Transboundary Aquifers: Conceptual Models for Development of International Law

Abstract

More than one-half of the world's population is dependent on ground water for everyday uses such as drinking, cooking, and hygiene. In fact, it is the most extracted natural resource in the world. As a result of growing populations and expanding economies, many aquifers today are being depleted while others are being contaminated. Notwithstanding the world's considerable reliance on this resource, ground water resources have long received only secondary attention as compared to surface water, especially among legislatures and policymakers. Today, while there are hundreds of treaties governing transboundary rivers and lakes, there is only one international agreement that directly addresses a transboundary aquifer. Given that many of the aquifers on which humanity so heavily relies cross international borders, there is a considerable gap in the sound management, allocation, and protection of such resources. In order to prevent future disputes over transboundary aquifers and to maximize the beneficial use of this resource, international law must be clarified as it applies to transboundary ground water resources. Moreover, it must be defined with a firm basis in sound scientific understanding. In this paper we offer six conceptual models is which ground water resources can have transboudary consequences. The models are intended to help in assessing the applicability and scientific soundness of existing and proposed rules governing transboundary ground water resources. In addition, we consider the development of international law as it applies to ground water resources and make recommendations based on the models and principles of hydrogeology. The objective is the development of clear, logical, and science-based norms of state conducts as they relate to aquifers that traverse political boundaries.

Cooperation on Africa's transboundary aquifers—conceptual ideas

“…It appears to be necessary to differentiate between those aquifers that are within and connected to a surface water basin and those that are not because surface water is limited or absent. Basins that have fossil groundwater but little or no surface water match the types defined by Eckstein & Eckstein (2005) very closely. In other cases, the number of hydrogeological, anthropogenic, climatic and geopolitical influences in each basin is not reflected in any of the Eckstein & Eckstein types.…”

“…Eckstein & Eckstein (2005) discuss whether transboundary aquifers are subject to the UN Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (the UN Water Convention) of 1997 and, if not, whether a separate convention needs to be developed to govern joint groundwater use by riparian nations. Building on the work of Barberis (1986), Eckstein & Eckstein (2005) developed six types of riparian constellation for transboundary aquifer systems. [Eckstein & Eckstein refer to them as "models".…”

“…In the five transboundary aquifer systems studied, we considered whether the Eckstein & Eckstein (2005) classifications actually mirror transboundary constellations, and whether they are useful in the categorisation of transboundary implications of national water-use patterns.…”

The new “Silk Road Economic Belt” as a threat to the sustainable management of Central Asia’s transboundary water resources

“…Given the complex interfingering of national borders in Central Asia, especially in the mountains, it should be no surprise that many of the aquifers are transboundary in nature and, therefore, a shared resource with shared responsibilities for management and protection (Puri 2001;Puri and Aureli 2005;Eckstein and Eckstein 2005). Central Asia Water (CAWATER) has estimated that 30 % of the 339 aquifers identified in the region can be considered transboundary; however, given that many of the aquifers are undoubtedly interconnected in a regional sense, the true percentage is likely to be considerably higher.…”

The International Scale of the Groundwater Issue

“…This condition is exacerbated by a lack of regulation and management of groundwater, which is often blamed on the same uncertainties surrounding the quantity and dynamics of groundwater at the regional scale (Llamas and Martinez-Santos 2005;Jarvis et al 2005;Puri 2003). Several conceptual models can apply to transboundary aquifers, including cases where the source of water to the aquifer is in one country but the main demand is in another (for example, Eckstein and Eckstein 2005). Transboundary aquifers meeting these definitions number as many as 408 (UN-IGRAC 2012).…”