Conference Agenda

The hydrological cycle refers to the continuous movement of water in the Earth-Atmosphere system, encompassing surface water (rivers, lakes and oceans), groundwater (aquifers), atmospheric water (clouds and precipitation), and cryospheric water (locked up in glaciers and snowpacks). The global hydrological cycle faces a range of threats connected to environmental degradation, land-use change and the impacts of climate change, as well as population increase and growing affluence, and related increased demand for water, food and energy. It involves an interconnected series of processes, driven by solar radiation, causing circulation of water within the Earth's hydrosphere. This presentation provides a survey of relevant legal frameworks for the governance of the global hydrological cycle, spanning international law but also relevant domestic and transnational frameworks.

A ‘watercourse’ is defined as a ‘system of surface and groundwaters’ forming a unitary whole that flows into a common terminus. This gives a sense of separation between watercourses and the communities they are comprised of. Increased understanding of the connections between watercourses through the global hydrological cycle challenges this, possibly expanding the legal reach of international water law norms to encompass obligations erga omnes, those ‘owed to the international community as a whole’. After elaborating on how erga omnes norms are identified, this article discusses the potential for key international water law norms to achieve such status, its legal effects, and its potential to assist in the governance of the global hydrological cycle.

The international economic law system, comprised of trade and investment agreements, seeks to govern the trade between States and protect investments in host States. These economic relations are dependent on water resources, with a broad body of research that explores the connections between surface and groundwater resources to the international economic system and international economic law. Recognizing the global nature of water resources through the global hydrological cycle, however, provides challenges to business as usual in international economic law. This presentation explores the relationship between international economic law and the global hydrological cycle and how we might better protect the cycle through international economic law instruments.

Transboundary water resources are governed under a series of key norms and procedures, often institutionalized through river basin organizations. Schmeiers 2013 book - Governing International Watercourses: River Basin organizations and the Sustainable Governance of Internationally Shared Rivers and Lakes - conducted a comprehensive analysis of River Basin Organizations (RBOs) and their characteristics, seeking to define their effectiveness. This presentation revisits and expands upon the topic in light of our increased understanding of the global nature of water resources through the global hydrological cycle, asking how governance of the cycle can be institutionalized through RBOs and other water related institutions.

Transboundary water cooperation challenges have been exacerbated by climate change that is creating an additional layer of uncertainty. Its disruptive impacts on water availability and combination with other events cannot easily be anticipated. This uncertainty is further compounded as we consider the truly global nature of water resources, raising issues as to how international water law and related rules can address uncertainty at the global, regional, watercourse and local levels. This presentation looks at the governance of the global hydrological cycle and related uncertainties, exploring and identifying how international law may address them.

Environmental modification techniques (EMTs) are very much in use today and are practiced by many States. Examples include cloud seeding to control precipitation patterns and geoengineering projects in the atmosphere and oceans aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change. With the development of these old and new techniques, one of the questions that arises is whether international law provides principles and rules to regulate them. While the 1976 Convention on the Prohibition of the Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques (ENMOD Convention) clearly states that EMTs for peaceful purposes are not prohibited under international law, it provides some fundamental principles such as the exchange of information and scientific cooperation. This presentation will explore some of the principles regulating EMTs for peaceful purposes and present the key challenges related to the need to develop a legal framework on EMTs.