Legal Aspects of Sustainable Water Management

Legal Aspects of Sustainable Water Management

CISDL Legal Research Fellow Anna Russell co-authored a legal working paper on access to water and integrated water resource management, forming the basis for a very well-subscribed course for delegates to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development in 2005, New York, and Panel Event. UN Water has invited the CISDL to develop a ‘Guidance Note’ for countries seeking to draft and implement new laws on water management, and there is potential for a collaborative seminar and special issue on these questions with the Revue quebecoise de droit international. In 2006-2007, the CISDL developed a working paper for CIDA on Canada’s legal obligations in the area of international policy on water. This working paper led to the recommendation to organize a workshop to further investigate several key issues, such as obligations to act in accordance with regional agreements on water when conducting development work in developing countries, and international customary principles related to water, and a proposal is being submitted to CIDA to carry out this work.