University of Geneva

International Water Law

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In recent decades, international law has undergone a series of major developments in order to accommodate the many new facets of freshwater management and protection. The adoption of universal, regional and basin instruments highlights how important it is to study the evolution of international water regulations and to be able to identify the main principles in this field. This course aims to provide the necessary background to understand and examine the regulation applicable to transboundary freshwaters especially to rivers, lakes and aquifers. It presents the principles and legal standards that govern the use, sharing, management and protection of these resources. The MOOC is made up of 5 modules. As each module addresses a different theme, they can be viewed in any order. However, the modules do follow a certain pedagogical logic and following in order will be especially helpful to those who are new to the subject. Each module is accompanied by an evaluation questionnaire or quiz. A certificate will be awarded to students who obtain an average of at least 80% in the quizzes. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1) Describe the issues related to the regulation of transboundary freshwaters; 2) Explain how transboundary freshwater regulations have evolved; 3) Recall and interpret the key principles governing water resource regulation; 4) Understand the role of transboundary freshwater dispute settlement mechanisms in the development of international freshwater law (or to understand the role of international courts and tribunals in the resolution of conflicts) This MOOC was developed by the Platform for International Freshwater Law that is part of the Geneva Water Hub, assisted by the MOOC Team of the University of Geneva. Alongside the researchers and teachers of the Platform, several international experts have also participated. This MOOC is one of three courses supported by the Water Hub Geneva and the University of Geneva. The other MOOCS are "Water Management and Policy" (www.coursera.org/learn/gestioneau) and "Ecosystem Services: a method for sustainable development "(www.coursera.org/learn/ecosystem-services). The Global Water Program of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) has funded this course. This MOOC was originally created in French. It has English subtitles.

From the lesson

The Principles of the Law on Transboundary Water Resources II

This module highlights how other bodies of norms such as international environmental law, human rights and the law of climate change have contributed to the protection of transboundary freshwaters. The module presents the main international conventions that deal with the environment and details the principles that apply to the management of shared water resources (such as prevention, precaution and the obligation to conduct an environmental impact study). We will examine new legal instruments that take into account these aspects of international freshwater law via the water charters (such as for the Senegal River, the Niger River Basin, the Lake Chad Basin). The module will be concluded by a quiz worth 25% of the final mark. You must have at least 80% of the answers correct to pass the module.

4.2.1. The Contribution of the Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) to the Protection and Management of Water Resources - Professor Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva6:27

4.2.2. The Fight against the Pollution of Water Resources - Dr Komlan Sangbana, Platform for International Water Law/Geneva Water Hub, University of Geneva8:01

4.2.3. Water and Climate Change - Dr Mara Tignino, Platform for International Water Law/Geneva Water Hub, University of Geneva8:24

4.2.4. The Water Charters in Africa: An Innovative Instrument for the Protection of the Aquatic Environment - Professor Makane Moïse Mbengue, Faculty of Law, Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva6:50

Meet the Instructors

Laurence Boisson de Chazournes
Professor
Department of Public International Law and International Organization, Faculty of Law
Makane Moïse Mbengue
Professor
Faculty of Law and Institute of Environmental Sciences
Mara Tignino
Reader
Department of Public International Law and International Organization, Faculty of Law
Komlan Sangbana
Associate Researcher
Faculty of Law and Institute of Environmental Sciences

MUSIC

[MUSIC] Hello.

So, in this sequence, we are going to talk about protection of the environment

and the management and protection of international watercourses.

The first thing we need to know is that the protection of the environment

becomes increasingly important in

the management and protection of international watercourses.

You will see this when we look later at watercourse agreements

intended to protect the environment and their specific rules.

We also need to acknowledge that the principles of customary international law

play an increasingly important role.

Take the principle of prevention, the principle

to carry out an environmental impact assessment or indeed the precautionary principle.

These principles have a legal status in customary international law and can be used

to interpret basin protection agreements.

In parallel, there is an aspect which,

in my opinion, has been neglected for a long time and

which has great importance, and this is the whole body of work that deals with the

multilateral environmental protection agreements.

The tendency is

to separate water law from environmental law.

And when you consider the conventions linked to environmental protection,

you soon realise that they play an important role

in the promotion and management of international watercourses.

Let us look at the 1971 Ramsar

Convention on Wetlands of International Importance as an example.

It was not originally conceived as a convention that deals with water

but over time, it became clear that wetlands

play an extremely important role in water management.

Consider their function as pollution filters,

enabling access to drinking water.

Take the city of New York as an example.

It is fed by wetlands in the north of the State of New York.

Wetlands also play an extremely important role in

flood control as they retain water and then

naturally release any overflow water.

So you see, these are important functions and

the States Parties to this convention increasingly

take part in what we call water management.

There is another important convention,

it is the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Biological diversity refers to the protection of species,

to the protection of ecosystems.

Well, if you think about it, a river is an ecosystem or

may even have several ecosystems.

And what we see is that these ecosystems

include habitats which are important for aquatic species.

These habitats are often vulnerable, often badly

protected, and as a result, the aquatic species throughout the world,

are also vulnerable, they could disappear, they are in danger.

And so here, the

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have attempted to develop links

between biodiversity and the management of international watercourses.

Other examples include the

Convention to Combat Desertification with the need for reforestation.

We know that trees, well, the roots of the trees hold water,

and that soil plays an extremely important role in protecting a watercourse

and as a result, the Convention on Desertification plays an important role.

And then finally there is the convention,

the agreements, on the climate change regime.

A later sequence will be dedicated to

climate change.

But think about the effects of climate change

the fact the climate will change, that river flows will vary,

that access to water will become difficult, that melting of snow and

ice will cause floods.

And then consider the need to adapt

as a result of climate change.

Alongside these conventions, you also have regional conventions,

which play an important role in public participation

or in carrying out transboundary impact studies.

Here I am thinking of the 1998 Aarhus Convention on Public Participation or

the 1991 Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context.

I refer to these as « spaces of dialogue » and they

have been neglected in water protection and

I believe that these Conventions linked to environmental protection, well,

they should receive more attention.

There are two aspects, two features that play an

important role and that could play an even more important role. One feature is the

institutional mechanisms and these institutional mechanisms, which

enable States Parties

through subsidiary bodies to meet and decide how to best

manage a habitat, an ecosystem,

a space and, as such, a connection with international watercourses.

And another significant feature is the fact that these international watercourses

have specific compliance procedures

known as non-compliance procedures.

There are even complaints procedures in place for non-State actors.

And if you look at the decisions that these bodies have made,

such as the bodies dealing with the 1991 Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context

or the 1998 Aarhus Convention on Public Participation,

well, you will see examples of

complaints from non-State actors or States,

relating to the protection or management of international watercourses.

So you see, a whole dialogue space, a whole conventional space

exists which contributes to the protection of the environment.

And I will end by saying that, too often,

water issues are separated from environmental protection issues

but ultimately we need to remember that water comes from nature, it is a phenomenon of

nature and it must be protected as an element of nature.

Thank you.