International Law Review

International Law Review

The Legal System of Exploiting International Water Resources (Case Study: Harirud River)

Document Type : academic

Authors
Mohammad Ali Sharifi Kia 1
Ali Mashhadi 2
1 Ph.D. student, Faculty of International Law, School of Law , University of Qom, Iran, Qom.
2 Associate professor, faculty of law, university of Qom, Iran, Qom.
10.22066/cilamag.2024.2017781.2488
Abstract
Harirud river with an international nature is shared between Afghanistan, Iran and Turkmenistan and currently there is no treaty among these states regarding the division of its water resources. In recent years, after the construction of the Doosti Dam by Iran and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, as an upstream state is moving towards hydro-hegemonic policy in the region by building various dams which restrain and divert the water flow of this river in order to decrease the downstream countries’ water rights. On the other hand, due to the high importance of Harirud water resources for Iran, continuing this type of behavior by Afghanistan might cause conflicts and create security risks among these countries in the near future. Therefore, employing a descriptive-analytical approach, the study aims at examining the issue according to international legal documents in the field of sharing common water resources. Finally, the findings indicate that the best and most practical method for exploitation of Harirud water resources is based on the theory of limited territorial sovereignty and implementation of the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization of common water resources by Afghanistan, without causing significant harm to downstream states.
Keywords
Harirud River basin
Principle of Equitable and Reasonable Utilization
Principle of No Significant Harm
International Water Law
Sharing of Water Resources
Environmental Impact Assessment
Hydro-Hegemonic Policy

Subjects

  1. - Books

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    2. King, Mathew, and Sturtewagen, Benjamin. Making the Most of Afghanistan's River Basins: Opportunities for Regional Co-operation. New York: East-West Institute, 2010.
    3. McCaffrey, Stephen. The Law of International Watercourses: Non-Navigational Uses. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
    4. Mojtahed Zadeh, Pirouz. Boundary Politics and International Boundaries of Iran. Boca Raton, FL: Universal Publishers, 2006.
    5. Motaghi, Afshin, and Sadeghi, Musa. Political Geography of Waters with an Emphasis on Iran's Water Resources. Tehran: Jihad Academic Publishing Organization, 2013. (In Persian).
    6. Pishgahi Fard, Zahra. An Introduction to the Political Geography of the Seas with an Emphasis on the Waters of Iran. Tehran: Tehran University Press, 2004. (In Persian).

     

    - Articles

    1. Azami, Hadi. "Geopolitical Weight and Regional Power System - A Case Study: Southwest Asia." Geopolitical Quarterly 2, no. 3-4 (2006). (In Persian).
    2. Farshad Gohar, Nasser. "Legal System of International Rivers and Arvand River." Bureau of Political and International Studies, 1988. (In Persian).
    3. Farzampoor, Asghar, and Mohsen Ebrahimi Khoosefi. "Investigating the Effects of Water Regulation Programs of Neighboring Countries in Shared Border Basins on Iran." Development and Foresight Research Center, 2018. (In Persian).
    4. Flemme, Maria. "Due Diligence in International Law." Master’s thesis, Faculty of Law, University of Lund, 2004.
    5. Mashhadi, Ali, and Narges Akbari. "The Obligations of the States of the Harirud Basin in the Construction of Water Facilities." International Legal Journal 63 (2019). (In Persian).
    6. McCaffrey, Stephen. "International Water Law in the Anthropocene." Environmental Policy and Law 48, no. 3-4 (2018).
    7. Mian Abadi, Hojjat. "Political, Security and Legal Considerations in the Management of Border Rivers." International Relations Research Quarterly 1, no. 9 (2012). (In Persian).
    8. Mohammad Jani, Ismail, and Nazanin Yazdanian. "Analysis of the Water Crisis Situation in the State and Its Management Requirements." Trend Quarterly 21, no. 65-66 (2013). (In Persian).
    9. Nagheeby, Mohsen, Mahdi Piri, and Michael Faure. "The Legitimacy of Dam Development in International Watercourses: A Case Study of the Harirud River Basin." Transnational Environmental Law 8, no. 2 (2019).
    10. Paknejad, Hamidreza, and Ezzatullah Ezzati. "Hydropolitics of Transboundary Etrak River and Its Impact on Iran-Turkmenistan Relations." Geographical Perspective 6, no. 14 (2013). (In Persian).
    11. Ramezani Qawamabadi, Mohammad Hossein. "Looking at the Principle of Non-Harmful (Sustainable) Use of Land in International Environmental Law." Environmental Sciences 4, no. 4 (2016).
    12. Rashidinejad, Ahmad, Morad Kaviani Rad, and Afshin Motaghi Disfani. "The Ratio of Hydro-politic Relations with the Change of Hydro Hegemony Structure - A Case Study of the Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia." Geographical Studies Quarterly 30, no. 117 (2019). (In Persian).
    13. Salari, Asma. "Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment in International Environmental Law." Public Law Studies Quarterly 50, no. 4 (2020). (In Persian).
    14. ShahbazBeigian, Mohammad Reza, and Mahdi Mousavi Shafaei. "An Analysis of the Construction of the Salma Dam on the Transboundary Harirud River in Afghanistan." Strategic Research Center, Report No. 178 (2015). (In Persian).
    15. Tawfik, Rawia. "Reconsidering Counterhegemonic Dam Projects: The Case of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam." Water Policy, Official Journal of World Water Council (2016).
    16. Vick, Margarete. "The Law of International Waters: Reasonable Utilization." Chicago-Kent Journal of International and Comparative Law 12 (2012).
    17. Warner, Jeron, and Vincent Thomas. "Hydropolitics in the Harirud/Tejen River Basin: Afghanistan as Hydro-Hegemon?" Water International 40, no. 4 (2015).
    18. Warner, Jeron. "Mind the GAP - Working with Buzan: The Ilisu Dam as a Security Issue." SOAS Water Issues Study Group, School of Oriental and African Studies, King’s College, London, Occasional Paper 67 (2004).
    19. Yang, To. "The Emergence of the Environmental Impact Assessment Duty as a Global Legal Norm and General Principle of Law." Hastings Law Journal 70 (2019).
    20. Zeitoun, Mark, and Jeron Warner. "Hydro-Hegemony – A Framework for Analysis of Trans-Boundary Water Conflicts." Water Policy 8 (2006).

     

    - Documents

    1. Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Declaration). 1972.
    2. International Court of Justice. Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) and Construction of the Road along the San Juan River (Nicaragua v. Costa Rica), Judgment. 2015.
    3. International Court of Justice. Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary v. Slovakia), Judgment. I.C.J. Reports 1997.
    4. Permanent Court of International Justice. Judgment, Case Relating to the Territorial Jurisdiction of the International Commission of the River Oder (UK/Pol), Ser. A, No. 23, 1929.
    5. Rieu-Clarke, Allistair S. “A Survey of International Law Relating to Flood Management: Existing Practices and Future Prospects.” Natural Resources Journal 3 (2008).
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    8. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Water Allocation in Transboundary Basins: A Global Workshop on the Status and Good Practices, Geneva, Switzerland, October 16-17, 2017. Islamic Republic of Iran Ministry of Energy Joint Investment with Water Allocation: The Doosti Dam on the Tejen/Harirud River IR of Iran-Turkmenistan.

  • Receive Date 22 December 2023
  • Revise Date 17 August 2024
  • Accept Date 18 August 2024