Publication on customary law and environmental water requirements AND a useful web site on international water law

Greetings Everyone:

Through information from our STRP members (Scientific and Technical Review Panel) I’d like to share with you a useful publication on customary law and environmental water requirements which gives a New Zealand perspective on the integration of Maori values in waterways management. This is available here:

http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/water/managing-waterways-jul01/the-maori-perspective-jul01.pdf

In addition, here’s a link -  http://www.internationalwaterlaw.org/ - to a very useful web site for those interested in international water law. According to the web site it intends to be “the premier resource on the Internet for international water law and policy issues. Its purpose is to educate and provide relevant resources to the public and to facilitate cooperation over the world’s fresh water resources”.

On the left side of the home page are two documents I’ve been meaning to share with the list for a while – both IUCN publications. Rule is a toolkit targeted at professionals working in water management who do not have a law background. Introducing readers to the central role played by policy, law and institutions in designing and implementing good governance for water resources, its aim is to guide professionals through approaches to reforming water governance and incorporating environmental considerations into water laws and policies.

The partner publication, published in 2008, isShare which provides readers with an overview of the world's shared water resources and insights for managing these resources. Using a case study approach it identifies the benefits gained from cooperation in managing shared water resources as well as the challenges in developing legal frameworks, institutions, management processes, partnership strategies etc. The practical tools described (including communications tools of course) are intended to assist practitioners and stakeholders in successfully implementing cooperative, participatory and sustainable water management.

Of course there is much more on the web site – under documents there is global coverage of the many transboundary agreements in place for shared water resources. There is also a section on case law reporting on judgments on international water law cases in the international Court of Justice and an extensive bibliography on international water law and policy.

With best wishes, Sandra Hails, Ramsar Secretariat

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Sandra HAILS
CEPA Programme Officer
Ramsar Convention Secretariat
Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland
hails@ramsar.org
Tel: +41 22 9990176
Fax: +41 22 9990169