ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to identify trends and priorities that may implicate the emergence of generally accepted international legal norms applicable to transboundary aquifers. It considers the gaps and shortcomings in the emerging international regulatory system and offers recommendations for the further development of the law. The international law for managing and allocating transboundary ground water resources is still in a nascent state. Transboundary aquifers have come into their own and are now legitimate topics of international law, policy and relations. Transboundary ground water resources play a role in providing fresh water for people, industries, nations and the environment worldwide. Despite the relevance of transboundary aquifers to human existence, economic development and environmental sustainability, policy and legal attention to these subsurface resources is a relatively recent phenomenon. The chapter explores the chief formal and cooperative mechanisms that have been proposed or implemented on a transboundary aquifer. Arrangements must be considered when discussing formal mechanisms developed for addressing shared ground water resources.
