Collective Action in the Utilization of Shared Freshwater: The Challenges of International Water Resources Law

Abstract

There is enough freshwater in the world to meet the existing and future needs of the world’s population. Water, however, is poorly distributed: there are regions that suffer severe drought, while others are heavily flooded; regions that have ample water in winter, but not enough in summer; and regions that abound in water during certain years, but are threatened by droughts in others. Thus, the management of freshwater is largely a question of redistribution of a natural resource, given certain physical, economic, environmental and social constraints. Such management inevitably brings into play the competing priorities of different uses and users; and, since most water resources traverse political boundaries, these competing priorities often become regional conflicts between riparian states.