The interplay between the UN Watercourses Convention and the Law on Transboundary Aquifers (Article 2)

Transboundary aquifers play a substantial role in global water security. Groundwater is estimated to represent 97% of the available freshwater on the planet and has significant importance in terms of human and ecosystem water supply. An estimated 2.5 billion people depend solely on groundwater resources to satisfy their basic needs. Further, groundwater provides drinking water to more than half of the global population and supplies 43% of the water used for irrigation . Groundwater can be found in an aquifer, which is “a permeable water-bearing geological formation underlain by a less permeable layer”. Aquifers are considered transboundary when parts of them are situated in different states, and almost 600 transboundary aquifers and groundwater bodies have been identified so far. For the purposes of this chapter, the ‘law of transboundary aquifers’ refers to the sparsely populated set of international legal instruments governing transboundary aquifers. We will focus primarily on the 2008 Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers (Draft Articles), which, together with the UN Watercourses Convention (UNWC), comprises the guidance issued by the International Law Commission (ILC) with respect to transboundary water resources. The law of transboundary aquifers also includes the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE Water Convention), the UNECE Model Provisions on Transboundary Groundwater, a handful of bilateral and multilateral agreements addressing specific transboundary aquifers, and several non-governmental efforts in the field of transboundary aquifers. Against this background, in this chapter we will examine how groundwater has been tackled in the works leading to the UNWC and in the UNWC itself. Then we will study the Draft Articles and their relation to the UNWC. Finally, we will explore a normative package approach to the UNWC and the law of transboundary aquifers

The implications of Brexit for environmental law in Scotland

This report maps the possible implications of Brexit for environmental protection in Scotland, identifying core questions as well as solutions that may be adopted, with the objective of initiating a conversation about this complex subject matter. The report has been prepared as a joint endeavour by a group of environmental law experts based at Scottish Universities. Each section was drafted by a lead author, with inputs from the rest of the group. The paper is meant for a broad audience and intentionally uses a non-technical writing style. The paper is divided in two sections. The first section addresses cross-cutting questions affecting environmental governance after Brexit, focusing on the main Brexit scenarios and their trade, competition, and law enforcement implications. This analysis identifies a series of common challenges for nvironmental law in Scotland after Brexit, which relate to: •Loss of scrutiny and enforcement powers associated with the operation of EU law and institutions; •Loss of long-term policy horizon and of the stable regulatory framework provided by EU law; •Repositioning of the UK and Scotland in international and regional environmental governance cooperation; and •Restriction/loss of access to EU funds and programmes. The second section analyses specific questions likely to emerge in elected areas of environmental law, distinguishing between different types of EU environmental legislation and the related allocation of competences within the UK. The transposition of EU environmental law into domestic law takes place in different ways. Some pieces of EU environmental law have been transposed into UK/Scottish law and configure distinctively UK/Scottish solutions. After Brexit, retaining these pieces of legislation is going to be relatively straightforward. Other pieces of EU environmental law, conversely, heavily rely upon EU processes and institutions and will no longer be applicable in their present form after Brexit. On these matters, EU powers and competences will be repatriated, raising fundamental questions concerning the allocation of powers between the UK’s central and evolved administrations. Finally, EU membership has important implications concerning the UK’s implementation of international obligations in areas such as climate change law or air pollution. In these areas, EU law is often more ambitious than the underlying international obligations. Brexit will therefore confront the UK and devolved administrations with fundamental choices regarding how to continue to comply with international obligations, and maintain and enhance their current level of commitment and ambition over time

Introduction: exploring and explaining the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate

This introduction lays the groundwork for this Special Issue by providing an overview of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP), and by introducing three main analytical themes. The first theme concerns the emergence and continuation of the APP. The contributions show that the emergence of the APP can be attributed to international factors, including the United States' rejection of the Kyoto Protocol, and its search for an alternative arena for global climate governance, and other countries' wish to maintain good relations with the US; as well as domestic factors, such as the presence of bureaucratic actors in favour of the Partnership, alignment with domestic priorities, and the potential for reaping economic benefits through participation. The second theme examines the nature of the Partnership, concluding that it falls on the very soft side of the hard-soft law continuum and that while being branded as a public-private partnership, governments remain in charge. Under the third theme, the influence which the APP exerts on the post-2012 United Nations (UN) climate change negotiations is scrutinised. The contributions show that at the very least, the APP is exerting some cognitive influence on the UN discussions through its promotion of a sectoral approach. The introduction concludes with outlining areas for future research. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009