United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses 1997 United Nations Convention on the Law of International Watercourses 1997

Nearly half of the world’s population lives in river and lake basins that embrace two or more countries, while almost the entire population lives in countries that share water basins. The increasing awareness among States of the finiteness of fresh water resources, together with the increasing needs linked to the dramatic growth of the population, has prompted the general recognition of the compelling necessity for a global legal framework regulating competing water uses and ensuring a sustainable management of shared watercourses. This led to the adoption, in 1997, of the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses, entered into force on August 17, 2014.1 This international instrument, whose scope covers the uses of watercourses other than navigation, aims to strike a balance between equitable use of the rivers by riparian States, growing human needs and the environmental protection of the riverine ecosystems.