INF5 Draft Handbook on Water Allocation in a Transboundary
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ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/INF.5-ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/INF.5 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management Sixteenth meeting Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment Sixteenth meeting Geneva, 26 April–28 April 2021 Item 7 (b) of the provisional agenda Supporting equitable and sustainable water allocation in a transboundary context Draft handbook on water allocation in a transboundary context Prepared by the secretariat in cooperation with the lead Party Summary At its eight session (Nur-Sultan, 10-12 October 2021), the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention) decided to develop a handbook on transboundary water allocation, based on existing practices covering the key aspects of equitable and sustainable allocation of water in the transboundary context, addressing both surface waters and groundwaters, and also environmental flows (programme area 3, activity 3.3). The development of the Handbook started in 2019 and has been supported by an Expert Group of approximately 40 experts in water allocation from across the world seeking balanced geographical, sectoral and technical representation from countries, river basin organisations, inter-governmental organisations, non-government organisations, academic etc. The Group has provided guidance and oversight on the structure, substantive content and illustrative case studies. The Group met three times (Geneva, 21 October 2019, and virtually on 30-31 March and 20-21 October 2020) and was consulted throughout the development process in order to suggest structural and substantive elements, review drafted content and provide feedback. An annotated outline of the handbook on water allocation in a transboundary context (ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2020/INF.5) was presented at the fifteenth meeting of the Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management (Geneva, 30 September–2 October 2020). The present document contains the first full draft of the handbook. Its main messages (see part III) are also presented in the official document entitled “Main messages of the draft handbook on water allocation in a transboundary context” (ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/7−ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/7). Illustrative case studies from around the world have been selected to highlight diverse transboundary allocation practices, challenges and lessons learned. Transboundary case studies are a unique feature of the Handbook. Many have 1 ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/INF.5-ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/INF.5 been developed and/or are in the process of being reviewed by representatives of the relevant riparian states, river basin organisations and any other relevant parties as part of the drafting process. A number of regional events and sessions in transboundary water cooperation workshops have been held to discuss the Handbook, including relevant case studies, and gain feedback. A dedicated session on water allocation was held in the ‘Regional workshop: Enhancing transboundary water cooperation in the MENA region: progress, challenges and opportunities’ on 3-4 March 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon. A virtual ‘Regional workshop on equitable and sustainable water allocation – Sharing experiences on transboundary water allocation and water scarcity’ focused on European Union countries, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe was held on 5-6 October 2020. A parallel regional project on transboundary water allocation, covering 10 countries in and around Central Asia, was implemented by the International Water Assessment Centre in Kazakhstan with key outcomes and selected case studies linked directly to the global Handbook for integration where appropriate. As part of this process, the following meetings were held: a ‘Technical meeting of experts on water allocation and environmental flow Assessment in the transboundary context’ (Nur-Sultan, 12-13 December 2019); a virtual online ‘E-Meeting of Experts on Water Allocation and Environmental Flow Assessment’ (15 May 2020); and a virtual online ‘Regional meeting on water allocation and environmental flow assessment in a transboundary context’ (22-23 September 2020). The Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management and the Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment will be informed about the aim and contents of the draft Handbook, status of its preparation and the next steps in finalising the draft Handbook for submission to the ninth Meeting of the Parties, including the deadline for submitting feedback on the draft Handbook (21 May 2021). The Working Groups are invited to review and comment on the text in the present document including the “Main messages of the draft handbook on water allocation in a transboundary context” presented in official document ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/7−ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/7. The Working Groups are then invited to entrust the secretariat, in consultation with the lead country Hungary and the Expert Group, with the task of integrating comments, editing and finalizing the main messages and the full draft of the handbook on water allocation in a transboundary context, and preparing the final version for adoption at the ninth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention (29 September–1 October 2021). 2 ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/INF.5-ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/INF.5 DRAFT HANDBOOK FOR REVIEW & FEEDBACK DEADLINE FOR FEEDBACK • 21 May 2021 LANGUAGE VERSIONS • The draft Handbook is currently available in English. • The draft Handbook is in the process of being translated into French, Russian and Spanish. Once these versions are available they will be circulated and a deadline given. PROVIDING FEEDBACK & INSTRUCTIONS • Please submit your feedback in the MS Word document of the full draft. o Please use track changes to note any edits. o Please use comment boxes for suggestions or requests. o Please be as specific and constructive as possible. • Please submit all written feedback or questions directly to [email protected] • This is a draft and is not the final version. This draft is being made available for comments and will be revised after reviewing feedback. It should not yet be shared or cited . • Some place-holders have been included for case studies that are intended for inclusion but require some extra time to finalise the wording of the text. • While every effort has been made to include at present the accurate sources, cross-references and weblinks within the text and footnotes, please note that some sources and cross- references will be clarified / adjusted / inserted in later versions once the revised text is settled. • To utilize the interactive table of contents of the Draft Handbook, please do the following: o Click on “View” from the MS Word document top menu; o Tick the box for “Navigation Pane” under “Show”; o The “Navigation” pane will open alongside the Draft Handbook pages; o Click on any heading arrows to open all sub-headings; o Click on any of the Part, Chapter, Section or Sub-section headings to automatically be taken to that page within the Draft Handbook; o To collapse the contents, click again on the heading arrows to close any Parts, Chapters or Sections. 3 ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/INF.5-ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/INF.5 4 ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/INF.5-ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/INF.5 DRAFT HANDBOOK ON WATER ALLOCATION IN A TRANSBOUNDARY CONTEXT 5 ECE/MP.WAT/WG.1/2021/INF.5-ECE/MP.WAT/WG.2/2021/INF.5 PART 1 - FOUNDATIONS CHAPTER I: Introduction to Transboundary Water Allocation and the Global Handbook SUMMARY: This chapter describes the rationale of water allocation in a transboundary context. It sets up the Handbook by interrogating the central question: why and how is water allocation applied in transboundary basins, including surface and groundwater? The role, relevance, aims and limitations of allocation under changing circumstances and finite water resources are outlined. Finally, the Handbook’s purpose, audience, process of development under the Water Convention, content and usability are also described. 1) Water Allocation in a Transboundary Context A) Water Allocation across Borders in an Era of Changing Circumstances The question of how freshwater resources are allocated is becoming of increasing relevance to water managers today. Demand for water is growing globally. Factors including population growth, economic development and changing consumption patterns are driving this demand. At the same time, availability of water is increasingly limited by growing pressures such as water scarcity, deteriorating water quality, ecosystem degradation and climate change that further exacerbates the situation in many already water-stressed basins.1 Reserving water for environmental flow, Indigenous groups and ecosystem requirements is increasingly seen as a prerequisite for overall viability of water resources systems.2 The question of allocation is especially heightened in transboundary contexts. Over 60% of freshwater resources globally cross national boundaries, including 310 transboundary rivers and 592 transboundary aquifers.3 Many of these shared basins are vulnerable to the effects of climate change and other growing pressures. Water scarcity, contested infrastructure developments such as hydropower dams and increasing demand for, and competition over, shared water resources are all separate, but often interlinked, factors that have been leading to growing tensions in transboundary basins around the world. Where adaptivity of the existing water management arrangements is low, this can exacerbate any issues. In turn, this can compound the difficulties of states reaching peaceful settlements on water sharing in both the short, medium and long- term future.4 Many of the current transboundary water allocation regimes rely on historical usage patterns. Some may require adjustment in light of changing circumstances. In parallel, establishing new allocation arrangements 1 UNESCO, UN-Water, 2020: United Nations World Water Development Report 2020:Water and Climate Change, Paris, UNESCO. Available at: https://en.unesco.org/themes/water-security/wwap/wwdr/2020 2 Arthington, A.