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Rieu-Clarke, Alistair; Gooch, Josefin --- "Implementing international water agreements" [2015] ELECD 983; in Martin, Paul; Kennedy, Amanda (eds), "Implementing Environmental Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015)

Book Title: Implementing Environmental Law

Editor(s): Martin, Paul; Kennedy, Amanda

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781783479290

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: Implementing international water agreements

Author(s): Rieu-Clarke, Alistair; Gooch, Josefin

Number of pages: 18

Extract:

7. Implementing international water
agreements
Alistair Rieu-Clarke and Josefin Gooch

1. INTRODUCTION
There are estimated to be 276 transboundary river and lake basins, which
cover nearly half of the Earth's land surface.1 These river and basin areas
are home to 40 per cent of the world's population, and are shared by 145
States.2 A number of facts emphasise the significance of transboundary
water resources: 39 States have more than 90 per cent of the territory that
is within transboundary basins; 20 rivers are shared by five or more
States; and a number of the world's most important transboundary waters
are shared by even more States. These include the Danube (17 States),
the Congo (13 States), the Nile (12 States), the Niger (10 States), and the
Amazon, Rhine and Zambezi (9 States each). The importance of trans-
boundary aquifers should not be forgotten.3 An estimated 275 trans-
boundary aquifers exist.4 These aquifers account for more than 100 times
the volume of global surface water.5 Transboundary groundwater is
increasingly being seen as an important means of addressing water
demand, particularly in water stressed regions of the world.6
Across the globe significant pressures on transboundary rivers, lakes
and aquifers are becoming increasingly evident and, given the indivisible
nature of water, demanding stronger cooperation between States. Popu-
lation growth, industrialisation and the expansion of irrigated agriculture

1
Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) (2014).
2
UN-Water, `Transboundary Waters: Sharing Benefits, Sharing Responsibil-
ities' (2008) ...