Pk wouters chatham house water security and international law
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Water Security and International Law, The New Politics of Water Water Security and economic growth in emerging economies, presentation June 2011 by Prof Pat Wouters, IHP-HELP Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, to Chatham House, London.
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Pk wouters chatham house water security and international law
- 1. Water Security and International Law Prof. Patricia Wouters 14 June 2011 The New Politics of Water Water Security and economic growth in emerging economies
- 3. Context = The Law of Nations “ to maintain international peace and security … and ... the fundamental freedoms of all … “ UN Charter
- 4. International Water Law / Law of Nations
- 5. Global Water Security Challenges No development without water 1.2 billion without safe drinking water and 2.4 billion without sanitation widening water gap Only a fraction readily available 1.4 billion km 3 of water on Earth Global environmental change worsening water crisis
- 7. Water Security Matrix scal e Disciplinary interface Human National Regional Int’l / Global
- 8. Conflicts-of-use over water? (scale) Duty to cooperate?
- 9. Water hotspots : security challenges BBC News
- 13. Legal Analytical Framework: State Practice
- 15. International Water Security: key issues Water Security Analytical Framework
- 18. Water Security Hierarchy (capacity tower) Local Water Leaders
Editor's Notes
- International water law finds its foundation within the rules of public international law, and thus is intertwined with those ideals contained in the UN Charter -- maintaining international peace and security, enhancing regional cooperation, preventing threats to the peace, and advancing the fundamental freedoms of all (UN Charter). International watercourses law provides a framework for managing the sustainability of transboundary waters that cross national borders and has evolved through a combination of customary law (state practice) and the codification and progressive development efforts undertaken by the UN, non-governmental organisations, private institutions, national and international judicial decisions, and the resolutions and recommendations of international organizations. Water law serves three key functions: • It defines and identifies the legal rights and obligations tied to water use (broadly defined) and provides the prescriptive parameters for resource development and management; • It provides tools for ensuring the continuous integrity of the regime– that is, through monitoring and assessment of compliance and implementation, dispute prevention, and settlement; • It allows for modifications of the existing regime, in order to be able to adapt to changing needs and circumstances.
- Freshwater is a finite resource, and its sustained availability is one of the most critical modern challenges facing people and the environment globally (UNEP, 2010). Of the 1.4 billion cubic kilometers of water found on Earth, only 2.5%, approximately 37 million cubic kilometres, constitutes freshwater, and 90 percent of this is locked up in polar ice caps and groundwater reservoirs which are presently inaccessible. What is left to sustain humanity and the environment is 4.3 million cubic kilometres of accessible groundwater and only 127,300 cubic kilometres of surface. At the global level, there is currently a 40 per cent gap between the amount of water now available and the amount of water that will be needed in 2030 for aggregate food production, energy, municipal and industrial goals. The IPCC Climate Change and Water Report -- changes in water quantity and quality due to climate change will affect food availability, stability, access, and use, leading to decreased food security—summary of global predictions. The IPCC survey indicates an emergent global water crisis and illustrates how it cuts across political and socio-economic domains, scientific disciplines, and national sovereign boundaries.
- Further, the interactions between different levels and other ‘securities’ is consistently being overlooked. For instance, a drought in an agricultural area could compromise human security (increasing poverty and affecting health), food security (availability of food for the own population), economic security (decrease in agricultural exports), energy security (diminishing availability of water for production of electricity), and environmental security (putting ecosystems under stress) at the local, regional or even international level.