Dr Sergei Vinogradov

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Sustainable water management through ecosystem
protection An effective interface of
international legal regimes?

• Dr Sergei Vinogradov
• 2004, University of Dundee
• Seminar on the Role of Ecosystems as Water
  Suppliers, Geneva, 13-14 December 2004

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Overview

• International law what is it and why is it
  important?
• Water resources ecosystems two strands of
  international regulation
• Water resources regimes
• Environmental regimes
• Summary

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Global water imperatives

• The general objective is to make certain that
  adequate supplies of water of good quality are
  maintained for the entire population of this
  planet, while preserving the hydrological,
  biological and chemical functions of
  ecosystems... (Chapter 18, Agenda 21, 1992)
• Improve the efficient use of water resources and
  promote their allocation among competing uses in
  a way that gives priority to the satisfaction of
  basic human needs and balances the requirement of
  preserving or restoring ecosystems and their
  functions, in particular in fragile environments,
  with human domestic, industrial and agriculture
  needs (Jburg World Summit Report, 2002)
• What role for (international) water law?

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What is International law?

• Legal rules principles of general application
  governing the conduct of States ( international
  organisations) and their relations inter se
• Vital role in ensuring stable predictable
  international order through reconciling competing
  interests conflict prevention/resolution
• International legal regime a system of binding
  soft law rules, procedures, and institutional
  dispute resolution mechanisms
• Water ecosystems two distinct areas of
  regulation
• International law of water resources
• International environmental law

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International water law

• Scope transboundary water resources
• International watercourses
• Transboundary groundwaters
• Main focus
• Traditionally beneficial uses allocation of
  water, prevention of pollution
• New trends - integrated water resources
  management ecosystem approach
• Question of entitlement- Who gets what water (of
  what quantity quality)

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Water resources international legal frameworks

• Global
• 1997 UN Watercourses Convention
• Art. 20 Protection and preservation of
  ecosystems
• Watercourse States shall, individually and,
  where appropriate, jointly, protect and preserve
  the ecosystems of international watercourses
• Regional
• 1992 UNECE Water Convention (Helsinki)
• 2002 SADC Protocol on Shared Watercourses
• Transboundary river basins and aquifers
• E.g., Rhine, Danube, Mekong, Columbia, Incomati

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• 18 countries
• 81 million inhabitants

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Danube River Basin

• 1994 Convention
• Scope
• Water resources in the catchment
• area
• Objectives
• Sustainable equitable water use
• management
• Conservation, improvement rational
• use of surface groundwater
• Control of pollution floods
• Conservation of ecosystems
• Management structure - International Commission
  for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR)

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ICPDR Joint Action Programme

• Policies and Strategies
• River Basin Management Plan and implementation of
  the EU Water Framework Directive
• Restoration of wetlands and flood plains
• Flood control and sustainable flood prevention

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Mekong River Basin

• 1995 Agreement
• Scope
• Water related resources
• Objectives
• Development of the full potential of sustainable
  benefits to all riparian States
• Prevention of wasteful use of the MR Basin waters
• Protection of the environment, natural resources,
  aquatic life, and ecological balance
• Management structure Mekong River Commission

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Mekong River Basin

• The MRB Wetland Biodiversity Conservation and
  Sustainable Use Programme (MWBP)
• A combination of assessments, dialogues and pilot
  interventions addressing a range of ecological,
  economic social challenges
• Objectives
• To promote conservation and sustainable use of
  the biodiversity of wetlands in the Lower Mekong
  Basin
• To bring the economic value of wetlands into the
  planning arena

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International environmental law

• Scope environment
• Environmental media / components (air, water,
  soil, flora, fauna)
• Natural ecosystems
• Main focus
• Prevention of pollution
• Protection conservation

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Protection of ecosystems international legal
frameworks

• Global
• 1991 Ramsar Convention on Wetlands
• 1992 Convention on Biodiversity
• Regional and sub-regional
• 1985 ASEAN Agreement on the Conservation of
  Nature Natural Resources
• 1991 Alpine 2003 Carpathian Conventions
• Non-binding soft law instruments
• 1992 Rio Principles on the Management,
  Conservation Sustainable Development of Forests

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The 1971 Ramsar Convention

• Scope wetlands of international importance
  (including water, whether natural or artificial)
• Principal duties with respect to transboundary
  issues
• To consult in the case of a wetland extending
  over the territories of more than one Party or
  where a water system is shared
• To coordinate and support present and future
  policies and regulations concerning the
  conservation of wetlands

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The 1992 Biodiversity Convention

• Main objectives
• Conservation of biological diversity
• Sustainable use of its components
• Fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from
  the use of genetic resources
• Biological diversity of inland water ecosystems
• Focus of the programme catchment/watershed/river
  basin levels
• Goal to integrate the conservation sustainable
  use of biodiversity in the water-resource
  river-basin management through the ecosystem
  approach

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The Ramsar Convention River Basin Initiative

• The River Basin Initiative on integrating
  biological diversity, wetland and river basin
  management (RBI) - a joint initiative by the
  Ramsar Bureau and the Secretariat of the
  Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• Aim - to help Parties to the Conventions
  implement both the Ramsar Guidelines for
  integrating wetland conservation and wise use
  into river basin management (Resolution VII.18,
  Wise Use Handbook 4) and the CBD programme of
  work on inland waters biological diversity

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ASEAN Agreement on nature and natural resources

• Main objective
• to maintain essential ecological processes
  life-support systems
• to ensure the sustainable utilization of
  harvested natural resources
• Special obligations - Conservation of
• Species and ecosystems
• Vegetation cover and in particular the forest
  cover
• Soil
• Underground and surface water Art. 8
• regulate and control water utilization with a
  view to achieving sufficient and continuous
  supply of water for, inter alia, the maintenance
  of natural life supporting systems and aquatic
  fauna and flora

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The 1991 Alpine Convention

• Framework agreement
• Scope the Alpine region
• Objectives
• preservation protection of the Alps through the
  prudent and sustained use of resources
• Protocols of implementation
• Nature protection
• Mountain forests
• Energy
• Soil conservation
• Water protocol ???

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Summary

• Paradigmatic shift
• Water regimes from utilization and prevention
  of pollution to IWRM holistic ecosystem
  approach
• Environmental regimes from pollution control
  conservation to sustainable management
• Recognition of the ecosystem as a legitimate
  water user - through the concept of adequate
  stream flow
• Increasing synergy between international water
  environmental legal regimes
• Institutional compliance verification
  mechanisms - essential for effective
  implementation of legal regimes
• Law science must work as a team at all levels

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THANK YOU and welcome to International Water
Law Research Institute, University of Dundee