Abstract
As one of the largest man-made structures, damming dates back thousands of years. Even though dams are important for providing drinking water, irrigation, hydroelectric power, and economic and social development, their irreparable environmental impacts on peripheral states should not be ignored. Due to the lack of clear and specific regulations regarding the international obligations of States in the damming process, a large number of states, including Turkey, have been able to construct numerous dams with the aid of the doctrine of absolute territorial sovereignty because of the absence of clear and specific regulations. Consequently, water resources have been reduced, droughts have occurred, populations have migrated, and dust storms have emerged in neighboring countries, leading to international disputes. Through a descriptive-analytic approach, this study addresses the legal events of dam construction, such as the Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project, Canada-United states lake Ontario (Gut) Dam Project, Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi (GAP) Dam Project, Kajaki Dam, and Doosti Dam, and by considering these events, the chapter attempts to clarify the rules governing the construction of dams by nations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
A unilateral diversion of the Danube by Czechoslovakia on its territory called Variant C.
References
Ahmadzai, S., & McKinna, A. (2018). Afghanistan electrical energy and trans-boundary water systems analyses: Challenges and opportunities. Energy Reports, 4, 435–469.
Alam, S., Atapattu, S., Gonzalez, C. G., & Razzaque, J. (Eds.). (2015). International environmental law and the global south. Cambridge University Press.
Al-Muqdadi, S. W. (2019). Develo** strategy for water conflict management and transformation at Euphrates–Tigris basin. Water, 11(10), 2037.
Atapattu, S. (2007). Emerging principles of international environmental law. Brill.
Behnassi, M., & McGlade, K. (Eds.). (2017). Environmental change and human security in Africa and the Middle East (pp. 1–353). Springer International Publishing.
Berga, L., Buil, J. M., Bofill, E., De Cea, J. C., Perez, J. G., Mañueco, G., et al. (Eds.). (2006). Dams and reservoirs, societies and environment in the 21st century. Taylor & Francis.
Bergesen, H. O., Parmann, G., & Thommessen, Q. B. (2018). Convention on the protection and use of transboundary watercourses and international lakes. In Yearbook of international cooperation on environment and development 1998–99 (pp. 176–177). Routledge.
Bosshard, P. (2010). The dam industry, the world commission on dams and the HSAF process. Water Alternatives, 3(2), 58–70.
Bradnock, R. W. (2015). The Routledge atlas of south Asian affairs. Routledge.
Brennan, S., & Herzog, M. (2014). Turkey and the politics of national identity: Social, economic and cultural transformation. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Bridgewater, P., & Kim, R. E. (2021). The Ramsar convention on wetlands at 50. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5(3), 268–270.
Byrne, E., Sage, C., & Mullally, G. (2017). Transdisciplinarity within the university: Emergent possibilities, opportunities, challenges and constraints. In Transdisciplinary perspectives on transitions to sustainability (pp. 237–243). Routledge.
Cornelisse, P. A., & Versluis, J. (2013). Education in develo** countries: Rotterdam, 18–20 November 1963. Springer.
De Sadeleer, N. (Ed.). (2012). Implementing the precautionary principle: Approaches from the Nordic countries, EU and USA. Routledge.
De Sadeleer, N. (2020). Environmental principles: From political slogans to legal rules. Oxford University Press.
Dekker, I. F., & Hey, E. (Eds.). (2011). Netherlands yearbook of international law volume 41, 2010: Necessity across international law (Vol. 41). Springer Science & Business Media.
Dupuy, P. M., & Viñuales, J. E. (2018). International environmental law. Cambridge University Press.
Ghosh, N., & Modak, S. (2021). What governance lesson does Mekong bear for Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) basin? Journal of Asian Economic Integration, 3(2), 211–234.
Hayat, S., Gupta, J., Vegelin, C., & Jamali, H. (2022). A review of hydro-hegemony and transboundary water governance. Water Policy, 24(11), 1723–1740.
Issar, A. S. (2010). Progressive development by greening the deserts, to mitigate global warming and provide new land and income resources. In Progressive development (pp. 37–42). Springer.
Jones, J. A. A. (2009). Threats to global water security: Population growth, terrorism, climate change, or commercialisation? In Threats to global water security (pp. 3–13). Springer.
Kasimbazi, E., & Bamwine, F. (2021). Resolving the grand Ethiopian renaissance dam conflict through the African union nexus approach. In Nile and grand Ethiopian renaissance dam: Past, present and future (pp. 61–78). Springer International Publishing.
Kaya, I. (2003). Equitable utilization: The law of non-navigational uses of international watercourses. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Kolars, J. F., & Mitchell, W. A. (1991). The Euphrates river and the Southeast Anatolia development project. SIU Press.
Kotkasaari, T. (2008). Transboundary cooperation between Finland and its neighbouring countries. In Management of transboundary rivers and lakes (pp. 123–141). Springer.
Kuokkanen, T., Couzens, E., Honkonen, T., & Lewis, M. (2016). International environmental law-making and diplomacy. Taylor & Francis.
Larsson, M. L. (Ed.). (1999). The law of environmental damage: Liability and reparation (Vol. 1). MartinusNijhoff Publishers.
Loures, F., & Rieu-Clarke, A. (2013). The UN watercourses convention in force. Strengthening international law for transboundary water. Management.
Lyster, R., & Bradbrook, A. (2006). Energy law and the environment. Cambridge University Press.
Manton, R. (2016). Necessity in international law (Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford).
McIntyre, O. (2016). Environmental protection of international watercourses under international law. Routledge.
Mianabadi, H., Alioghli, S., & Morid, S. (2021). Quantitative evaluation of ‘no-harm’ rule in international transboundary water law in the Helmand River basin. Journal of Hydrology, 599, 126368.
Mirzaei-Nodoushan, F., Bozorg-Haddad, O., & Loáiciga, H. A. (2022). Evaluation of cooperative and non-cooperative game theoretic approaches for water allocation of transboundary rivers. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 3991.
Mogomotsi, G. E., Mogomotsi, P. K., & Mosepele, K. (2020). Legal aspects of transboundary water management: An analysis of the intergovernmental institutional arrangements in the Okavango River basin. Leiden Journal of International Law, 33(2), 391–408.
Patel, B. (Ed.). (2014). The world court reference guide and case-law digest: Judgments, advisory opinions and orders of the international court of justice (2001–2010) and case-law digest (1992–2010). MartinusNijhoff Publishers.
Pearce, D., Barbier, E., & Markandya, A. (2013). Sustainable development: Economics and environment in the third world. Routledge.
Peng, F. L., Qiao, Y. K., Sabri, S., Atazadeh, B., & Rajabifard, A. (2021). A collaborative approach for urban underground space development toward sustainable development goals: Critical dimensions and future directions. Frontiers of Structural and Civil Engineering, 15(1), 20–45.
Rigi, H., & Warner, J. F. (2020). Two-level games on the trans-boundary river Indus: Obstacles to cooperation. Water Policy, 22(6), 972–990.
Rogers, P. P., Jalal, K. F., & Boyd, J. A. (2012). An introduction to sustainable development. Routledge.
Salman, S. M. (2007). The Helsinki rules, the UN watercourses convention and the Berlin rules: Perspectives on international water law. Water Resources Development, 23(4), 625–640.
Sands, P., & Peel, J. (2012). Principles of international environmental law. Cambridge University Press.
Skinner, G., Crafer, K., Turner, M., Stacey, J., & Skinner, A. (2017). Cambridge IGCSE® and O level environmental management Coursebook. Cambridge University Press.
Steadman, S. R., & McMahon, G. (Eds.). (2011). The Oxford handbook of ancient Anatolia: (10,000–323 BCE). Oxford University Press.
Stefano, M. L., & Davis, P. (2017). The Routledge companion to intangible cultural heritage (p. 526). Taylor & Francis.
Tanzi, A. M. (2020). The inter-relationship between no harm, equitable and reasonable utilisation and cooperation under international water law. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 20, 619–629.
Verheyen, R. (2005). Climate change damage and international law: Prevention duties and state responsibility. Brill.
Wehling, P. (2020). Nile water rights: An international law perspective. Springer.
Wieland, M., Ren, Q., & Tan, J. S. (Eds.). (2014). New developments in dam engineering: Proceedings of the 4th international conference on dam engineering, 18–20 October, Nan**g. CRC Press.
Williams, B. G. (2011). Afghanistan declassified: A guide to America’s longest war. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Zhao, Y., **ong, X., Wu, S., & Zhang, K. (2022). Protection of prior and late developers of transboundary water resources in international treaty practices: A review of 416 international water agreements. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 22, 1–28.
Zimmermann, A., Tams, C. J., Oellers-Frahm, K., & Tomuschat, C. (Eds.). (2019). The statute of the international court of justice: A commentary. Oxford University Press.
Disclaimer
The views and/or claims/ or data expressed in this chapter are solely authors’ own or based on literature survey and are not necessarily linked with their affiliations, editors of the book, reviewers of the chapter or the publisher.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Norouzi, N. (2023). International Water Law Where World Needs Ecopolitics Most: A Study of the Framework of States’ Right to Exploit Transboundary Water Resources via Dam Construction. In: Tripathi, S., Bhadouria, R., Singh, R., Srivastava, P., Devi, R.S. (eds) Eco-Politics and Global Climate Change. Environment & Policy, vol 65. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48098-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48098-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-48097-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-48098-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)