New book explores the role and relevance of the UN Watercourses Convention

‘The UN Watercourses Convention in Force’, a joint publication by the Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science (CWLPS) and WWF, seeks to determine what difference the entry into force of the UNWC would  make to transnational water governance.

With only a handful of countries needed before the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (UNWC) enters into force, WWF and CWLPS present new research that seeks to better understand this global framework instrument’s global relevance.

The joint WWF-CWLPS edited collection, “The UN Watercourses Convention in Force: Strengthening international law for transboundary water management,” published by Earthscan, offers a unique collection of viewpoints that brings together the work of over 30 world-renowned experts in the multidisciplinary field of transboundary water management. The contributions describe the content, drafting and negotiation of the UNWC; the value of its entry into force; its relationship to other multilateral environmental agreements; and, through a series of case studies, the specific role of the convention at various levels across Latin America, Africa and Asia. The book concludes by suggesting how the UNWC’s future implementation might further strengthen international cooperation in the management, use and protection of shared water resources and their ecosystems.

The book draws together in one accessible collection a decade of work led by WWF, along with numerous partners, to deepen knowledge and understanding of the relevance of UNWC, and to raise awareness of this global instrument amongst key stakeholders.

Globally, there are 276 internationally shared watersheds, which drain the territories of 145 countries and represent more than 40 per cent of the Earth’s land surface. The UNWC is a global framework governing the rights and duties of states sharing freshwater systems. It is designed to foster interstate cooperation on the sustainable management of transboundary waters in accordance with international law. To date, the convention counts 30 contracting states – only five short of the number required for entry into force, which now looks imminent.

“We hope this volume advances knowledge of international law in general and the UNWC in particular, as crucial tools for enabling the integrated management and sustainable development of international watercourses and the vital ecosystems services they provide, through continued and peaceful collaboration and dialogue between riparian states,” said Flavia Rocha Loures, Senior Program Officer with WWF-US.

About the co-editors and other contributors:

Flavia Rocha Loures (Flavia.Loures@WWFUS.ORG) is a Senior Program Officer, International Law and Policy, in the Freshwater Program of WWF-US, based in Washington, DC.

Alistair Rieu-Clarke (a.rieuclarke@dundee.ac.uk ) is a Reader in International Law at the Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science (under the auspices of UNESCO), at the University of Dundee, UK.

Among the book’s contributors are renowned international experts in the areas of international law and policy, political science and freshwater conservation.

For further information and to order the book please visit:
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781849714464/