McIntyre, Owen --- "A comparative analysis of the legal frameworks that govern Europe’s transboundary waters" [2015] ELECD 501; in Scholtz, Werner; Verschuuren, Jonathan (eds), "Regional Environmental Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015) 386

Book Title: Regional Environmental Law

Editor(s): Scholtz, Werner; Verschuuren, Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781951774

Section: Chapter 14

Section Title: A comparative analysis of the legal frameworks that govern Europe’s transboundary waters

Author(s): McIntyre, Owen

Number of pages: 31

Abstract/Description:

Transboundary waters are of considerable importance in the European region and their sustainable management requires a high degree of inter-State cooperation. There are a total of 69 international river basins in the region, of which 28 lie solely within the borders of the EU, while a further 29 are shared between EU and non-EU States. To illustrate the range and complexity of these shared basins, the Danube basin is shared by 17 States and covers a total area of 790,100 km², while 39 basins are shared between only two States. In addition, there are around 69 aquifers throughout Europe, many of which are inevitably transboundary. The European region has a very long and rich legacy of inter-State cooperation over transboundary waters, with many of the earliest treaties on issues such as riverine navigation, fisheries and irrigation, as well as a history of legal disputes ending in judicial or arbitral settlement. It is not surprising, therefore, that the utilisation and environmental protection of Europe’s transboundary water resources are governed by a complex web of legal frameworks working at a range of levels of administration – international and transnational, European Union and national. Neither should one be surprised that European practice in relation to transboundary water management makes a hugely significant contribution to the development and normativisation of key principles of good water governance essential for the sustainable management of shared water resources.