Freshwater Management: An Approach to Address the 21st Century Water Crisis

This paper is written with the object to address the issue of freshwater management, as it is pivot for the 21st century, to survive and sustain for generations to come. However, the issue is vast and cannot be addressed in isolation, thus all the relevant components are accumulated together to address the problem and find an amicable solution. Furthermore the paper is concerned to arrange the various components of environment together, as they are interdependent and from sustainable point of view, inseparable to be dealt in isolation. Therefore this paper will promote the approach of cooperation among the available legal instruments, treaties, conventions, as well as the separate and joint efforts of the states. Additionally, it will analyse, how the joint efforts of the above mentioned instruments will be utilized to their maximum potential, to deal with the water crises world is facing today.

Water is most viable component of life. Earth need freshwater to survive; and it’s beyond our capacity to create or substitute. Thus the only remedy left with us, as a citizen of Earth: is to use the available quantity wisely, replenish the remaining and improvise the quality of water left at our disposal. Though it’s a huge step forward, but it could be addressed with the collaborative efforts of the Convention on biological diversity, the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Ramsar Convention as suggested by the CBD technical Series No 40. Furthermore the use of the vary potential of the available conventions, their expertise and worldwide membership can address the issue with potential impact. Evidently the later development of the joint efforts of these conventions will encourage the universal implementation of the international water conventions: which is believed to be the future of water law. Additionally the UN Watercourses Convention, the Convention on the Protection and use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE Watercourse Convention) are equipped with the principles of international environmental laws making it easier for the world to abide by such well established principles. Therefore they are proposed to address the 21st century water crisis in the light of this technical series no 40 issued by the CBD by means of this paper.