Transboundary water interactions and the UN Watercourses Convention

In the 1990s and 2000s, institution building for the management and governance of international transboundary waters has become a prominent agenda item both at the basin and global level. There has been an increase in the number of international agreements over shared waters. ² Global water policy initiatives, including international organizations such as the Global Water Partnership and forums such as the World Water Week, have also increased in number, ³ with many focusing on transboundary issues. In the process of institution building, many discussions and deliberations between basin states and international organizations refer to legal principles. The purpose of this chapter is to explore and discuss the political context in which legal principles — such as those enshrined in the UN Watercourses Convention (UNWC) — are acknowledged and implemented in the allocation and management of shared waters. The chapter argues that an assessment of the way in which such principles may be used for improved water resources management is possible only through an understanding of the context and nature of transboundary interactions between sovereign basin states.