www.cawater-info.net/bk/water_law/

International water law concerns the rights and obligations that exist, primarily between States, for the management of transboundary water resources. Such legal rules and principles are dedicated to preventing conflict and promoting cooperation of shared water resources

International water law has evolved and crystallized through state practice and the codification and progressive development efforts undertaken by the United Nations and private institutions. The treaty practice in this area encompasses a broad range of instruments, from general agreements (which provide basic principles for water resource development) to specific ‘contractual’ type legal and technical arrangements (which set forth detailed operational schemes).

While water users compete for the same resource and struggle for increasing control, they also need to cooperate if they want to make effective use of water and sustain the water’s quantity and quality in the long run. This often occurs in ‘pluralistic’ legal contexts, where formal and informal normative systems sometimes clash.

The Knowledge base contains the generalized information about the international water law and national water laws of the Central Asian states.

1. International Water Law
General questions of Water Law; Organizational framework and public participation; Development of the International Water Law in regions; Example of the Aral Sea basin; Aral Sea basin: a view from the outside; Prevention and settlement of disputes; Right to Water

2. National Water Law of Central Asian Countries
Water Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan; Ecological aspects of Water Law in Central Asia

3. Documents of National and International Water Law
General and regional instruments; Guidelines on Water Related Issues; Binding and non-binding instruments in Central Asia region; National water legislation

4. ICWC’s Activities in the Field of Water Law
Seminars of ICWC Training Center on legal themes; Publications of Scientific-Information Center ICWC on legal themes