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

Introduction / 7 8 / International Watercourses Law and Its Application in South Asiaapplication of no harm rule for the North American contextinvolves discussion of pollution and analyses the failure of theno harm rule in disputes between the US and Canada. Theresearch will consider and evaluate the existing law on IWC,analyse issues of Nepal’s IWC and its link to regional issues,with the objective of assessing current obstacles and makingrecommendations for its resolution in the spirit of internationalwater law (IWL). However, the nature of the particularproblems facing Nepal and Bhutan are different from those ofother countries. From their point of view, the main problem isnot the lack of water but how to share and allocate the benefitsof these abundant water resources, with particular reference toIndia. Whereas, the issues of other riparian states i.e., India andBangladesh, are how to augment the water in the dry seasonand allocate it, and also how to avert and mitigate the affect offlooding in the monsoon season.Nepal has immense hydropower potential of 83,000 megawatts(MW). Apart from this, these waters can be used for severalpurposes simultaneously 27 e.g., drinking, irrigation,navigational, industrial and other uses. So far, little benefit, hasbeen taken 28 , that is to say, vast resources are still not beingtapped. The reasons for this are lack of capital, technology andriparian objections. The huge water resources available toNepal have not been beneficially utilised so far. Worse still, inrecent years considerable harm has occurred during the droughtand monsoon seasons not only in Nepal, but also in India andBangladesh, which have been severely affected by flooding,with huge loss of life and property. It is asserted, however, thatif arrangements could be made for the fully beneficial use ofthese resources by all states concerned, it would be a milestoneevent for both the alleviation of poverty and the development of27 National Planning Commission (NPC), "The Ninth Plan, 1999-2004”,Kathmandu: NPC, (1998), p. 458; also see B. G. Verghese, Waters ofHope, New Delhi: Oxford & IBH Pub., 1990, p. 337.28 Ibid. Less then 19% people have access to electricity, only 45%irrigation facility has been provided so far.infrastructure within all four of the member states of the SouthAsia Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). 29 Theadvantages identified so far, are flood control, increasedvolume of water for irrigation (downstream benefits),navigation, recreation and miscellaneous other benefits. 30Tremendous harm is caused annually by flooding 31 anddrought, which could be prevented by international cooperation,and the scenario could be reversed by adopting newmeasures for mitigating and averting flood water. Internationalco-operation on the use and sharing the immense benefits ofthese resources has been duly acknowledged but divergence ofinterests, suspicion, distrust and non-cooperation have severelyprohibited such opportunities. There is a huge potential beingwasted, that could be utilised by co-operation. 32In order to fulfil the needs and aspirations of the people, use ofthese abundant resources is urgently required. It can only bechanged by the states themselves. In the past, few projects weredeveloped, and even these projects could not yield equitableand reasonable benefits to the parties. What is more,implementation of previous agreements was not carried out29 Ibid. p 393, there are four states Bhutan, Nepal, India and Bangladeshwithin the SAARC Quadrangle.30 Ibid. p 465.31 Staff, “Flood Havoc” , The Independent, 5 September 1988: the entirelandscape looked as if it had been hit by a brown snowstorm, with justa few village houses and same trees rising above it. One whole bank ofthe Ganges was completely submerged, which made the other side ofthe river appear to be the coastline” quoted by an observer. Also seestaff, “Flood in south Asia” The Guardian, 5 September 1988, 25million people were left homeless, more than a thousand died as adirect result of the floods, and three million tons of rice were lost. Onevillager, who had taken refuge on his roof, described other hardships;“I stay awake through the night to protect my children from deadlysnakes, which often climb on the roof.”32 B. Subba, Himalayan Waters, Kathmandu: Panos South Asia, 2001, p.225; also see S. P. Subedi, “Hydro-Diplomacy in South Asia: TheConclusion of the Mahakali and Ganges River Treaties” (1999) 93AJIL, pp. 953-962.