ABSTRACT
This chapter offers an overview of treaty coverage related to transboundary waters, both in terms of which rivers, lakes and aquifers are covered; and the functional scope of such instruments. It focuses on treaties as the most appropriate means by which states enter into cooperation arrangements concerning their transboundary waters. More therefore needs to be done to strengthen the treaty architecture at the basin level, whether through basin-wide agreements or, where appropriate, bilateral arrangements covering several transboundary waters. The overview of treaty practice relating to transboundary waters demonstrates that there is considerable fragmentation within the system. In 1970, the UN General Assembly recommended that the International Law Commission should, 'take up the study of the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses with a view to its progressive development and codification'. The framework instrument increasingly taking on a global perspective is the UN Economic Commission for Europe Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes.
