The Relevance and Role of Water Law in the Sustainable Development of Freshwater

Everyone lives downstream—except the water lawyers; they commute from Mars. Repeated statistics forecast imminent global water scarcity with disastrous consequences. International experts promote solutions based on sound economics, science, and enlightened and enhanced political commitment. Absent from the integrated water resources strategy are considerations of fundamental principles of water law—a serious shortcoming. The development and implementation of a comprehensive, forward-looking integrated water resources management scheme must include water law as an integral component. This is especially important in upstream/downstream situations where conflicts of water use are increasingly inevitable.