Webinar on "International Water Law and Transboundary Cooperation"

The Platform for International Water Law, the Geneva Water Hub and DiploFoundation are pleased to invite you to the webinar on “International Water Law and Transboundary Cooperation”. This webinar is organised in the framework of the 2020 edition of the Distance Learning Course on “International Water Law & The Law of Transboundary Aquifers” delivered through the Centre for Continuing and Distance Education of the University of Geneva.

Approximately 280 transboundary watercourses serve almost 40% of the world’s population. Of these, 180 feed two States, while the others feed three States and more. The African continent hosts 63 transboundary watercourses, of which 11 affect four or more riparian States (including 11 States for the Nile and nine for the Congo). In South America, the Amazon serves seven States, and six Asian States share the Mekong. As for the Danube, its watershed is divided among no less than 17 States. Moreover, more than 500 aquifers are shared between two or more States. These few figures show how much surface and groundwater management require effective cooperation and harmonization of regulations among States, taking into account the rights and obligations of non-State actors.

The entry into force of the 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses in 2014 and the global opening of the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Uses of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) in 2016 to all UN members States mark a fundamental step in the evolution of universal principles and rules in international water law and transboundary cooperation. These instruments, together with agreements at the regional and basin levels, support the overall architecture of the management and protection of shared water resources.
The webinar will examine the role of international water law in enhancing transboundary cooperation. It will also emphasize how the Implementation Committee of the UNECE Water Convention serves as a mechanism to support cooperation between riparian States.

Interventions by

Dr Mara Tignino

Reader, Faculty of Law and Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva; Lead Legal Specialist, Platform for International Water Law, Geneva Water Hub.

Dr Komlan Sangbana

Legal Officer, Secretariat of the Water Convention, UNECE.

Dr Dinara Ziganshina

Deputy Director, Scientific Information Center of Interstate Commission for Water Coordination in Central Asia; Member of the Implementation Committee of the Water Convention, UNECE.

The full programme is available below.