Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
The problems of the river basin development and their solutions, as stated ante,
are cited in the 1977 UN Report, prepared by Prof. I. K. Fox, Director of the West
Water Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Canada and his colleague,
Le Marquand.
International Organisations
Organizations, concerned with the development and management of international
water resources, are of two categories - river basin organizations and the global and
regional organisations.
River Basin Organizations
International organizations exist in many parts of the world to facilitate the man-
agement of 'international' rivers, lakes and other water-bodies. They perform many
functions with varying degree of authority and effectiveness in promoting coop-
erative action. Some of these organizations are the International Commission for
the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution, the Central Commission for the
Navigation on the Rhine, the Niger Commission, the Yugoslav-Greek Commission
for the Varder-Axios River, the Volta River Authority, the International Joint
Commission (IJC), set up by Canada and the United States for the Colorado, the
Columbia River Treaty, the International Columbia River Engineering Board, the
International Boundary and Water Commission, set up by Mexico and the United
States, the Mekong River Commission, set up by Lao, Thailand, Cambodia and
Vietnam, the Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) set up by India and Bangladesh and
the Indus River Commission set up by India and Pakistan etc.
According to the UN report by Prof. I. K. Fox, several conclusions can be drawn
from the experiences of river basin organizations in various parts of the world
as below.
1. Communications among national representatives through meetings of river basin
organizations can build mutual trust and confidence among co-riparian coun-
tries, obviating the need for an elaborate formal organization and procedures.
The organizations have to be designed in accordance with prevailing political
and economic realities in the concerned basin country.
2. River basin organizations should have a limited mandate and focus on issues of
mutual interest.
3. River-basin organizations have been most effective, when they have focused
reaching an agreement on the technical aspects of alternative schemes and
avoided efforts to resolve political issues. On the one hand, limiting an orga-
nization's responsibility to collect and exchange data does not realize the full
potential of a commission. On the other hand, assigning responsibility to such an
organization for resolving political issues tends to limit its capability to deal
effectively with important technical matters, which need to be dealt with to
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