ABSTRACT
This chapter utilizes four principles of the public trust doctrine for organizing framework to analyze the public trust doctrine in the United States and India. The four principles of the public trust doctrine are guards against privatizing important public water resources or commons, prohibits the full privatization of certain water resources, places a continuing duty on the trustees to supervise and protect the trust, and encourages long-term stewardship that is aligned with sustainable development and protective of intergenerational equity. A majority of states have now interpreted public rights to include all forms of water-oriented recreation, and some states protect ecological integrity and water quality. The public trust doctrine contributes to water management by more clearly articulating how powers are separated between the sovereign trustee and the judiciary. Some states have articulated a perpetual public trust easement – for instance, in beaches and submerged lands under navigable or tidal waters.
