Facilitating Treaty Formation to Govern International Rivers

Freshwater is a natural resource that is essential for our survival. Although more than two-thirds of our “blue planet” is covered by water, only 2.5% constitutes freshwater. The majority of this freshwater is located in polar ice caps, glaciers, and deep aquifers that are too expensive to exploit....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International studies quarterly 2011-09, Vol.55 (3), p.803-807
Main Authors: Zawahri, Neda A., Dinar, Shlomi, Mitchell, Sara McLaughlin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bilateralism
Borders
Climate change
Environmental treaties
Fresh water
Governance
International agreements
International environmental cooperation
International waterways
Lakes
Land
Multilateralism
Population growth
Property
Property rights
River basins
Rivers
Scarcity
Shortages
Stocks
Supply & demand
Symposium on International Rivers Governance
Territorial waters
Treaties
Water resources
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Summary:Freshwater is a natural resource that is essential for our survival. Although more than two-thirds of our “blue planet” is covered by water, only 2.5% constitutes freshwater. The majority of this freshwater is located in polar ice caps, glaciers, and deep aquifers that are too expensive to exploit. The remaining freshwater stocks are located in rivers and lakes (0.3%), many of which are shared between two or more states. These international rivers comprise 45.3% of the earth's continental land surface [excluding Antarctica] (Wolf, Natharius, Danielson, Ward, and Pender 1999). As they transcend political borders, rivers create a complex web of interdependencies that trigger property right contestation and conflict as states attempt to meet their municipal, industrial, and agricultural demands for freshwater...Population growth has increased the demand on the planet's finite supply of freshwater, while climate change is projected to aggravate shortages in...
ISSN:0020-8833
1468-2478
DOI:10.1111/j.1468-2478.2011.00677.x