130
10 The Resilience of Transboundary Water Governance …
considerations as “sustainable and integrated” water management and the “multifunctionality” of the resources of the river (Art. 2.). Beyond these distant references,
however, the Meuse Agreement does not in any way address the issues of water
quantity management and allocation among its riparians.
10.1.3.4 Bilateral Water Treaties
As shown above, at UNECE, EU and multilateral basin level water quantity issues
are afforded hardly any attention. At bilateral level, however, several treaties contain
provisions that address water allocation in a substantive fashion.
Most prominent in this respect is the Albufeira Convention,
23 the comprehensive
water management treaty between Spain and Portugal. Given the predominantly arid
conditions prevailing in most of the Iberian Peninsula as well as the extensive use of
storage and other flow manipulation facilities in both countries water sharing agreements are not at all a new feature of the bilateral relations (Canelas de Castro 2009).
The Albufeira Convention—as amended in 2008 by the Additional Protocol
24 —,
however, goes further than previous schemes. It lays down an elaborate water allocation arrangement for each of the five river basins shared by the two countries both
in terms of procedure and substance (Art. 15-16.). It sets precise minimum average
volumes that each of the rivers entering the territory of the downstream riparian
must carry. These quantities are expressed in cubic hectometre for annual, quarterly
and weekly averages (Annex II, Protocol). The relevant annexes also determine for
each basin the conditions of exceptional circumstances—that is precipitation levels
30-40% below historic averages—when the minimum flow requirements are temporarily suspended. Importantly, these figures have not been derived from the august
principles of international water law, but are based on historic uses, actual needs
and future water availability projections. Empirical studies suggest that this complex
river flow management regime has contributed considerably not only to the stability of bilateral political relations, but also benefited both countries (even upstream
Spain) in terms of net economic gain (Chatterjee 2013).
There exists a number of other bilateral treaties between EU member states that
contain some kind of general or project (use)-specific water allocation rules. One
of the best known of example is the 1958 French-Spanish Agreement regarding the
Lake Lanoux,
25 adopted in the wake of the 1957 Lake Lanoux Arbitral Award.
26 The
agreement defines the precise amount of water France must release to the Carol river
that outflows to Spain from Lake Lanoux. Another important example of bilateral
23 Convention on the Co-operation for the Protection and the Sustainable Use of the Waters of the
Luso-Spanish River Basins, Albufeira, 30 November 1998.
24 Protocol amending the Convention on Co-operation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the
Waters of Luso-Spanish River Basins signed 30 November 1998, 4 April 2008.
25 Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Spanish Government relating
to Lake Lanoux, Madrid, 12 July 1958.
26 Lake Lanoux Arbitration (France v. Spain) (1957) 12 R.I.A.A. 281.
10 The Resilience of Transboundary Water Governance …
considerations as “sustainable and integrated” water management and the “multifunctionality” of the resources of the river (Art. 2.). Beyond these distant references,
however, the Meuse Agreement does not in any way address the issues of water
quantity management and allocation among its riparians.
10.1.3.4 Bilateral Water Treaties
As shown above, at UNECE, EU and multilateral basin level water quantity issues
are afforded hardly any attention. At bilateral level, however, several treaties contain
provisions that address water allocation in a substantive fashion.
Most prominent in this respect is the Albufeira Convention,
23 the comprehensive
water management treaty between Spain and Portugal. Given the predominantly arid
conditions prevailing in most of the Iberian Peninsula as well as the extensive use of
storage and other flow manipulation facilities in both countries water sharing agreements are not at all a new feature of the bilateral relations (Canelas de Castro 2009).
The Albufeira Convention—as amended in 2008 by the Additional Protocol
24 —,
however, goes further than previous schemes. It lays down an elaborate water allocation arrangement for each of the five river basins shared by the two countries both
in terms of procedure and substance (Art. 15-16.). It sets precise minimum average
volumes that each of the rivers entering the territory of the downstream riparian
must carry. These quantities are expressed in cubic hectometre for annual, quarterly
and weekly averages (Annex II, Protocol). The relevant annexes also determine for
each basin the conditions of exceptional circumstances—that is precipitation levels
30-40% below historic averages—when the minimum flow requirements are temporarily suspended. Importantly, these figures have not been derived from the august
principles of international water law, but are based on historic uses, actual needs
and future water availability projections. Empirical studies suggest that this complex
river flow management regime has contributed considerably not only to the stability of bilateral political relations, but also benefited both countries (even upstream
Spain) in terms of net economic gain (Chatterjee 2013).
There exists a number of other bilateral treaties between EU member states that
contain some kind of general or project (use)-specific water allocation rules. One
of the best known of example is the 1958 French-Spanish Agreement regarding the
Lake Lanoux,
25 adopted in the wake of the 1957 Lake Lanoux Arbitral Award.
26 The
agreement defines the precise amount of water France must release to the Carol river
that outflows to Spain from Lake Lanoux. Another important example of bilateral
23 Convention on the Co-operation for the Protection and the Sustainable Use of the Waters of the
Luso-Spanish River Basins, Albufeira, 30 November 1998.
24 Protocol amending the Convention on Co-operation for the Protection and Sustainable Use of the
Waters of Luso-Spanish River Basins signed 30 November 1998, 4 April 2008.
25 Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Spanish Government relating
to Lake Lanoux, Madrid, 12 July 1958.
26 Lake Lanoux Arbitration (France v. Spain) (1957) 12 R.I.A.A. 281.