42
4 Laws of Transboundary Water Governance
Given the consistent expansion of transboundary water treaties in the past decade,
however, the above harsh criticism seems somewhat exaggerated. Undoubtedly, international water law and the supporting institutional framework have proved inadequate
far too often to prevent or to solve major transboundary water conflicts. One should
not forget, however, that it is not the intellectual foundations that international water
law is still missing (indeed the Helsinki Rules, the cornerstone of contemporary
water law, have been around since 1966). Rather, the inherent deficiencies are rooted
in the complacency of the international community to adopt binding rules that limit
the sovereignty of states to freely dispose of their respective share of international
watercourses.
References
Allouche J (2005) Water nationalism: an explanation of past and present conflicts in Central Asia, the
Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent? Ph.D. Thesis No. 699, Geneva, Université de Genève
Boisson de Chazournes L (2013) Fresh water in international law. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Bruhács J (2011) The international river law in the early 2000s. In Kovács P (ed) International
law—a quiet strength. Pázmány Press, Budapest
Conca K (2006) Governing water: contentious transnational politics and global institution building.
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Dellapenna J, Gupta J, Li W, Schmidt F (2013) Thinking about the future of global water governance.
Ecol Soc 18(3):28–37
Delli Priscoli J, Wolf A (2009) Managing and transforming water conflicts. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge
Dinar S (2008) International water treaties—negotiation and cooperation along transboundary
rivers. Routledge, London
De Stefano L, Duncan J, Dinar S, Stahl K, Strzepek K, Wolf A (2012) Climate change and the
institutional resilience of international river basins. J Peace Res 49(1):193–209
Espey M, Towfique B (2004) International bilateral water treaty formation. Water Resour Res 40,
W05S05. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003wr002534
Giordano M (2002) International river basin management: global principles and basin practice. PhD
Thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis
Giordano M, Drieschova A, Duncan J, Sayama Y, De Stefano L, Wolf A (2014) A review of the
evolution and state of transboundary freshwater treaties. Int Environ Agreements 14:245–264
IIL (Institute of International Law) (1911) International regulation regarding the use of international
watercourses for purposes other than navigation—Declaration of Madrid, 20 April 1911
ILA (International Law Association) (1966) The Helsinki rules on the uses of the waters of international rivers, Helsinki Declaration, 14–20 Aug 1966
ILA (International Law Association) (2004) The Berlin rules on water resources, Berlin Declaration,
21 Aug 2004
Kanwar S, Gupta A, Newton J (2009) Background on the concepts of vulnerability and resilience
as applied to the South and Southeast Asian region. In: UNEP (eds) Hydropolitical vulnerability
and resilience along international waters—Asia. Nairobi, pp 17–56
Kinna R (2015) The UNECE water convention viewed from the perspective of the SADC revised
protocol on shared watercourses. In: Tanzi A et al (eds) The UNECE convention on the protection
and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes—its contribution to international
water cooperation. Brill Nijhoff, Leiden, Boston, pp 466–485
4 Laws of Transboundary Water Governance
Given the consistent expansion of transboundary water treaties in the past decade,
however, the above harsh criticism seems somewhat exaggerated. Undoubtedly, international water law and the supporting institutional framework have proved inadequate
far too often to prevent or to solve major transboundary water conflicts. One should
not forget, however, that it is not the intellectual foundations that international water
law is still missing (indeed the Helsinki Rules, the cornerstone of contemporary
water law, have been around since 1966). Rather, the inherent deficiencies are rooted
in the complacency of the international community to adopt binding rules that limit
the sovereignty of states to freely dispose of their respective share of international
watercourses.
References
Allouche J (2005) Water nationalism: an explanation of past and present conflicts in Central Asia, the
Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent? Ph.D. Thesis No. 699, Geneva, Université de Genève
Boisson de Chazournes L (2013) Fresh water in international law. Oxford University Press, Oxford
Bruhács J (2011) The international river law in the early 2000s. In Kovács P (ed) International
law—a quiet strength. Pázmány Press, Budapest
Conca K (2006) Governing water: contentious transnational politics and global institution building.
MIT Press, Cambridge, MA
Dellapenna J, Gupta J, Li W, Schmidt F (2013) Thinking about the future of global water governance.
Ecol Soc 18(3):28–37
Delli Priscoli J, Wolf A (2009) Managing and transforming water conflicts. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge
Dinar S (2008) International water treaties—negotiation and cooperation along transboundary
rivers. Routledge, London
De Stefano L, Duncan J, Dinar S, Stahl K, Strzepek K, Wolf A (2012) Climate change and the
institutional resilience of international river basins. J Peace Res 49(1):193–209
Espey M, Towfique B (2004) International bilateral water treaty formation. Water Resour Res 40,
W05S05. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003wr002534
Giordano M (2002) International river basin management: global principles and basin practice. PhD
Thesis, Oregon State University, Corvallis
Giordano M, Drieschova A, Duncan J, Sayama Y, De Stefano L, Wolf A (2014) A review of the
evolution and state of transboundary freshwater treaties. Int Environ Agreements 14:245–264
IIL (Institute of International Law) (1911) International regulation regarding the use of international
watercourses for purposes other than navigation—Declaration of Madrid, 20 April 1911
ILA (International Law Association) (1966) The Helsinki rules on the uses of the waters of international rivers, Helsinki Declaration, 14–20 Aug 1966
ILA (International Law Association) (2004) The Berlin rules on water resources, Berlin Declaration,
21 Aug 2004
Kanwar S, Gupta A, Newton J (2009) Background on the concepts of vulnerability and resilience
as applied to the South and Southeast Asian region. In: UNEP (eds) Hydropolitical vulnerability
and resilience along international waters—Asia. Nairobi, pp 17–56
Kinna R (2015) The UNECE water convention viewed from the perspective of the SADC revised
protocol on shared watercourses. In: Tanzi A et al (eds) The UNECE convention on the protection
and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes—its contribution to international
water cooperation. Brill Nijhoff, Leiden, Boston, pp 466–485