Water

Dams and Development E-Paper Contents

p. 55 of 74 BACK | NEXT Home Page of Dams and Development Foreword I. Why an e-paper on dams and development? II. Assessing options III. Participatory processes IV. Social impacts V. Environmental impacts VI. Benefit distribution VII. Dam safety and sustainability VIII. Existing projects IX. Improving governance Institutional reforms in the water sector Regional cooperation Mechanisms to encourage compliance Reducing corruption What do ADB policies say? X. What other organizations say XI. ADB, Dams, and Development XII. References Contact Us

Regional Cooperation

Promoting regional cooperation is one of the seven principle elements of ADB's Water Policy. Although the field of international law provides some guidance on principles of 'equitable and reasonable utilization' and causing 'no significant harm', these instruments have not yet entered into force. Cooperation therefore relies on treaty negotiations between the two or more countries involved, although there are few examples in Asia.

Guidance and examples are provided by:

International law:

• 1966 Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the Waters of International Rivers
• 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses
• 2004 Berlin Rules on Water Resources of the International Law Association (replaces Helsinki Rules)

Some examples of regional agreements in Asia that govern the planning and management of water resources including dam projects are:

• 1960 Indus Accord (India and Pakistan)
• 1991 Water Sharing Agreement (States of Pakistan)
• 1995 Mekong River Basin Agreement and Water Utilization Programme (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Viet Nam)
• 1996 Farakka Treaty (India and Bangladesh)
• 1998 Water and Energy Resources of the Syr Darya Basin (Kazakhstan, Kyrgz Republic, Uzbekistan)

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