ABSTRACT
Over 90 per cent of the world’s population lives in countries that share a river basin with others. Freshwater resources are scarce and diff erent nations, actors and users compete for limited sources in transboundary river basins; often confl icting with each other. Water is a resource with no substitute: it cannot be secured in suffi ciently large quantities through long-distance trade deals; and, due to the interconnectivity of the hydrological system, the actions of one country in its water management have a direct bearing on the interests of neighbouring countries. 1 For instance, in the Mekong River Basin in Southeast Asia, current hydropower and navigation developments in certain countries impact on traditional sources of income such as fi sheries, and rice production in others. These kinds of changes in water use have given rise to confl ict between countries in that region and others, but have also led, in some cases, to greater cooperation. The past few decades have seen a number of new agreements about the sharing of river resources and cooperation between riparian states.
