Magsig International Water Law and the Quest for Common Security

1. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-317-59678-3
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 222 Seiten

Reihe: Earthscan Studies in Water Resource Management

The world’s freshwater supplies are increasingly threatened by rapidly increasing demand and the impacts of global climate change, but current approaches to transboundary water management are unsustainable and may threaten future global stability and international security. The absence of law in attempts to address this issue highlights the necessity for further understanding from the legal perspective.

This book provides a fresh conceptualisation of water security, developing an operational methodology for identifying the four core elements of water security which must be addressed by international law: availability; access; adaptability; and ambit. The analysis of the legal framework of transboundary freshwater management based on this contemporary understanding of water security reveals the challenges and shortcomings of the current legal regime. In order to address these shortcomings, the present mindset of prevailing rigidity and state-centrism is challenged by examining how international legal instruments could be crafted to advance a more flexible and common approach towards transboundary water interaction.

The concept of considering water security as a matter of ‘regional common concern’ is introduced to help international law play a more prominent role in addressing the challenges of global water insecurity. Ways for implementing such an approach are proposed and analysed by looking at international hydropolitics in Himalayan Asia. The book analyses transboundary water interaction as a ‘case study’ for advancing public international law in order to fulfil its responsibility of promoting international peace and security.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Magsig, Bjørn-Oliver

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Energierecht

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction

1.1. Life in the Anthropocene: The Disrespect for Planetary Boundaries

1.2. Water: The Gossamer Linking a Whole Web of Securities

1.3. The Relevance of International Law in Addressing Water Insecurity

1.4 Purpose, Research Question and Outline of the Book

2. Water Security: Conceptualising a Buzzword

2.1. The Changing Perception of Security

2.2. The Securitisation of Water

2.3. Water Security through a Legal Lens

3. International Law in the Water Security Discourse

3.1. The Core Elements of Water Security

3.2. The Current Framework of International Freshwater Regimes

3.3. Water Security as a Challenge to International Law

4. Hydrosolidarity: The Answer to State-Centrism?

4.1. Hydrosolidarity

4.2. The Role of International Law in Overcoming ‘(Hydro)Egoism’

4.3. Conclusion

5. Regional Common Concern: The Legal Foundation for Common Water Security

5.1. The Changing Landscape of International Law

5.2. Natural Resources and the Concept of Communality in International Law

5.3. Regional Common Concern as the Legal Foundation of Water Security

5.4. How to Materialise Regional Common Concern

5.5. Conclusion

6. Water Security in Himalayan Asia

6.1. The Particularities of the Region

6.2. The Rise of Two Global Powerhouses

6.3. International Water Law and Himalayan Water Security

6.4. A Regional Legal Framework for Water Security?

7. Conclusion

7.1. The Contribution of the 4A Operational Methodology

7.2. Water Security and the Future of International Law

7.3. A Research Agenda for International Water Security

Über Autor(innen)

Bjørn-Oliver Magsig is a research fellow at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Environmental and Planning Law (Leipzig, Germany), focusing on international environmental law, water diplomacy, and the link between natural resources and international security. His research critically assesses the current legal regime of transboundary watercourses against the backdrop of regional security and instability and aims to contribute to the evolving body of public international law. Bjørn-Oliver has extensive project experience on law and transboundary river basins, serves on the Managing Board of the European Environmental Law Forum (EELF) and is a member of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law.