154
10 The Resilience of Transboundary Water Governance …
each other and the joint Commission and exchange all relevant information (Art. 11.).
The Convention also sets out concrete substantive measures parties must implement
in case of floods and droughts. With regards to floods the applicable regime goes further than the usual forecasting-warning-emergency-preparedness provisions most
regional or bilateral similar regimes contain. It also gives upper and lower riparian
states a right to demand the other party to implement pre-defined (or any other)
interventions that are necessary to prevent, control or mitigate the effects of floods
(Art. 18.5.). Even more elaborate are the measures relating to droughts and water
scarcity. In this context the Convention defines a set of concrete drought management measures to prevent and control the effects of low precipitation and discharge.
These relate to water demand control (abstractions for consumption), infrastructure
management (impoundment, storage and release), waste water discharges, etc. (Art.
19.2.). The conditions of exceptional situations—both floods and droughts—are to
be defined for every two years and subsequently reviewed. The Convention also calls
for the joint study of water scarcity and floods with a view to long term prevention
and mitigation (Art. 18.7., 19.5.).
Several other European bilateral water treaties make reference to cooperation
over flood prevention and protection. Most of these treaty provisions are, however,
relatively basic, reinstating the general will or duty of the parties to cooperate and/or
referring the subject to the activities of the joint commissions. In a limited number of
cases bilateral water treaties contain substantive obligations parties must observe in
flood protection or other emergency situations. E.g. the Hungarian-Ukrainian frontier
water treaty
47 requires parties to refrain from permitting any interventions that may
raise flood volumes above previously agreed-upon levels. In the spirit of solidarity
riparian states are also obliged to provide technical assistance in times of exceptional
floods upon demand (the costs of such technical assistance is to be borne by the
beneficiary) (Art.9.).
As opposed to flood protection the management of droughts rarely features in
bilateral water treaties (apart from the Albufeira Convention). Exceptions are those
bilateral agreements that are primarily concerned with transboundary flow regimes
or water allocation anyway. Thus, as mentioned above, the 1991 Discharge Rule
between upstream Finland and downstream Russia for the Vuoksi river basin calls
on riparian states to maintain the flow quantity of the river in a “normal zone”, defined
by the Rule with reference to historically prevailing natural flow volumes. Should
extreme low water levels appear discharge rates must be changed by Finland with
a view to minimising adverse effects (see Sect. 10.1.3). The 1970 amendment of
the 1958 French-Spanish Agreement regarding the Lake Lanoux
48 also takes into
account natural flow variations, although it does not specifically address droughts
or floods. The allocation regime calls for the increased discharged towards Spain in
47 Convention between the Government of the Republic of Hungary and the Government of Ukraine
on water management questions relating to frontier waters, Budapest, 11 November, 1997.
48 Exchange of Letters Constituting an Agreement between France and Spain Amending the
Arrangement of 12 July 1958 relating to Lake Lanoux, 27 January 1970.
10 The Resilience of Transboundary Water Governance …
each other and the joint Commission and exchange all relevant information (Art. 11.).
The Convention also sets out concrete substantive measures parties must implement
in case of floods and droughts. With regards to floods the applicable regime goes further than the usual forecasting-warning-emergency-preparedness provisions most
regional or bilateral similar regimes contain. It also gives upper and lower riparian
states a right to demand the other party to implement pre-defined (or any other)
interventions that are necessary to prevent, control or mitigate the effects of floods
(Art. 18.5.). Even more elaborate are the measures relating to droughts and water
scarcity. In this context the Convention defines a set of concrete drought management measures to prevent and control the effects of low precipitation and discharge.
These relate to water demand control (abstractions for consumption), infrastructure
management (impoundment, storage and release), waste water discharges, etc. (Art.
19.2.). The conditions of exceptional situations—both floods and droughts—are to
be defined for every two years and subsequently reviewed. The Convention also calls
for the joint study of water scarcity and floods with a view to long term prevention
and mitigation (Art. 18.7., 19.5.).
Several other European bilateral water treaties make reference to cooperation
over flood prevention and protection. Most of these treaty provisions are, however,
relatively basic, reinstating the general will or duty of the parties to cooperate and/or
referring the subject to the activities of the joint commissions. In a limited number of
cases bilateral water treaties contain substantive obligations parties must observe in
flood protection or other emergency situations. E.g. the Hungarian-Ukrainian frontier
water treaty
47 requires parties to refrain from permitting any interventions that may
raise flood volumes above previously agreed-upon levels. In the spirit of solidarity
riparian states are also obliged to provide technical assistance in times of exceptional
floods upon demand (the costs of such technical assistance is to be borne by the
beneficiary) (Art.9.).
As opposed to flood protection the management of droughts rarely features in
bilateral water treaties (apart from the Albufeira Convention). Exceptions are those
bilateral agreements that are primarily concerned with transboundary flow regimes
or water allocation anyway. Thus, as mentioned above, the 1991 Discharge Rule
between upstream Finland and downstream Russia for the Vuoksi river basin calls
on riparian states to maintain the flow quantity of the river in a “normal zone”, defined
by the Rule with reference to historically prevailing natural flow volumes. Should
extreme low water levels appear discharge rates must be changed by Finland with
a view to minimising adverse effects (see Sect. 10.1.3). The 1970 amendment of
the 1958 French-Spanish Agreement regarding the Lake Lanoux
48 also takes into
account natural flow variations, although it does not specifically address droughts
or floods. The allocation regime calls for the increased discharged towards Spain in
47 Convention between the Government of the Republic of Hungary and the Government of Ukraine
on water management questions relating to frontier waters, Budapest, 11 November, 1997.
48 Exchange of Letters Constituting an Agreement between France and Spain Amending the
Arrangement of 12 July 1958 relating to Lake Lanoux, 27 January 1970.