The draft articles on the law of transboundary aquifers

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The draft articles on the law of transboundary
aquifers

• Special Presentation
• UNESCO-IHP
• Monday 30 October, UN Building, New York
• Raya Marina Stephan

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• Outline
• Background
• The draft articles on the law of transboundary
  aquifers
• Evolution

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I Background

• Importance of GW on earth
• Importance of transboundary groundwater resources
• Lack of a global international instrument
  covering these resources

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II. The draft articles on the law of
transboundary aquifers

• Five parts
• Introduction
• General principles
• Protection, preservation and management
• Activities affecting other States
• Miscellaneous provisions

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• Scope
• Utilization of TB aquifers and aquifer systems
• Other activities that have or are likely to have
  an impact upon those aquifers
• Measures for the protection, preservation and
  management of those aquifers

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Activities Affecting Aquifers
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• General principles
• Sovereignty
• Equitable and reasonable utilization
• Equitable and reasonable accrual of benefits
• Maximize the long-term benefits
• Establish utilization plan considering present
  and future needs, and alternative water sources

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• Factors relevant to equitable and reasonable
  utilization
• Population dependent on the aquifer
• Social, economic and other needs, present and
  future
• Natural characteristics of the aquifer
• Contribution to the formation and recharge
• Role of the aquifer in the related ecosystem

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• Obligation not to cause significant harm
• by utilization, or other activities through
  aquifer
• to other aquifer States
• General obligation to cooperate joint
  mechanisms of cooperation
• Regular exchange of data

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• Protection, preservation and management
• Protection and preservation of ecosystems
• dependent on the aquifer
• Recharge and discharge zones
• Prevention, reduction and control of pollution

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• Monitoring
• indispensable for the proper management of a TB
  aquifer
• ideally joint monitoring based on an agreed
  conceptual model
• Management
• management plan
• consultation with the other aquifer State
• joint management mechanism

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• Other principles
• Notification Consultation on Planned Activities
• Scientific and technical cooperation with
  developing States
• can be provided through competent international
  organizations.
• UNESCO-IHP plays a central role in this field and
  is the global intergovernmental scientific
  programme of the United Nations system responding
  to the specific national and regional needs and
  demands of its Member States.

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III. Evolution

• The exception
• ARRANGEMENT ON THE PROTECTION, UTILISATION AND
  RECHARGE OF THE FRANCO-SWISS GENEVESE AQUIFER (9
  June 1977)
• Creates a Genevese Management Commission
• Its Mandate
• To propose a yearly aquifer utilization
  programme
• To ensure the protection of the resource
• To remedy possible causes of pollution
• To inventory all existing water works
• To manage the artificial recharge of the
  aquifer

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More limited scope

• SASS Establishment of a consultation mechanism
  approved by the three States(december 2002)
  (Algeria, Libya and Tunisia)
• Main functions
• Maintenance of the database and model of the
  aquifer
• Regular exchange of data and information

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SASS Consultation mechanism

• A steering committee national institutions in
  charge of the water resources
• A coordination unit within the Obesrvatoire du
  Sahara et du Sahel (OSS)
• An ad hoc scientific committee for scientific
  evaluation and orientation institutions and
  research centers

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Hydrogeological sketch map of the SASS (Système
Aquifer du Sahara Septentrional)
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• Joint Authority on the NSAS (1992) (Chad, Egypt,
  Libya and Sudan)
• The Authority is mainly responsible for
  collecting and updating of data and conducting
  studies.
• In the frame of the Programme for the
  Development of a Regional Strategy for the
  Utilization of the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer
  System, the four States signed two agreements on
  procedures for data collection, sharing and
  access to the data system (October 2000).

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Development of new agreements over TB aquifers

• Consultation mechanisms in projects
• Iullemeden Aquifer System (Mali, Niger, Nigeria)
• 1st step Temporal consultation mechanism
• secretariat
• steering committee (political level)
• Technical national committees
• In charge of improving and maintaining the common
  database and identifying risks and vulnerable
  zones

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• 2nd step permanent consultation mechanism
• In charge of
• -completing the joint identification of the
  system,
• -defining and managing the risks
• -legal and institutional recommendations for the
  Aquifer States
• -sustainable development of the IAS

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• Coastal Aquifer System of the Gulf of Guinea
  (Benin, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo)
• Legal component
• Objective Establish a cooperative mechanism of
  technical assistance between the five countries,
  with a national committee in each State.

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• 2nd step permanent consultation mechanism
• In charge of
• -completing the joint identification of the
  system,
• -defining and managing the risks
• -legal and institutional recommendations for the
  Aquifer States
• -sustainable development of the IAS

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• Legal component in regional projects
• ISARM-Americas (UNESCO-IHP/OAS)
• 1st phase inventory of TB aquifers in the
  Americas, and identification of case studies
• 2nd phase study of the legal and institutional
  aspects

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• Capacity building for sustainable utilization,
  management and protection of internationally
  shared groundwater in the Mediterranean region
• (ESCWA, ECE, ECA, in partnership with UNESCO-IHP
  (ISARM))
• Main objective increased awareness and
  application by the MEDA countries of the
  international norms in the sustainable management
  of shared aquifers

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Thank you