国際流域での水の分配をめぐる係争と協調

Abstract

An international water body has territories of more than one nation in its basin. Centuries-long conflicts among basin countries of some international water bodies have been recorded. As water resources become more precious resources for basin countries in the future, conflicts among basin countries are expected to intensify. Such renowned people as Former Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Gahli and King Hussein I of Jordan once hinted at the possibility of observing “water wars” in this century. This mainly stems from the fact that water resources are closely connected with the security of nations in the Middle East. Existing conflicts among basin countries in semi-arid and arid regions are likely to intensify. Traditionally, basin countries downstream of an international water body accuse basin countries in upstream areas of abusing shared water resources. While upstream countries seldom compromise with those downstream, traditional upstream-downstream relations are changing, with increasing interactions among basin countries in non-water sectors. This implies that agreements among upstream and downstream countries might be established in some international water bodies, in which relations among basin countries have been “conflictive” in the past with little hope of having an agreement. International organizations are expected to be instrumental in abating or resolving conflicts among basin countries in international water bodies, while international organizations might be more instrumental in elaborating a collaborative mechanism for riparian countries rather than serving as a mediator to solve conflicts among basin countries.