 |
International waters
Totally Explained
|
|  |
|
NEW! |
All the latest news in the worlds of
computer gaming,
entertainment,
the environment,
finance,
health,
politics,
science,
stocks & shares,
technology
and much,
much,
more.
|
Everything about International Waters totally explained
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems ( aquifers), and wetlands (External Link ).
Oceans, seas, and waters outside of national jurisdiction are also referred to as the high seas or, in Latin, mare liberum.
Ships sailing the high seas are generally under the jurisdiction of the flag state, although in cases of piracy or slave trade, any nation can exercise jurisdiction under the doctrine of hostis humani generis.
International waterways
Several international treaties have established freedom of navigation on semi-enclosed seas.
Other international treaties have opened up rivers, which are not traditionally international waterways.
The Danube River has been internationalized so that landlocked Austria, Hungary and former Czechoslovakia (now only Slovakia has access to the Danube), and southern Germany (Germany itself isn't landlocked, having access to both the North Sea and Baltic Sea) could have secure access to the Black Sea.
Links and references
International waters agreements
Global agreements
International Freshwater Treaties Database (freshwater only).
The Yearbook of International Cooperation on Environment and Development profiles agreements regarding the Marine Environment, Marine Living Resources and Freshwater Resources.
1972 London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter ((External Link))
1973 London International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 MARPOL
1984 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (LOS)
1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (CIW) - not ratified
Transboundary Groundwater Treaty, Bellagio Draft - proposed, but not signed
Other global conventions and treaties with implications for International Waters:
Regional agreements
At least ten conventions are included within the Regional Seas Program of UNEP, including:
the Atlantic Coast of West and Central Africa (Abidjan Convention, 1984);
the North-East Pacific (Antigua Convention);
the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention);
the wider Caribbean (Cartagena Convention);
the South-East Pacific (Lima Convention, 1986);
the South Pacific (Noumea Convention);
the East African seaboard (Nairobi Convention, 1985);
the Kuwait region (Kuwait Convention);
the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (Jeddah Convention).
Addressing regional freshwater issues is the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE/Helsinki Water Convention)
Water body-specific agreements
Baltic Sea (Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Baltic Sea Area, 1992)
Black Sea (Bucharest Convention,1992), see also the Black Sea Commission;
Caspian Sea (Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea, 2003)
Lake Tanganyika (Convention for the Sustainable Management of Lake Tanganyika, 2003)
International waters institutions
Freshwater institutions
The UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
The International Joint Commission between Canada and USA (IJC-CMI)
The International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO)
The International Shared Aquifer Resource Management (ISARM) project
The International Water Boundary Commission between Mexico and USA (IWBC, US Section)
The International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
The World Conservation Union Water and Nature Initiative (WANI)
Marine institutions
The International Maritime Organization (IMO)
The UNEP Regional Seas Programme
The UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
The International Ocean Institute (IOI)
The World Conservation Union Global Marine Program (GMP)
International waters resources on the web
Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library
The GEF International Waters Resource Centre (GEF IWRC)
The Integrated Management of Transboundary Waters in Europe (TransCat)
The International Water Law Project
The International Water Resources Association (IWRA)
FAO
The UNDP-GEF article describing international waters,(External Link) from which this article has been adapted.
UNEP freshwater thematic portal on transboundary waters
UNESCO thematic portals for oceans, water, coasts and small islands
WaterWiki: A new Wiki-based on-line knowledge map and collaboration tool for Water-practitioners in the Europe & CIS regionFurther Information
Get more info on 'International Waters'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://international_waters.totallyexplained.com">International waters Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
|
|
