The Ganga Basin Management - The Ganga: Water Use in the Indian Subcontinent - page 240

Helsinki Rules

However, so far no clear-cut directions or conventions have emerged to deal with
water disputes, in spite of many organizations including legal associations, trying
to do so. The most important and effective of these are the Helsinki Rules on the
uses of waters of so-called 'international' rivers, adopted by the 'International Law
Association' in its 52nd session in 1966 in Helsinki. These rules have acknowl-
edged that the international river basins should be regulated by the rule of customary
international law.

Article - V states:

Each basin State is entitled, within its territory, to a reasonable and equitable share in the
beneficial uses of the waters of an international drainage basin.

What is 'a reasonable and equitable share' is to be determined in the light of all
relevant factors in each particular case. The factors to be considered for share of
water among co-riparian States, according to the Helsinki Rules, are:

• The geography of the basin, particularly the drainage area in each basin State;

• The hydrology of the basin including, in particular, the contribution of water by

each basin State;

•

The climate affecting the basin;

• Past utilization of the waters of the basin, particularly the existing utilization;

• Economic and social needs of each basin State;

• The population, dependent on the waters of the basin in each State;

• Comparative costs of alternative means of meeting economic and social needs of

each basin State;

• Availability of other resources;

• Avoidance of unnecessary waste in utilization of the waters of the basin;

• Practicability of compensation to one, or more, co-basin States to adjust conflicts

among users; and

• The degree to which the needs of a basin State may be satisfied without causing

substantial injury to a co-basin State.

The factors are not exhaustive and gave rise to controversy and dispute, as the
needs of various States in different periods varied widely from region to region.
For Europe, or the USA, for example, generation of hydro-power got priority, but
for under-developed countries like India and Bangladesh, irrigation overrode other
needs and uses.
The Article-II of Helsinki Rules defined 'International Drainage Basin' as 'An
International Drainage Basin is a geographical area, extending over two or more
States determined by the watershed limits of the system of waters, including surface
and underground waters, flowing into a common terminus'.
At Stockholm conference of the United Nations on the Human Environment in
1972, a principle, laid down was that,