Upreti, Trilochan, International Watercourses Law and Its Application ...

254 / International Watercourses Law and Its Application in South Asia Prospects and Problems of Nepalese Water Resources / 255outstanding problems existing between them, including theissue of augmenting dry season flow in the Ganga by divertingthe Brahamaputra through the Arun valley via Tibetan territory,which can be achieved with Nepal’s co-operation. 212A suitable model, particularly in the Indo-Nepalese sphere, isthe Columbia River Treaty arrangement between the USA andCanada, which is suggested as the ideal point of reference.Those benefits were shared, and the cost of the reservoir anddam construction, along with the submergence, displacementand rehabilitation cost, was paid by the United States. 213 It isargued that such co-operation can prevent confrontation, andthat the best way of resolving international water disputes is bynegotiation, and concluding agreements; even submitting adispute in a court or tribunal is not proven to be the best way. 214However, numerous instances have illustrated how theinvolvement of heads of state and governments has enabled theavoidance of conflicts and facilitated agreement in manycomplex and chronic issues between a weaker and a morepowerful state. President Echeverria of Mexico and PresidentNixon of the USA resolved the salinity problem on theColorado River, which was seen as most delicate problembetween the two countries, and it was politically difficult forthe USA to construct such a huge project at her own cost. 215212 Supra note 174. See H. L. Shrestha, “SAARC, China and Pan-AsianUnity” in U. Gautam (ed), South Asia and China: Towards Inter-Regional Cooperation, Kathmandu: China Study Centre, (2003), p. 59.213 L. Teclaff, “Harmonizing Water Use and Development WithEnvironmental Protection” in A. Utton & L. Teclaff (eds), Water in theDeveloping World: The Management of a Critical Resources,Colorado: Westview Press, 1978, pp. 104-105.214 B. R. Chauhan, Settlement of International Water Law Disputes inInternational Drainage Basins, Berlin: Eric Schmidt Verlag, 1981, p.463.215 Supra note 210, p. 160.The current Indian Prime Minister, A. B. Bajpayee, is nowdirectly involved in ending the bitter relations of the pastbetween his country and Pakistan, replacing them with a goodneighbourly relationship. A similar, dynamic approach needs tobe adopted in the case of Nepal.According to the current energy trends, India has enough fossilfuel reserves for forty years, Bangladesh for thirty years andPakistan for about twenty years. After these periods haveelapsed, each country will be compelled to turn to waterresources. 216 The co-operation between Bhutan and India showsthat both states are accruing tremendous benefits; the sameapproach is proving successful in the Mekong Basin, in whichThailand guaranteed a loan on behalf of Laos from the worldcapital market, and provided some amount in advance for thepurchase of the hydropower which is being developed. Laos iscommissioning these projects purely for export purposes, forwhich a regional grid has been already constructed to deliverthe hydropower to Thailand. This regional grid was constructedby the Mekong Commission, with the money being provided bythe WB and the UNDP. 217 There are other similar models: suchas Itaipu (Paraguay and Brazil) and Yacerata (Paraguay andArgentina). In both examples, the money was borrowed fromthe world market (the WB and the Latin American Bank), forwhich Brazil and Argentina have provided a sovereign guarantyfor Paraguay. Moreover, each project started with a capitalinvestment of US$ 100 million, for which each country lentParaguay its share of the initial capital of US$ 50 million under216 R. D. Joshi, "Nepali Hydropower and Regional Energy Needs” (1994)in 4 Water Nepal, p. 156.217 P. Chomchai, “Management of Tranboundary Water Resources: ACase Study of the Mekong” in M. I. (ed), The United Nations at Work,Westport, CT: Praeger, 1998, pp. 254-255.