Alam, Undala --- "India and Pakistan’s truculent cooperation: can it continue?" [2013] ELECD 305; in Boisson de Chazournes, Laurence; Leb, Christina; Tignino, Mara (eds), "International Law and Freshwater" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) 406

Book Title: International Law and Freshwater

Editor(s): Boisson de Chazournes, Laurence; Leb, Christina; Tignino, Mara

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781005088

Section: Chapter 19

Section Title: India and Pakistan’s truculent cooperation: can it continue?

Author(s): Alam, Undala

Number of pages: 15

Abstract/Description:

Water is an elusive resource because it flows. Unlike other natural resources such as land, minerals and oil, which are static, a line cannot be drawn across a river or an aquifer to dictate ownership. By moving, water creates a hydrological link between users at different points within a river basin. This hydrological interdependency means, for example, that water extracted for irrigation in one part of the basin can affect water quality and quantity elsewhere. Water’s continual reincarnation through the hydrologic cycle makes it a resource that can only be harnessed for a duration, as illustrated by Egypt’s Aswan Dam. The 1959 Agreement with the Sudan allocated Egypt 55.5 km3 per year of water from the Nile River. To drive economic growth, Egypt built the Aswan Dam to provide water for irrigation and electricity generation. Yet, forced to store water in a hot and arid plain, the dam’s reservoir, Lake Nasser, loses between 6–13 km3 and 10–16 km3 of water through evaporation every year, which equates to approximately 20–30 percent of the stored water.