The principle of integration is the backbone of sustainable development, yet its practical application remains elusive. How can States integrate the economic, social and environmental dimensions in the governance of common goods? This book seeks to address this question by examining a particularly sensitive domain of cooperation: the international watercourses. From the Mekong to the Senegal River and from the Great Lakes to the Danube, it analyses the legal and institutional instruments of nine international watercourse cooperation regimes to determine how the principle of integration is put into practice. This book finds that there are several instruments underutilised or entirely unused, offering potential opportunities for improvement.
Series Editors Preface
Acknowledgements
Acronyms
General Introduction
1 The Challenge of Integration to Achieve Sustainable Development in
International Law
2 Integration in the Context of the Cooperation on International
Watercourses: Object, Scope and Structure of the Book
3 Case Studies
Part 1: The Principle of Integration of the Economic, Social and
Environmental Dimensions and the Sustainable Governance of International
Watercourses
Introduction
1 The Integration of the Economic, Social and Environmental Dimensions of
Sustainable Development as a Norm
1 The Emergence of a Notion of Integration of the Economic, Social and
Environmental Dimensions of Sustainable Development
2 The Legal Nature of the Principle of Integration
3 The Normative Content of the Principle of Integration
2 The Principle of Integration and International Watercourse Cooperation
Frameworks
1 International Watercourses and Sustainable Development: Issues of Mutual
Concern
2 Drivers of the Application of the Principle of Integration in
International Watercourse Law
3 The Principle of Cooperation and Its Institutionalisation
3 The Principle of Integration and the Substantive Obligations of
International Watercourses Law
1 The Substantive Obligations
2 Internal Integration of Substantive Obligations as the Basis for Legal
Integration
4 The Principle of Integration in the Framework of the Procedural Obligations
Set by International Watercourse Law
1 The Procedural Obligations
2 External Integration of Substantive Obligations and Procedural Rules as
the Basis for Institutional Integration
Part 2: Mechanisms for the Legal Integration of the Economic, Social and
Environmental Dimensions in International Watercourse Regimes
Introduction
5 The Inclusion of a Mandate of Legal Integration in International Basin
Agreements
1 Indirect Inclusion of the Principle of Integration through Sustainable
Development as a Goal of International Basin Agreements
2 Direct Inclusion of the Principle of Integration in International Basin
Agreements
6 Legal Integration through Normative Integration Techniques:
Inter-Disciplinary Integration
1 Treaty References to Specific Norms Regulating a Dimension of Sustainable
Development: Inter-Treaty References
2 General Treaty References to Regimes Regulating a Dimension of Sustainable
Development: Inter-Regime References
3 Other Integrative Inter-Disciplinary Techniques
7 Legal Integration through Norms that Promote the Consideration of Economic,
Social and Environmental Values in the Application of International Basin
Agreements
1 The Inclusion of the Different Values of Sustainable Development in
International Basin Agreements: Intra-Treaty Integration
2 Integrative Principles Guiding the Implementation of International Basin
Agreements
3 The Use in International Basin Agreements of Integrative Approaches
Developed by Soft Law Instruments
8 Legal Integration through Mechanisms for the Resolution of International
Watercourse Disputes
1 Integration through Teleological Interpretation of Treaties
2 Integration through Interpretation of Evolutionary Terms
3 Integration through the Interpretation of Open-Textured Obligations
Part 3: Mechanisms of Institutional Integration of the Economic, Social and
Environmental Dimensions in International Watercourses Regimes
Introduction
9 Institutional Conditions for an Integrated Decision-Making Process
1 Conditions for International River Basin Organisations to Promote
Integration: Mandate and Capacity
2 Mechanisms for an Informed Decision-Making Process that Enable
Institutional Integration
3 Mechanisms for a Participatory Decision-Making Process that Enable
Institutional Integration
10 Institutional Integration in the Elaboration of an International Basin
Policy: Policy-Specific Integration
1 Methods for Informed Decision-Making Processes Regarding Public Policies
2 Involvement of Stakeholders in Policy Development
3 Integrated Policy Approaches
11 Institutional Integration in the Management of International River Basins:
Management-Specific Integration
1 Methods for Informed Management of International Watercourses
2 Involvement of Stakeholders for Integrated Management of International
Watercourses
3 Integrated Management Approaches
12 Institutional Integration in the Planning of Projects Affecting
International Watercourses: Project-Specific Integration
1 Methods for Informed Decision-Making at Project Level
2 Involvement of Stakeholder in Project Planning and Implementation
13 Final Conclusions
1 The Emergence, Content and Nature of the Principle of Integration
2 Recognition of the Principle of Integration in the Context of
International Watercourse Law
3 The Legal Integration of the Economic, Social and Environmental Dimensions
in the Context of International Watercourse Law
4 The Institutional Integration of the Economic, Social and Environmental
Dimensions in the Context of International Watercourse Law
5 The Contribution of the Principle of Integration to International
Environmental Law within the Context of International Watercourse Law
Bibliography
Treaties
Case Law
Index
Pol Pallàs Secall, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of International Public Law and International Relations at the University of Barcelona. His research focuses on emerging legal and institutional topics in Sustainable Development and International Watercourses Law.
