the world’s nations
(UNEP 2016). Few of these transboundary water flows have a cooperative management framework (see Sects. 6.3, 8.1.1, and the case studies of Chap. 19).
A notable cooperative management framework is the Great Lakes Compact
(see Sects. 8.1.1 and 19.2.3) between the USA and Canada (and their States and
Provinces) governing the Great Lakes, one of the world’s great fresh waters. The
GLC explicitly allows a preapproved list of water transfers, and also allows bottled
water exports as long as small containers are used. Bottled water could be considered
trade, although it is not a large trade in terms of volume, mass, or value. The GLC
regulates any activities that create cumulative impacts on the Great Lakes water
resources, and prohibits diversions and transfers that are not explicitly approved by
the parties to the compact. The GLC is a very conservative cooperative management
framework in the sense that it is legally binding and that it is comprehensive in the
protections it guarantees.
Another notable cooperative management framework is the Colorado River
Compact (CRC, U.S. Congress 1921) between the USA and Mexico, governing the
sharing of the water supply on one of the world’s most important arid region rivers.
This is a complicated agreement that divides the waters of the Colorado River
between the less fully developed and populous Upper Basin States (Colorado,
Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, and portions of Arizona), the more fully developed
7 Trade
The Energy Charter Treaty (see Sect. 6.2.3) began as a framework for Western
Europe to respond to the changes in eastern Europe following the end of the Cold
War, before being expanded. An Energy Charter Treaty was adopted in 1994 and
went into force in 1998. A subsequent International Energy Charter was adopted in
2015 by 64 states to provide the framework process to develop a larger treaty. The
ECT includes provisions on non-discrimination in trading conditions (based on
WTO rules); ensures stable movements of energy across international borders; and
plays a significant role in trade dispute resolution.
7.5 International Water Trade (and Virtual Water Trade)
Water is not formally traded in any significant volume between nations at the present time, with only limited exceptions, such as bottled water and beverages. This is
because water is too heavy and is priced so low that water tankers and water pipelines
are not yet economically feasible. The fact that water infrastructure tends to be both
very expensive and also nationally financed likewise discourages the construction
of the transboundary water infrastructures that would convey traded water.
On the other hand, transboundary rivers and other fresh waters that cross or
straddle national boundaries are incredibly important for many nations’ water supplies. Transboundary waters are shared, not traded, although an implicit water trade
of a sort exists in the treaties and de-facto agreements between nations. Transboundary
waters are common among the world’s nations, owing to the tendency of rivers to
disrespect political boundaries, with roughly 263 transboundary river basins and
300 transboundary aquifers in the world, involving nearly all of the world’s nations
(UNEP 2016). Few of these transboundary water flows have a cooperative management framework (see Sects. 6.3, 8.1.1, and the case studies of Chap. 19).
A notable cooperative management framework is the Great Lakes Compact
(see Sects. 8.1.1 and 19.2.3) between the USA and Canada (and their States and
Provinces) governing the Great Lakes, one of the world’s great fresh waters. The
GLC explicitly allows a preapproved list of water transfers, and also allows bottled
water exports as long as small containers are used. Bottled water could be considered
trade, although it is not a large trade in terms of volume, mass, or value. The GLC
regulates any activities that create cumulative impacts on the Great Lakes water
resources, and prohibits diversions and transfers that are not explicitly approved by
the parties to the compact. The GLC is a very conservative cooperative management
framework in the sense that it is legally binding and that it is comprehensive in the
protections it guarantees.
Another notable cooperative management framework is the Colorado River
Compact (CRC, U.S. Congress 1921) between the USA and Mexico, governing the
sharing of the water supply on one of the world’s most important arid region rivers.
This is a complicated agreement that divides the waters of the Colorado River
between the less fully developed and populous Upper Basin States (Colorado,
Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, and portions of Arizona), the more fully developed
7 Trade