Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes

Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes

The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes was adopted by the Senior Advisers to European Commission for Environment (ECE) Governments on Environmental and Water Problems in March 1992 in Helsinki (Finland). The agreement was signed by 22 countries and the European Community. It is intended to strengthen national and international actions aimed at protection and ecologically sound management of transboudary waters, both surface and ground waters (Likumi, 2011).

The agreement seeks to address is issue of equitable sharing of transboundary waters between countries sharing the same territorial waters on their boundaries. Why this is important is because misuse of such waters and depriving the other country the same equitable right of use may result into violent wars between the two transboundary countries.

The scope of Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International lakes is wide. The scope ranges from different economic and mutual understanding to sharing of information by both the parties and the general public. For example, it covers issues like; warning and alarm systems, mutual assistance, public information, exchange of information between riparian parties, common research and development, joint monitoring and assessment, and consultations.

The significance of the transboundary water sharing is that the problem of such water sharing has made countries to involve themselves in diplomatic ties by establishing bilateral and multilateral cooperation without recourse to war. This because they share a common interest beneficial to them as independent states.

The major concern for similar territorial waters and transboundary fresh waters between the countries is the competition in the use of such waters for individual economic benefits.

In this case, countries must reasonably put such waters to use without causing harm to the neighboring state. Article 10 of the convention agreement emphasis that involved countries should act on the basis of good faith and good neighborliness through consultations.

The second assessment carried out by the convention in 2011 indicated that the status of transboundary waters is improving in many parts of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) but identified that most water resources are still being subjected to poor management, pollution, industrial effluents, unsustainable production and varied consumption trends and inefficiencies in water usage, and climate change have become major threat to water resources both in short and long run (UNECE Report, 2011).

The meeting of the second convention held in Geneva, Switzerland on September, 2011 came up several findings in their ministerial conference that transboundary waters covers more than 140 transboundary rivers, 25 transboundary lakes, about 200 transboundary ground waters and 25 Ramsar Sites and other wetlands of transboundary importance.. This second assessment provides relevant information and stimulus for governments, river basin organizations and international and non-governmental organizations to take action to improve the status of the transboundary waters and related ecosystems.