International Watercourses Law and Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Yang Liu, Ph.D. (2020), graduated from the Faculty of Law and Criminology, Ghent University, and is a postdoctoral fellow at the International Water Law Academy, China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies (CIBOS), Wuhan University.

Acknowledgment

List of Tables

Abbreviations



1 Introduction

 1 Problem-Setting

 2 Coherence between IWL and MEAs: Anchoring within Article of the Watercourses Convention

 3 Use of Terms

 4 Research Methodology and Structure



2 Normative Coherence: Conceptualizing the Ecosystems of Shared Inland Waters

 1 Clarifying “Shared Inland Waters” under IWL

 2 Defining “Ecosystems” of Shared Inland Waters

 3 Interpreting Ecosystems of Shared Inland Waters in the Context of MEAs

 4 Concluding Remarks



3 Normative Coherence of Parallel Substantive Obligations in IWL and MEAs: a Legal Analytical Approach

 1 Parallel Obligations for the Protection and Preservation of Ecosystems of Watercourses

 2 Limitations on the Uses of Shared Inland Waters, Wetlands, and Biodiversity

 3 Parallel Obligations for the Prevention of Transboundary Harm

 4 Concluding Remarks: Cross-Fertilization of the Substantive Obligations



4 Implementation Coherence: Bridging Parallel Procedural Obligations in IWL and MEAs

 1 Duty to Cooperate for the Protection and Preservation of Shared Inland Waters Ecosystems

 2 Promoting Synergies in Data and Information Exchange

 3 Absence of Transboundary EIA

 4 Prior Notification of Planned Measures

 5 Consultation and Negotiation on Planned Measures

 6 Compliance Mechanisms

 7 Peaceful Settlement of Disputes

 8 Cross-Fertilization of Parallel Procedural Obligations



5 Implementation Coherence through Cooperation between RBOs and Treaty Bodies of the Ramsar and Biodiversity Conventions

 1 RBOs and MEA Treaty Bodies

 2 Institutional Cooperation for the Protection and Preservation of Ecosystems of Shared Inland Waters

 3 Public Involvement for the Protection and Preservation of the Ecosystems of Shared Inland Waters

 4 Institutional Cooperation: Promoting Inter-state Cooperation on the Protection and Preservation of the Ecosystems of Shared Inland Waters



6 Operationalization: Ecosystem Protection and Preservation of the Lancang-Mekong River Basin

 1 Setting the Context: Practical and Legal Problems

 2 Cross-Fertilization of Parallel Substantive Obligations in the Basin-Level Legal Regime and MEAs

 3 Cross-Fertilization of Parallel Procedural Obligations in the Basin-Level Legal Regime and MEAs

 4 Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation

 5 Insufficient Legal Basis for Public Involvement

 6 LMRB States’ Compliance with Basin-Level and International Legal Regimes

 7 Consultation or Negotiation for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes

 8 Observations and Remarks



7 Convergence: Cross-Fertilization of IWL and MEAs

 1 Supplementary Roles of MEAs: Strengths and Weakness

 2 China’s Practice as a Good Example



Bibliography

Index