Sharing Rivers for Peace,Development, and Security

Abstract

Water is a finite resource, and with the considerable upsurge in population, urbanization, and industrialization, it is also becoming an increasingly scarce resource. Many countries in the world rely on river waters, and many of those rivers are shared by two or more countries. Dams on those rivers have been a major source of tensions, disputes, and, in some cases, even conflict between riparian countries because dams could result in massive diversion of river flows. Those developments have, inter alia, highlighted the relevance and importance of the principles of international water law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses. The World Commission on Dams has also underscored the importance of, and elaborated on, those principles with regard to dams on shared rivers. This article discusses and analyzes the recommendations of the Commission in this area, and compares them with the principles of international water law as enunciated in the United Nations Convention