Some Legal Controversies on Equitable and Sustainable Utilization of Transboundary Water Resources in Practice (by Example of the Mekong River)

Abstract

The use of transboundary water resources has gained internationally special attention for the past time. Although riparian countries recognize the benefits of cross-border rivers and enter into an agreement with countries sharing the transboundary rivers by legal rules, treaties and principles, they have done excessively riverine exploitation activities to maximize their socio-economic benefits causing the imbalance of the ecosystems and peace. International treaties, bilateral and multilateral basin, and principles are currently not enforceable enough to compel riparian countries strictly to comply with these legal rules and principles on the equitable and sustainable water coordination and development. Besides, there still exists internal conflicts among the upper and lower riparian countries on the use of transboundary river watercourses due to defective sanctions of transboundary water use. There is an urgent need to establish a specialized international water management commission designated by all nations with the utmost power to regulate human related activities concerning transboundary watercourses to govern equitable and sustainable management and development. Besides, current international law principles have to be revised to bridge the gap of disagreement and potential conflicts between the lower and upper riparian States.