Message for World Water Day 2024

Prof. Patricia Wouters, Director of the Academy with
Vice President of Wuhan University, Dr. TANG Qizhu

Water for Peace – On 22 March 2024 we mark World Water Day, an annual event calling attention to one of the globe’s most precious natural resources. The theme for this year – Water for Peace – could not be more poignant and topical, especially now during times of multiple geopolitical conflicts around the world. ‘Water for Peace’ gives us hope for better outcomes and encourages us all to do our best to contribute to meaningful solutions. In this context, the International Water Law Academy (IWLA) notes the important role of international law in the peaceful management of the world’s shared freshwaters. Whilst international water law cannot resolve these broader conflicts, it can help to promote more effective transboundary water cooperation, with robust and resilient governance regimes that protect against water-related conflict.

The 2023 UN Water Meeting in New York was a catalyst for enhancing transboundary water cooperation – urging more countries to accede to the international water conventions as frameworks for the peaceful management of transboundary waters. The 1997 Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses and the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and Lakes provide important legal frameworks that help states and other stakeholders to use water resources more sustainably and equitably, in ways supportive of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Water Action Agenda (WAA) launched at the New York meeting included some 800 commitments designed to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs. The IWLA signed up  to harness its considerable legal expertise across its global network of Affiliates to contribute innovative research and to share knowledge and practice in the field of international water law with a view to helping to improve transboundary water governance.

The Academy, based in Wuhan University in China,  comprises an international community of 60+ experts in water law, who devise and apply research that helps to mainstream water law as an integral part of the ‘Water for Peace’ agenda.

As part of its engagement in this mission, the Academy’s pioneering Emerging Scholars Initiative (ESI), provides a novel platform for young scholars to build a global community of young experts in the field of international water law. This programme is run by Dr. David Devlaeminck, Ms. Zaki Shubber, and Dr. Melissa McCracken and is open to all emerging scholars in the field.

International water law is integral to the ‘Water for Peace’ agenda. The rules of international law, codified under the UN Charter, the two global water conventions and many international water agreements, together with rules of customary law provide the foundation for predictable and transparent wate governance. Together the body of substantive and procedural rules in this field offer a framework for the peaceful management of shared freshwater resources. The establishment of river and lake basin commissions can provide a platform for the participatory governance of transboundary waters, thus helping all actors in the basin to prevent potential conflicts. When conflicts do occur transboundary water law guides  the parties to find peaceful resolutions. Joint river basin Commissions can also facilitate participatory governance  and management approaches for the long-term equitable and reasonable use of the shared water resources.

As we go forward with the ‘Water for Peace’ mission – let us all try our best to contribute our expertise around the globe. The IWLA Affiliates are here to help with accessible and implementable water law, through the paradigm of international law.

For further information please visit our website https://iwla.whu.edu.cn/

or contact Dale Campbell Dale.IWLA@proton.me or Daniel Gilbert Daniel.IWLA@proton.me