Groundwater in International Law
Raya Marina Stephan Consultant
UNESCO-IHP
Groundwater in International Law
I. The current state of international rules governing the management of
groundwater
II. The development at the UN
International Law Commission
The current state of international rules governing the management
of groundwater
• Global level
UN Convention on the Law of the Non- navigational uses of international
watercourses (21 May 1997)
UN Watercourse Convention
• Limited in its scope
Definition of a Watercourse
A system of surface waters and groundwaters constituting by virtue of their physical relationship a unitary whole and normally flowing into a common terminus (article 2 a)
– Aquifers not ‘related’ to surface water bodies (such as the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System) are
excluded from the scope of the Convention.
– Groundwater and surface water do not necessarily share a ‘common terminus’.
UN Watercourse Convention
• Inadequacy of its provisions
e.g
- equitable and reasonable utilization: no explicit hydrogeological factor
- Obligation not to cause significant harm:not stringent enough for GW
- Regular exchange of « readily» available data:
rarely the case for GW
Regional level
• UN ECE Convention on the protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (1992)
- applies to all transboundary waters
- Guided by the equitable and reasonable use principle, the precautionary principle and the sustainable
development
- Guidelines on Monitoring and Assessment of transboundary groundwater (2000)
EU Water Framework Directive (2000)
• Applies to all waters: surface, ground and coastal
• Objective:
- long term protection of the water resources - « good ecological status » by 2015
• Establishes a common frame of references for assessing water quality
• A GW Daughter Directive will specify
concentration limits for pollutants to achieve « good status ».
Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses in the Southern African Development
Community (2000)
African Convention on Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (2003)
- refers to non-renewable resources
- Obligation to prevent excessive abstraction, and to protect against pollutants
- Sustainable development
Bi- and multilateral agreements
Very few treaties concern groundwater only:
• Arrangement on the Franco-Genevese Aquifer (1978) (an exception)
– Joint body oversees use, protection, recharge – Annual water utilization programme
Two other GW agreements with limited scope:
• data collection and exchange for aquifer modelling
• joint institution
Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System (Chad,Egypt, Libya, Sudan) (2000)
Northwestern Sahara Aquifer System (SASS - Algeria, Libya, Tunisia)
International Law Association
scholarly opinion
• 1986 Seoul Rules on groundwater :
application of the Helsinki Rules (1966) to all groundwaters, connected or not
• Berlin Rules 2004 : application to domestic and transboundary waters. Introduction of environmental law.
The development at the UN International Law Commission
2002 : the ILC includes in its programme of work the topic of “Shared Natural
Resources”
• “confined” transboundary groundwaters
• Oil
• Natural gas
UNESCO and the United Nations International Law Commission (UNILC) 2002
Within the framework of UNESCO-ISARM, a multidisciplinary ad- hoc task force of experts has been established by UNESCO in close cooperation with FAO and IAH to assist the Special Rapporteur of the UNILC on the preparation of a new International legal instrument on Transboundary Aquifers
ISARM
Internationally Shared
/Transboundary Aquifer Resources Management
Resolution XIV-12, June 2000
•Legal
–Treaties, interstate agreements
•Scientific
–Hydrology, hydrogeology, conceptual modelling
•Socio-economic
–Water security, accesibility, efficiency, poverty reduction
•Institutional Capacity Building
–Awareness raising, counterpart agencies
•Environmental
–Sustainability, biodiversity, risks, vulnerability
The ISARM Project- Launch of
Regional Inventories
2
10 3
4
6
5
8
9 11
1
7
2.Kupa
3.Kupa 4.Una
5.Cetina
6.Neretva 7.Sava 1.Dragonja
30.Pelagonija
& 31.Florina Gevgelija 32.
Sandansky 34.
9.Backa & Banat
10. Srem.
12.SW Serbia 11.West Serbia
13.
20.Central Serbia
14.
29.
16. Gaber-Nesla 17. Znepole 18.Tran 15.Zemen
Dojran
.33 35.Gotze Delchev 36.Orvilos
37.Nastan 38.Smolyan
39.Rudozem 40.Erma Reka
46.Rezovska 45.Malko Tarnovo 41.Svilengrad
42.Orestiada 43.Svilengrad 44.Topolograd
25. Vjosa 26.Pagoni27.Mourgana 28.
19.East Serbia 8
47.Meric Middle Sarmatian-Pontian GWB .22
23.Sarmatian & 24.Upper Jurassic -Lower Cret.GWB 21.Upper Pannonian-Lower Pleistocene
2.Kupa
3.Kupa 4.Una
5.Cetina
6.Neretva 7.Sava 1.Dragonja
30.Pelagonija
& 31.Florina Gevgelija 32.
Sandansky 34.
9.Backa & Banat
10. Srem.
12.SW Serbia 11.West Serbia
13.
20.Central Serbia
14.
29.
16. Gaber-Nesla 17. Znepole 18.Tran 15.Zemen
Dojran
.33 35.Gotze Delchev 36.Orvilos
37.Nastan 38.Smolyan
39.Rudozem 40.Erma Reka
46.Rezovska 45.Malko Tarnovo 41.Svilengrad
42.Orestiada 43.Svilengrad 44.Topolograd
25. Vjosa 26.Pagoni27.Mourgana 28.
19.East Serbia 8
47.Meric Middle Sarmatian-Pontian GWB .22
23.Sarmatian & 24.Upper Jurassic -Lower Cret.GWB 21.Upper Pannonian-Lower Pleistocene
Regional meetings
Transboundary aquifers and international law
• June 2004 : a first meeting with experts from the Arab world
• March 2005 : a second meeting with experts from the Americas
Regional meetings
Transboundary aquifers and international law
• Objectives : Identifying
• regional groundwater characteristics
• State practices (domestic and transboundary)
Creating a common language between hydrogeologists and lawyers
The development at the UN International Law Commission
• First report on outline (2003)
• Second report (2004): transboundary aquifers:
Includes seven draft articles
the scope, definitions, the obligation not to cause harm, the general obligation to cooperate, the regular exchange of data and information, and the relationship between
different kind of uses
• Third report (2005)
- complete set of draft articles for a convention on the law of transboundary aquifers
- Equitable and reasonable utilization with specific factors concerning aquifers
- Monitoring
- Protection, preservation and management
- Consideration of non-renewable groundwaters
