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The terms international waters or transboundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water (or their drainage basins) transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems (aquifers), and wetlands *.

Oceans and seas, waters outside of national jurisdiction are also referred to as the High Seas or Mare liberum.

Ships sailing the high seas are generally under flag state jurisdiction. In the case of piracy or slave trade, any nation can exercise jurisdiction.

International waterways

Several international treaties have established freedom of navigation on semi-enclosed seas.

Protection of natural resources

Marine and freshwater systems, including surface waters and groundwater, constitute the world's water resources, which provide humanity with drinking water, sustenance, income, transportation routes and other amenities. Much of the Earth's water resources is shared by two or more countries (e.g., 261 international river basins comprise 45% of the earth's total land area; 70% of the world's 50 large marine ecosystems, where 95% of the world's fish are caught).

Poorly managed and uncoordinated human activities across sectors are threatening these shared water resources internationally and the livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them. Major threats include sea and land-based pollution, depletion of freshwater resources, habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and over-harvesting of biotic and abiotic aquatic resources.

Disputes over shared water resources have a long history.* Water has been used as a tool and weapon of conflict, access to water has been a source of dispute and contention, and major water development projects have led to violence and civil strife. As a number of international waters agreements demonstrate, shared waters can also be a source of cooperation. This is particularly evident today with the increase in the number of initiatives related to aquifers, lakes, rivers, coasts and ocean management regimes, as well as of international waters institutions committed to bilateral and/or multilateral management of transboundary water resources.

International waters are one of several focal areas for protection and restoration projects supported by the Global Environment Facility as well as bilateral and multilateral development agencies.

Links and References

International Waters Agreements

Global Agreements

Regional Agreements
At least ten conventions are included within the Regional Seas Program of UNEP, including:
  1. the Atlantic Coast of West and Central Africa (Abidjan Convention, 1984);
  2. the North-East Pacific (Antigua Convention);
  3. the Mediterranean (Barcelona Convention);
  4. the wider Caribbean (Cartagena Convention);
  5. the South-East Pacific (Lima Convention, 1986);
  6. the South Pacific (Noumea Convention);
  7. the East African seaboard (Nairobi Convention, 1985);
  8. the Kuwait region (Kuwait Convention);
  9. the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden (Jeddah Convention).

Addressing regional freshwater issues is the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (UNECE/Helsinki Water Convention)

Waterbody-Specific Agreements

International Waters Institutions

Freshwater Institutions

Marine Institutions

International Waters Resources on the Web

See also

Law of the sea

Dourioù etrebroadel | Hohe See | Haute mer | Открытое море | Internationellt vatten | 公海

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "International waters".

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