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

Introduction / 13 14 / International Watercourses Law and Its Application in South Asiastates in connection with the proposed project. 43 My workingexperience in this regard, particularly in the Nepalese context,is discussed below.1.5 Structure of the BookFollowing this introduction, Chapter Two deals with thedevelopment and codification of IWL. It evaluates statepractice, judicial pronouncements, and scholarly writings, inbilateral as well as in multilateral dimensions. Evolution ofthese principles, their far-reaching implications and criticalanalyses of these principles will be taken into consideration.Chapter Three deals with the concept of equity, itsdevelopment, the emerging concept of equitable utilisation inshared natural resources, and the jurisprudence of theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) and its predecessor thePermanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), in the area.The use of equitable utilisation in a shared natural resource hasbeen carried out to take account of the interests of all statesequally and without discrimination. It reconciles divergentneeds so as to ensure a fair deal. Apart from this, several courts,such as the ICJ, PCIJ and the decisions of numerous arbitrationtribunals and national courts in regard to the application ofequity and equitable sharing and utilisation, will be analysed.Chapter Four deals with IWL and its application in the Indo-Nepal context. In this chapter, Nepal’s past experience in waterprojects with her neighbour will be critically dealt with and43 D. Goldberg, "World Bank Policy on Projects on InternationalWaterways in the context of the International Law Commission" in G.H. Blake, W. H. Hildsley, M. A. Pratt, R. J. Ridley &H. Schofield(eds), The Peaceful Management of Transboundary Resources,Dordrecht: Graham & Troatmat/Martinus Nijhoff, 1995, pp 153-165:Bank's Operational Directives (OD) 7.50, an internal policy documentrequired consent from a riparian states on the proposed project in aninternational watercourses in order to provide lending by the Bank.Other donors have adopted the same approach.how other states are doing in similar circumstances will beassessed. Moreover, how other states resolve the issues, howconflicts are averted and co-operation achieved, and how theyinfluence the Nepalese issues will be evaluated.Chapter Five critically described the legality of India's RiverLinking Project (RLP), its national and international dimensionand its requirement to get rid from the recurring flood, droughtand famine phenomenon in India and Bangladesh. Chapter Sixwill be a conclusion based on the evaluation, assessment andthe critical analysis of the research. It also will presentconclusions drawn from all available materials, and suggest andidentify the discrepancies, anomalies and shortcomings of thepresent system and recommend a better way out for theresolution of conflicts in a reasonable, sustainable and equitableway. Implications of the research for the areas of human rights,the environment and IWL will be provided. The main theme ofthe book will be the application of equity to resolve issuespertaining to the allocation and uses of these resources.However, the application of equity is itself a complicated taskand there is no hard and fast rule on how it can apply to anyparticular watercourse. A critical analysis of its application andhow states have resolved conflicts in similar situations to thatof India and Nepal and other neighbours will be made. Acritical analysis of four principles of international water lawwill be provided, e.g., territorial sovereignty, territorialintegrity, prior appropriation and equitable utilisation. I haveselected equitable utilisation as the best rule for its wideracceptance by the international community.To sum up this chapter, it can be stated that the earth, natureand the existence of living beings is impossible withoutfreshwater and the fact is that the availability of water isuneven, scarce and finite. The total availability of freshwater