Director’s Welcome

Patricia Wouters

Welcome to the International Water Law Academy (the Academy), a global institution established to develop and share international law expertise in the field of transboundary waters. Water, one of the world’s most precious resources touches all aspects of life. How it is peacefully managed, especially in the context of growing existential challenges, requires concerted efforts across all areas of international water law . The Academy aims to contribute to improved transboundary water cooperation through our world-class research, graduate programme, responsive executive training, and interactive outreach activities in international water law in all of its dimensions.

Hosted at the China Institute for Boundary and Ocean Studies (CIBOS), Wuhan University , the Academy comprises an international group of permanent staff and global Affiliates.  We work collaboratively to develop and disseminate relevant research and practice in international water law, through three core activities:

·      Strategic and Applied Research organised into four broad Research Interest Areas (RIAs) covering a range of most relevant themes, reflecting current challenges and exploring them through the lens of international water law: (i) Climate Change, Environment and Natural Resources; (ii) Multi-level Water Resources Governance; (iii)  International Economic Law and Water Resources Management; (iv)  The System of International Law.

With a view to tackling some of the pressing issues related to the peaceful transboundary water management, the Academy now undertakes an innovative broad-reaching research project aimed at deepening knowledge in and across each of the four RIAs explored through the phenomenon of legal ‘convergence.’ Under the leadership of Professor Owen McIntyre, the Academy moves forward with this pioneering study, the first research of its kind in this field. The work seeks to consolidate and rigorously analyse the norms, rules and practice of the international and national legal frameworks relevant to transboundary water cooperation.

·      Emerging Scholars Initiative (ESI) devised to bolster the Academy’s commitment to nurturing and building a legacy in international water law. Dr David Devlaeminck leads this forward-looking initiative as part of the Academy’s support of a new generation of water leaders in this field. The ESI involves a series of interactive events planned for the upcoming term. This global group of scholars will provide inspiration for our Academy’s new cohort of graduate students under the LLM and PhD programmes

·      Academy as Convening Forum positioning the Academy as a  focal point and platform for assembling, sharing and exchanging expertise on international water law and transboundary water cooperation. It includes our successful IWLA/GWP  Transboundary Water Governance  MOOC series, which attracted close to 3000 participants from around the world. The Academy provides a global forum for various advanced events, such as ‘Charting a Path to 2030 and beyond’ which offers a critical look at the UN Water Conventions. While many of these events will be conducted online due to current  pandemic restrictions, it is our aim to welcome you to Wuhan to contribute to peaceful and effective transboundary water cooperation through accessible and relevant international water law expertise.

We invite you to join us!

For more information please contact: yang.liu2021@whu.edu.cn