European Water Convention evolves to meet the transboundary water challenge

摘要

The 1992 Helsinki Water Convention has substantially succeeded in uniting the countries of the wider European region around a common set of principles as to how transboundary waters should be managed. Known in full as the UNECE Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, 35 countries across the region have ratified it, with the European Community also having done so. That is a significant achievement given that, of the 21 others in the region, around half are either islands, such as Malta, Cyprus and Iceland, cover a small area, such as Andorra, Monaco and San Marino, or are separated from the main body of the region, such as the US, Canada and Israel. And a common set of principles is surely needed, given the region includes more than 150 transboundary rivers, 50 major transboundary lakes, and more than 170 transboundary groundwater systems.