The duty to take appropriate measures to prevent significant transboundary harm and private companies: insights from transboundary hydropower projects

Recognition that hydropower plays a role in fostering sustainable development and helping countries move away from fossil fuels has led to a resurgence of planned projects on transboundary rivers around the world. Whilst these projects offer clear benefits, they are not without their socio-ecological impacts. An added feature of hydropower projects is that they tend to involve a wide range of actors that are responsible for their financing, planning, construction and operation (international and domestic; private and State). This begs the question, if it is ultimately the responsibility of States to ensure that these projects are in accordance with international law obligations, what does that responsibility entail when much of the activity is conducted by private companies? International law has a long tradition of placing States under an obligation to regulate the conduct of non-State activities so as to prevent transboundary harm. However, a closer review of the law relating to transboundary hydropower projects reveals that more could be done to guide States as to the appropriate measures that they might put in place to ensure that any hydropower projects involving private actors are implemented in an equitable and sustainable manner

Can reporting enhance transboundary water cooperation? Early insights from the Water Convention and the Sustainable Development Goals reporting exercise

A notable milestone in transboundary water cooperation has been the incorporation of reporting both under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework and the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. Much can be gained from reviewing the initial reporting exercise, which took place in 2017 and 2018. The first reporting exercise has demonstrated that, while progress has been made in the last decades, the need to strengthen cooperation over transboundary rivers, lakes and aquifers is clearly evident. Additionally, the experience of the first reporting exercise suggests that, although some adjustments might be made, reporting can play a valuable role in advancing transboundary water cooperation in the years to come

The Governance Regime of the Mekong River Basin - Can the Global Water Conventions Strengthen the 1995 Mekong Agreement?

Entry into force of the UN Watercourses Convention in August 2014, and the opening of the UNECE Water Convention to all states in March 2016, are significant milestones in international water law. A comparative analysis of these two global water conven- tions and the 1995 Mekong Agreement shows that all three instruments are generally compatible. Nonetheless, the international legal principles and processes set forth in the two conventions can render the Mekong Agreement more up to date, robust and practical. Strengthening the Agreement would be timely, given the increasing pres- sures associated with the rapid hydropower development within the basin and the gradually emerging disputes therein. Because of these fast-moving developments, the monograph strongly recommends that the Mekong states seriously consider joining both conventions in order to buttress and clarify key provisions of the 1995 Mekong Agreement

International law developments on the sharing of Blue Nile waters : A fairness perspective

Peer reviewedPostprin

The Governance Regime of the Mekong River Basin

The Governance Regime of the Mekong River Basin provides a comparative analysis of the global water conventions and the 1995 Mekong Agreement, whereby, the authors strongly recommend Mekong states joining both conventions in order to buttress and clarify the Agreement.; Readership: Scholars and practitioners in the field of international water law and anyone concerned with the legal framework and governance regime of the Mekong River and its tributaries

The Governance Regime of the Mekong River Basin

The Governance Regime of the Mekong River Basin provides a comparative analysis of the global water conventions and the 1995 Mekong Agreement, whereby, the authors strongly recommend Mekong states joining both conventions in order to buttress and clarify the Agreement.; Readership: Scholars and practitioners in the field of international water law and anyone concerned with the legal framework and governance regime of the Mekong River and its tributaries