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25 Nat. Resources J. 563 (1985)
Patterns of Cooperation in International Water Law: Principles and Institutions

handle is hein.journals/narj25 and id is 577 raw text is: DANTE A. CAPONERA* Patterns of Cooperation in International Water Law: Principles and Institutions INTRODUCTION Neither the requirements for efficient water resources management nor the technical standards corresponding to the most reasonable regime of water resource management are difficult to identify and propose. The real difficulty concerns the political willingness of states to achieve in- stitutionalized cooperation regarding water resources of each international basin. Current experiments in the joint management of international water resources can provide useful insights to states willing to cooperate. Many similarities exist among the agencies established all over the world for the purpose of assuring an equitable share in and the best utilization of those resources. Essential structural features of cooperation include: gov- ernment participation, principal and subsidiary organs, voting procedure, and functions and powers of the agency. Similarities may develop into established patterns in the course of time, only to be adapted to local conditions. Such patterns, however, only indicate a practice which is not binding on states sharing the same resource: detailed mechanisms and procedures always are the free choice of states. The question of whether states are also free to refuse any sort of cooperative arrangements at all is impossible to definitively answer in the abstract. Any legal obligation regarding water resources which arises out of current international law can only be based on either the general principles and recommendations expressed by and within the United Nations or on the customary principles created by the states concerned within each water basin or system. IDENTIFICATION OF RESOURCES INVOLVED Cooperative arrangements, including principles and institutions, are necessary to prevent, mitigate, administer, and solve problems arising from the use of natural resources having transboundary impacts. These arrangements refer to air; atmospheric, surface, and underground water; hydrocarbons; oceans; and bio-resources (flora and fauna). This article is limited to cooperative arrangements relative to water resources. *Formerly Chief, FAO Legislation Branch; Chairman, Executive Council AIDA (International Association for Water Law); Rapporteur on International Administration of the Committee on In- ternational Water Resources Law of the International Law Association.

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