UPDATE: Research Guide on Transboundary Freshwater Treaties and Other Resources

By Arundhati A. Satkalmi [1]

Arundhati Ashok Satkalmi (Aru) retired in July 2014 as a Senior Research Librarian from the Rittenberg Law Library of St. John's University School of Law. Prior to joining St. John's in 1991, Aru worked as the Senior Information Specialist at the corporate headquarters of the Exxon Corporation in New York. In addition to a master’s in library science from St. John's University, she earned a master’s in government and politics where she specialized in International Law. International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments of 2004: An Analysis of Logical and Practical Aspects was her master’s thesis. She also holds a certificate from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) in International Environmental Law. A Master of Science degree in Geology, earned from Poona University, complements her other degrees. She has presented on the topic of international marine environmental law in the United States and abroad.

NOTE: The idea of creating this research guide was originally conceived by Barbara H. Bean, a Reference Librarian and Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University College of Law, East Lansing, Michigan, who wrote the original article.

Published September/October 2023

(Previously updated by Arundhati A. Satkalmi in February 2014 and in November/December 2017)

See the Archive Version!

1. Introduction

Water: the source of life’s origin and the sustainer of evolving lifeforms. This naturally occurring and renewable substance on Earth — which charts its own course — covers approximately 71 percent of the planet's surface. However, freshwater lakes and swamps account for a mere 0.29 percent of the Earth's freshwater.[2] Twenty percent of all fresh surface water is in one lake, Lake Baikal in Asia, and another twenty percent is stored in the Great Lakes in the United States of America. Rivers hold only about 0.006 percent of total freshwater reserves.[3] In addition to accessible surface water contained in lakes and rivers, approximately thirty percent of the earth’s freshwater consists of groundwater held in underground aquifers.[4] Although a "hidden resource", groundwater serves the basic needs of more than half the world's population and may be the only source of water in arid and semi-arid regions. Furthermore, glaciers, ice and snow “freeze” about 68.7 percent of the earth’s freshwater.[5]

Approximately 263 of the world's river basins, with the majority of the world's freshwater flow, cross or create international political boundaries.[6] 145 countries — with close to half of the world's population — are in international river basins and 21 countries lie entirely within international basins. Most basins are shared between just two countries, yet there are 13 basins worldwide that are shared between 5 and 8 riparian nations. Five basins — the Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine, and Zambezi — are shared between 9 and 11 countries. The river that flows through the most nations is the Danube, which travels within the territory of 18 nations.[7] Consequently, in addition to the importance of freshwater for sustaining lifeforms, uses of freshwater resources for commercial, recreational, energy generation, and navigational purposes, these water sources also need consideration in water resource sharing agreements.

Transboundary water resource sharing tends to be contentious. Therefore, cooperative management of this precious natural resource is imperative. Although conflicts over water resources date back thousands of years — in spite of, or perhaps because of the crucial role water plays in sustaining civilization — nations have developed ways to share freshwater resources. In addition to global conventions and rules governing the use of water resources, hundreds of regional treaties and agreements exist between and among nations to address issues ranging from acceptable water quality and quantity to setting of national borders. Many treaties contain mechanisms for conflict resolutions, and many establish international commissions for water resource management. However, existential threats posed by changing climatic conditions have highlighted weaknesses in these existing mechanisms and necessitated their review.[8] To address this process and foster equitable and sustainable cooperation, the Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition was formed in the Spring of 2023.

Different forms and levels in which water exists, in conjunction with multiple uses of the resource, and diverse adjudicative bodies such as commissions, tribunals, courts, and international actors present a very complex web of freshwater international law. Moreover, bilateral, or regional agreements and related documents tend to exist only in the language(s) of the involved entities. These facts present a challenge in conducting research. Quite often though, websites of think tanks, NGOs, as well as websites of regional and supra-regional entities,[9] and other secondary sources are helpful in tracing or monitoring the development of a particular issue. Although many commercial vendors such as Westlaw, LexisNexis, and HeinOnline provide access to documents and literature for a price, this article focuses on accessing information resources which are available on the Internet at no cost.

2. Water Basics

A sample of resources containing terminology, water data and information about world water resources.

3. Treaties and Other International Agreements

3.1. Major Global and Regional Agreements

3.2. Sources of Regional, Multilateral and Bilateral Agreements

Some agreements may be found in general treaty collections, such as the United Nations Treaty Collection. However, the sources described below focus on treaties and agreements involving freshwater.

3.3. Non-Treaty Instruments

Treaties, as a rule, are developed among and between States. However, government bureaucracies prevent a quick action or deserved attention to the existing or developing issues. Under the auspices of the International Law Association, scholars, scientists and practicing lawyers collaborate and play a significant role in raising awareness of such issues. Often, these efforts have produced draft and model agreements for a possible resolution and are discussed here:

3.4. Selected Background Materials

4. International Organizations

4.1. IGOs

or Intergovernmental Organizations are formed among two or more nations by a treaty to achieve and serve common goal(s) of their members. These could be global or regional in scope. National backing, ability to involve nations and enter into enforceable agreements on their behalf with States or among themselves — while following international law — is their strength. As such, development of any international agreement can be monitored at IGOs.

4.2. NGOs

NGOs or the Nongovernmental Organizations differ from the IGOs as they lack government backing and power to enter into international agreements on behalf of their respective governments. However, like IGOs, the participant of each NGO has common interest. They work at the grassroots level with the assistance and input from dedicated individuals and experts. As such they function as lobbyists or consultants and assist by advising the IGOs. The ability to work freely — without governmental red tape or bureaucracy — within localities in fostering interest in their purpose gives them their strength.

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, helps finding pragmatic solutions to the most pressing environment and development challenges. Its theme brings together many aspects — including effects of climate change — related to freshwater. Among the many excellent criteria explored include: Building River Dialogue and Governance or BRIDGE: Greater Cooperation through Water Diplomacy; its involvement in the Ridge to Reef, which deals with managing waters from source to sea; the searchable Resources tab which includes the topics related to freshwater and water security; Water and Nature Initiative or WANI that stretches across five continents in 12 river basins, informing the governments and local communities about sustainable water resources management are worth exploring. However, it is entirely possible that I am overlooking other equally valuable aspects.

5. International Water Commissions

Management of transboundary water resources is often delegated to a regional commission. Listed below are commissions for which websites were located.

6. Cases and International Events

Many Transboundary water sharing agreements include rules and arrangements for conflict resolution. Therefore, a researcher should look at the procedure of the relevant agreement. This section will describe a few prominent sources.

7. Commentary

This article, thus far, has described resources in various categories. However, there are some which do not fit neatly in any of them. I will comment on such resources in this section. Attempt will be made to minimize duplication.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of sources published after 2013.

Articles

Books

Theses/Dissertations

Although they are not “publications”, many take a book form in short time. Moreover, they offer good discussion on a very specific subject and offer rich bibliography.

Periodicals

Please do not overlook websites of the national governments and news, newsletters, and event notifications of various organizations and institutions described so far. Legal Scholarship Network is available at SSRN and Lexology. Finally, do not hesitate to use sources such as Google, Google news and Google Scholar while ensuring that the sources are credible.


[1] The author is thankful to my friends Mr. Anthony Todman, Ms. Amber Clarke, from St. John’s University and Ms. Toni Aiello for their assistance in many ways.

[2] However, the freshwater quantities discussed here — to the best of my understanding — do not account for the quantity of offshore freshwater. See: Found: Giant Freshwater Deposits Hiding under the Sea, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/found-giant-freshwater-deposits-hiding-under-the-sea/. Accessed on 22 August 2023.

[3] The Water Cycle: Freshwater Storage, https://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclefreshstorage.html. Accessed on 24 June 2023.

[4] Shiklomanov, Igor A., “World Fresh Water Resources” in Gleick, Peter H. Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World’s Freshwater Resources; 1993.

[5] Id.

[6] United Nations Environmental Programme; The World’s International Freshwater Agreements: Historical Developments and Future Opportunities; p.1; in Atlas of International Freshwater Agreements, https://transboundarywaters.science.oregonstate.edu/sites/transboundarywaters.science.oregonstate.edu/files/Database/ResearchProjects/AtlasFreshwaterAgreements.pdf, 2002. Accessed on 24 June 2023.

[7] Transboundary waters | International Decade for Action 'Water for Life' 2005-2015, https://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/transboundary_waters.shtml. Accessed on 24 June 2023.

[8] A concerning event is happening deep in the Himalayan mountains: ‘[This will be felt around the world’ (thecoodown.com) https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/high-altitude-glaciers-himalayas-climate/. Accessed on 20 August 2023. Frozen freshwater resources such as Himalayan mountains, which form the cryosphere, are depleting at the accelerated rate due to climate change.

[9] Supra-regional commissions such as United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) https://unece.org/, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) http://uneca.org/, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) http://www.unescap.org/, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) http://www.eclac.org/, and Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) http://www.escwa.un.org/ are worth exploring because just as water interacts with many aspects of life, many UN bodies interact with water. Among the vast availability of information, accessibility to valuable water resources related data, statistics, laws, and regional policies is dispersed.

[10] Additional information is available at http://www.ramsar.org/. Accessed on 24 June 2023.

[11] Additional information is available at http://www.unwatercoursesconvention.org/. Accessed on 24 June 2023.

[12] Ecolex, http://www.ecolex.org/start.php. Accessed on 24 June 2023.

[13] Draft articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers with commentaries (2008) could be of interest to researchers.

[14] International Freshwater Treaties Database, Accessed on 25 June 2023.

[15] Researchers may also want to consult Governance of shared waters : legal and institutional issues (2011) authored by Grethel Aguilar and Alejandro Iza.

[16] PDF version is available at International Law Association Reports of Conferences (1966).

[17] The Seoul Rules on International Groundwaters adopted by the ILA are available at 62 International Law Association Reports of Conferences 219. See 62 International Law Association Reports of Conferences 231 for discussion of International Water Resource Law.

[18] Bellagio “Model Agreement Concerning the Use of Transboundary Groundwaters”, https://www.internationalwaterlaw.org/documents/intldocs/Bellagio_Draft_Treaty.pdf. Accessed on 25 June 2023. Also available at 62 International Law Association Reports of Conferences 221. Revised and augmented version of the treaty by Hayton, Robert D. and Utton, Albert E.; Transboundary Groundwaters: The Bellagio Draft Treaty; Also accessible at 29 Nat Resources J. 3 (Summer 1989); p. 663. Accessed on 25 June 2023.

[19] Agreement between Finland and Sweden Concerning Transboundary Rivers, Accessed on 26 June 2023. Also, at 825 UNTS 272.

[20] See also: Agreement on a Finnish-Norwegian Transboundary Water Commission for a cryptic description. Note: as this is a bilateral agreement, and as mentioned previously, an English translation of the agreement remains elusive.

[21] For additional information see Irrigation in Southern and Eastern Asia in figures, AQUASTAT Survey, p. 111, 2011. Although the Commission is bilateral, the river water of two major river systems, namely the Ganges (also known as Ganga) and the Bramhaputra (alternately spelled as Brahmaputra), crosses the boundaries of China, Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. See also: 1) 1977 Agreement on sharing of the Ganges waters at Farakka and on augmenting its flows (with schedule), 2) 1996 Treaty Between the government of the Republic of India and the government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on Sharing of the Ganga/Ganges Waters at Farakka. All links in this endnote were accessed on 26 June 2023.

[22] See also: International Legal Materials, Vol. 8, No. 5 (SEPTEMBER 1969), pp. 905-909 for the PDF text (however, electronic access is limited to participating institutions). Accessed on 26 June 2023.

[23] See also: Tools for Transboundary Management of Water and Water Uses in Greater Geneva; 2022; pp 31-36. All links in this endnote were accessed on 28 June 2023.

[24] Informative flyer is available at http://www.ikse-mkol.org/fileadmin/media/user_upload/E/06_Publikationen/08_IKSE_Flyer/2016_ICPER-Flyer_ICPER.pdf. All links in this endnote were accessed on 29 June 2023.

[25] Treaty Between the United States and Great Britain Relating to Boundary Waters and Questions Arising Between the United States and Canada, Jan. 11, 1909, 36 Stat. 2448, T.S. No. 548. Accessed from https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llsl//llsl-c61/llsl-c61.pdf. Caution: Look for the image page numbered 2776 if you are accessing 36 Stat. 2448 from this URL. All links in this paragraph were accessed on 29 June 2023.

[26] See also: http://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/?details=LEX-FAOC054529,

http://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/agreements/ICWC-Feb18-1992.pdf. All links in this endnote were accessed on 30 June 2023.

[27] See also: In-Depth Case Study for the Mekong River Basin: the 1995 Agreement on the Cooperation for Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin System. All links in this paragraph and endnote were accessed on 7 July 2023.

[28] Project Paper: Gambia River Basin Development Project (Omvg) prepared by the Agency for International Development in collaboration with Development Experience Clearing House (a good searchable website), offers an in-depth information about the project. All links in this paragraph and endnote were accessed on 30 June 2023.

[29] Treaty Between the Government of India and The Government of Pakistan, 419 UNTS 125, https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTs/Volume%20419/volume-419-I-6032-English.pdf. 1960 Concerning The Most Complete And Satisfactory Utilisation Of The Waters Of The Indus System Of Rivers. See also: Indus Water Treaty; World Affairs; Vol. 123, No. 4 (Winter, 1960), pp. 99-101 which includes helpful discussion; however, online access is with a subscription only. All links in this paragraph and endnote were accessed on 30 June 2023.

[30] For additional information see Irrigation in Southern and Eastern Asia in figures, AQUASTAT Survey, p. 129, 2011. Accessed on 30 June 2023.

[31] See Also: Lake Peipsi/Chudskoe Experience Brief (2003), for a superb discussion of geographical, political, and environmental issues in the region around the breakup of the USSR. All links in this endnote were accessed on 30 June 2023.

[32] Statute of the Uruguay River. No. 21425, Page 331. See also Institutions for International Freshwater Management, pp 25-27; The River Uruguay Executive Commission. All links in this endnote were accessed on 30 June 2023.