Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics?

Equity has emerged as an important principle in transboundary water law in recent years, particularly in relation to water allocation. Yet basic questions remain unanswered. What constitutes an equitable transboundary water agreement? What constitutes an equitable allocation of shared waters? And ha...

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Main Authors: Lautze, Jonathan F., Giordano, Mark
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2006
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/21650
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author Lautze, Jonathan F.
Giordano, Mark
author_browse Giordano, Mark
Lautze, Jonathan F.
author_facet Lautze, Jonathan F.
Giordano, Mark
author_sort Lautze, Jonathan F.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Equity has emerged as an important principle in transboundary water law in recent years, particularly in relation to water allocation. Yet basic questions remain unanswered. What constitutes an equitable transboundary water agreement? What constitutes an equitable allocation of shared waters? And has the inclusion of equitable language really made a difference in transboundary water law at the basin level? This paper uses Africa as a case study to critically assess past efforts to integrate equity into transboundary water law. The qualitative characteristics of agreements claiming to consider equity are first compared to those making no such assertion to reveal what differences, if any, exist. The paper then develops a quantitative methodology to measure equity in transboundary water allocations. This methodology is used to compare codified water allocations in agreements that purport to consider equity with those that do not. The findings reveal that agreements referring to equity differ substantively from others and, in fact, divide water in a more equitable manner. While the study is limited to Africa, it at least suggests that the equity concepts behind the 1966 Helsinki Rules and the 1997 United Nations Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses have had a tangible impact on basin level agreements.
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spelling CGSpace216502023-06-12T08:56:42Z Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics? Lautze, Jonathan F. Giordano, Mark Equity has emerged as an important principle in transboundary water law in recent years, particularly in relation to water allocation. Yet basic questions remain unanswered. What constitutes an equitable transboundary water agreement? What constitutes an equitable allocation of shared waters? And has the inclusion of equitable language really made a difference in transboundary water law at the basin level? This paper uses Africa as a case study to critically assess past efforts to integrate equity into transboundary water law. The qualitative characteristics of agreements claiming to consider equity are first compared to those making no such assertion to reveal what differences, if any, exist. The paper then develops a quantitative methodology to measure equity in transboundary water allocations. This methodology is used to compare codified water allocations in agreements that purport to consider equity with those that do not. The findings reveal that agreements referring to equity differ substantively from others and, in fact, divide water in a more equitable manner. While the study is limited to Africa, it at least suggests that the equity concepts behind the 1966 Helsinki Rules and the 1997 United Nations Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses have had a tangible impact on basin level agreements. 2006 2012-08-22T13:18:44Z 2012-08-22T13:18:44Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/21650 en Limited Access Lautze, J. and Giordano, M. 2006. Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics? Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 17(1)
spellingShingle Lautze, Jonathan F.
Giordano, Mark
Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics?
title Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics?
title_full Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics?
title_fullStr Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics?
title_full_unstemmed Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics?
title_short Equity in transboundary water law: Valuable paradigm or merely semantics?
title_sort equity in transboundary water law valuable paradigm or merely semantics
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/21650
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