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One of the most challenging aspects of climate change has been the increased pressure on water resources limited by droughts and new rain patterns, which has been exacerbated by rapid modernization. Due to these realities, disputes across national borders over use and access to water have now become more commonplace. This study analyzes the history and adjudication of transboundary water disputes in five international courts and tribunals, two US Supreme Court cases, and boundary water disputes between the United States and Canada and the United States and Mexico. Explaining the circumstances and outcomes of these cases, Kornfeld asks how effective the courts and tribunals have been in adjudicating them. What kind of remedies have they fashioned and how have they dealt with polycentric and sovereignty issues? This timely work examines the doctrine of equitable allocation of transboundary water resources and how this norm can be incorporated into international law. more...

Climate change, population growth and the increasing demand for water are all capable of leading to disputes over transboundary water systems. Dealing with these challenges will require the enhancing of adaptive capacity, the improving of the quality of water-resources management and a reduction in the risk of conflict between riparian states. Such changes can only be brought about through significant international cooperation. Christina Leb's analysis of the duty to cooperate and the related rights and obligations highlights the interlinkages between this duty and the principles of equitable and reasonable utilisation and the prevention of transboundary harm. In doing so, she considers the law applicable to both international watercourses and transboundary aquifers, and explores the complementarities and interaction between the rules of international water law and the related obligations of climate change and human rights law. more...

This report bridges the theory and practice of effective shared water management by describing a process that local, state, and national governments can use to create or modify transboundary water-sharing agreements. more...