M. A. Salman

The Helsinki Rules, the UN Watercourses Convention and the Berlin Rules: Perspectives on International Water Law

Shared water resources remain the most important area without a universal treaty regulating the uses and protection of such resources. This is notwithstanding the extensive work of two scholarly non-governmental organizations, the Institute of International Law and the International Law Association, as well as the work of the International Law Commission of the United Nations. The work of those institutions resulted in some basic international water law rules, such as the Helsinki and Berlin Rules, and the United Nations Watercourses Convention. The paper analyzes those instruments, discusses the basic areas of similarities and differences among them, and examines the basic challenges facing international water law.

The human right to water : legal and policy dimensions

The evolution of the right to water can be traced to the developments of the early 1970s. This Study analyzes the resolutions and declarations of the various conferences and forums that have been held since that time, and the ways in which they have confronted the issue of the right to water. The Study then discusses the evolution of the international legal regime for the protection and promotion of human rights, and pays particular attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The role of each of the committees established to oversee the implementation of the two Covenants is considered in some detail. Particular attention is given to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, its evolution, and its strengthening, and the practice of issuing General Comments. The last two parts of the Study are devoted to General Comment No. 15, which recognizes the human right to water. These parts analyze the extent to which the Comment recognizes a legal right to water, and highlights some policy aspects that are related to, and may affect, this right. The core thesis of this book is that there exists, within the legal framework of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a human right to water because it is a right that inheres in several other rights, and a right without which key provisions of the Covenant would be rendered ineffectual. This conclusion is buttressed also by the interpretative authority that lies with the Committee having evolved from its initial form as a Working Group, to what is now undeniably, a fully-fledged entity, with significant formal authority and legitimacy. Although this conclusion acknowledges that General Comments do not create new rights, it recognizes that General Comment No. 15 extrapolates the normative and practical bases of a human right to water within the fabric of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Together with a number of General Assembly resolutions on the issue, including the Millennium Development Goal related to water, as well as the voluminous body of soft law provisions, the General Comment arguably provides further evidence that there is an incipient right to water evolving in public international law today. Moreover, the Comment has offered a new momentum to efforts aimed at translating those soft law commitments into substantive, precise, and legally binding obligations.

Conflict and cooperation on South Asia's international rivers : a legal perspective

The book analyzes five major bilateral treaty regimes on the South Asian subcontinent: between India and Bangladesh for the Ganges River; between India and Nepal for the Kosi, Gandaki, and Mahakali rivers; and, between India and Pakistan for the Indus River. It explains the background, and legal regimes of these international rivers in the context of the serious challenges to the water resources of the subcontinent, posed by significant population increases, urbanization, industrialization, and environmental degradation. International lawyers, and natural resource specialists will find this book to be useful and informative.

The Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement: a peacefully unfolding African spring?

Disputes between Egypt and Sudan on the one hand and the Nile upper riparians on the other hand have dominated the Nile Basin for the last half-century. Nevertheless, there have been attempts at cooperation, and they culminated in the establishment of the Nile Basin Initiative and negotiation of the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA). Ironically, the CFA resulted in solidification of the areas of differences and the emergence of the upper riparians as a power to be reckoned with. This article discusses the areas of difference over the CFA and analyzes its current status and the prospects for cooperation.

The new state of South Sudan and the hydro-politics of the Nile Basin

As a result of the choice of the people of southern Sudan for secession during the January 2011 referendum, a number of difficult issues need to be addressed and resolved between the new state and the Sudan. Most of these issues are specified in the Southern Sudan Referendum Act 2009 and include water resources. The article identifies and discusses the sharing and management of the waters of the Nile River, the conservation and use of the waters of the huge swamps of southern Sudan, and the relationship with the other Nile riparians as the main issues that the new state of South Sudan faces in connection with water resources.

Downstream riparians can also harm upstream riparians: the concept of foreclosure of future uses

It is commonly believed that only upstream riparians can harm downstream riparians by affecting the quantity or quality of water flow to them. It is not generally realized that downstream riparians can also harm upstream riparians by foreclosing their future uses of water through the prior use of, and the claiming of rights to such water. This article analyzes the concept of foreclosure of future uses, and concludes that cooperation between riparian states can adequately address the concerns and interests of all riparians.

The United Nations Watercourses Convention Ten Years Later: Why Has its Entry into Force Proven Difficult?

Abstract After about 27 years of extensive preparatory work and formal and informal deliberations, the United Nations General Assembly adopted on May 21, 1997, by a large majority, the Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. The adoption of the Convention was hailed as a major breakthrough and as an historical moment in the evolution of international water law. However, ten years after its adoption, the Convention has not yet entered into force. This article reviews the history, basic features and status of the Convention, analyzes the reasons for the reluctance of states to become parties to it, and examines its role and prospects.

Regulatory frameworks for water resources management - a comparative study

Water is a scarce and finite resource with no substitute, and upon which the very existence of life on earth depends. The challenges facing water resources are daunting. The Millennium Development Goals aim, inter alia, at reducing by half, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Although progress thus far is not encouraging, it is hoped that necessary actions will be taken to achieve this goal during the remaining period. Such actions include financial, institutional, and legal measures. Indeed, without the appropriate legal framework, the ability of the state to regulate, control, and allocate its water resources is hampered; its role in ensuring their efficient and proper use is hindered; and its right to protect those resources is challenged. This study of the regulatory frameworks for water resources management examines water legislation in sixteen jurisdictions, and highlights, in a comparative manner, the key elements needed for an effective regulatory framework. Chapter 1 traces the relevance and importance assigned to water legislation by the different international conferences and forums, including the Mar del Plata, Dublin, and Rio, and the guidance provided by those conferences for preparing such legislation. Chapter 2 surveys the regulatory frameworks for water resources management in sixteen jurisdictions, based on certain key elements. Those jurisdictions were selected based on the availability and accessibility of a water law, as well as on the need to represent different regions and legal systems of the world. Chapter 3 presents a comparative analysis of these regulatory frameworks based on the same elements. The analysis examines the main similarities and differences in the approaches adopted by the jurisdictions selected. Chapter 4 highlights essential elements that need to be addressed in any regulatory framework for water resources management, and identifies emerging trends in water legislation. Finally, Chapter 5 underscores the relevance and importance of the regulatory framework, and specifies conditions supporting its utility and efficacy.

Legal aspects of sharing and management of transboundary waters in South Asia: preventing conflicts and promoting cooperation

Abstract Historically, the development of cooperation among Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan with respect to the Indus and the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins, South Asias major transboundary rivers, has been a cause of tension, apprehension and ongoing disputes. This paper draws attention to the hydro-politics on transference and allocation, along with the diverging positions and unique concerns of the riparians on bilateral, multilateral, national as well as regional fronts. While examining the official water discourses and the evolution of different international legal instruments applicable to the governance of water relations among the riparians, the paper also sketches the emerging concerns in their relationships, as well as their efforts to cooperate and collaborate to avert disputes and manage water sharing and governance. Citation Uprety, K. & Salman, S. M. A. (2011) Legal aspects of sharing and management of transboundary waters in South Asia: preventing conflicts and promoting cooperation. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(4), 641–661.

International Water Disputes: A New Breed of Claims, Claimants, and Settlement Institutions

Abstract The challenges facing water resources world-wide stém from a multitude of factors, including the steady increase in population, urbanization, environmental degradation, and industrialization. Those challenges are compounding water shortages, and in turn, resulting in steadily increasing international disputes over water. Such disputes are getting more complex and novel, involving not only states, but also legal entities, corporations, and individuals against other states. The claims now go beyond the traditional water quantity issues, and involve water quality, border lines across boundary rivers, and water rights issues. The settlement institutions have expanded considerably and now include varied international and national tribunals, as well as third and fourth parties. This article reviews and discusses those novel claims, claimants and dispute settlement institutions, and analyzes emerging trends in this area.