The Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, also called the Water Convention, is an international agreement focused on environmental protection. It is one of five environmental treaties negotiated by the UNECE. This agreement aims to help countries improve their efforts to protect and manage shared surface and groundwater resources. Internationally, countries that join the agreement must work together and form joint groups to address water-related issues. The convention includes rules about monitoring, research, development, discussions, warning systems, helping each other, sharing access, and exchanging information.

The agreement was signed in Helsinki on March 17, 1992, and became active on October 6, 1996. As of November 2022, 47 countries and the European Union have ratified the agreement. The United Kingdom has signed the agreement but has not yet ratified it.

About the Convention

The UNECE faces water problems such as not enough water, poor water quality, high water stress, overuse of water resources, more frequent droughts and floods, and water pollution that causes diseases. These challenges are harder to solve because many water sources in the UNECE region are shared between two or more countries. More than 150 major rivers and 50 large lakes are located along or between country borders.

The Water Convention addresses these issues by looking at all parts of the problem together, including ecosystems, human communities, and economies. It focuses on managing water in a way that connects all areas, rather than only solving small, local problems.

In 2003, the Water Convention was changed to allow countries outside the UNECE region to join. This change became official in 2013. It helps countries near the UNECE region by giving them access to the rules and experience of the convention.

Examples of water agreements before the Water Convention include:
• In 1858, Austria and Bavaria signed an agreement about managing the river Inn.
• In 1863, Belgium and the Netherlands signed a treaty about controlling water from the Meuse River.
• In 1890, Germany and Switzerland signed an agreement about a hydropower project at Rheinfelden.
• In 1909, Great Britain and the United States of America created the first agreement that still exists today. This agreement covers both water quality and quantity issues and includes a joint group to manage shared waters between Canada and the United States.

Implementation

At their second meeting, the State Parties decided to help countries create joint groups, as required by certain rules in the convention. They also decided to help countries work together with other UNECE conventions and to look into problems that happen when following the convention’s rules (ways of doing things). At the fifth meeting of the parties, a Guide for using the convention was created. The Guide includes explanations of the rules and examples of good practices. A review was also done to show how transboundary waters are currently being managed. The Second Assessment includes more than 140 transboundary rivers, 25 transboundary lakes, about 200 transboundary groundwater areas, and 25 Ramsar sites or other wetlands that cross borders.

• International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR)
• International Sava River Basin Commission
• Internationale Kommission zum Schutz der Elbe (IKSE)
• Internationale Commissie voor de Bescherming van de Maas (ICBM)
• Internationale Kommission zum Schutze des Rheins
• Internationale Kommissionen zum Schutze der Mosel und der Saar (IKSMS)
• Internationale Gewässerschutzkommission für den Bodensee (IGKB)
• Internationale Kommission zum Schutz des Genfersees
• Internationale Scheldecommissie (ISC)
• International Commission for the Protection of the Odra River against Pollution
• Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia
• The Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic on the Use of Water Management Facilities of Intergovernmental Status on the Rivers Chu and Talas

• Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River, and other transboundary waters shared by Canada and the United States: International Joint Commission (IJC)
• Great Lakes Commission (GLC)

Convention Bodies

The Meeting of the Parties is the main group in charge of the Water Convention. It reviews how the convention is being followed. All countries that have joined the convention are part of this group. Other countries that signed the convention, as well as groups that are not governments, can join as observers.

The Bureau of the Meeting of the Parties helps plan the work of the convention. It updates the plan as needed and avoids repeating work done by other United Nations groups or international organizations. It also takes steps to improve how the convention is carried out.

The two Working Groups work closely together. They meet once each year.

• The Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management focuses on managing water resources that cross borders. It works to protect the environment, use an ecosystem-based approach in managing water, and help restore water-related ecosystems. It also promotes ideas like paying for ecosystem services, prevents accidental water pollution, and helps countries adapt to climate change, including managing floods and droughts.

• The Working Group on Monitoring and Assessment focuses on creating and carrying out programs to check the health of shared water systems, including floods and ice movement. It also reports on the condition of shared waters and lakes in the UNECE region. It encourages countries to share information about serious problems that could affect other countries and to share results from water testing.

The Legal Board was created in November 2003 to help with legal issues under the convention. It worked with the Working Group on Integrated Water Resources Management to create a guide for following the convention.

The Task Force handles issues related to adapting to climate change, including managing floods and droughts. Between 2007 and 2009, it created a guide with recommendations for governments. It uses pilot projects and a platform for sharing experiences to follow the guide.

A group is responsible for preventing accidental pollution of shared water systems.

The centre was created during the second meeting of the Parties in Paris in March 2000. It helps carry out the work of the convention and its rules.

The Implementation Committee was formed in November 2012. Its goal is to help countries follow the Water Convention. It works in a simple, fair, open, and cooperative way, based on the spirit of the convention.

Protocols to the Convention

There are two protocols under this convention:

The first protocol was created in 1999. It helps solve problems related to waterborne diseases in the UNECE region, where about one in seven people lack access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. This lack of access leads to illnesses such as cholera, bacillary dysentery, coli infections, viral hepatitis A, and typhoid. To implement this protocol, countries must set clear goals. This process includes analyzing each nation’s situation, making responsibilities and commitments in water and health clearer, and creating a realistic plan for improvement. This helps focus efforts on the actions and services needed. Key areas of work for this protocol include small water supplies, water and sanitation during extreme weather events, monitoring water-related diseases, and ensuring fair access to water and sanitation.

The Protocol on Water and Health became active in 2005. By 2013, 26 European countries had officially agreed to it.

The second protocol, called the Protocol on Civil Liability for Damage and Compensation for Damage Caused by Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents on Transboundary Waters, was officially adopted at the Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe" in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 21, 2003. It was started by a joint meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention and the Parties to the Convention on the Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents. Its goal is to allow people affected by industrial accidents that harm international water sources (such as fishermen or water facility operators downstream) to legally seek timely and fair compensation.

The financial limits for liability and the minimum required insurance were agreed upon by all involved parties, including the insurance industry, and are considered realistic and suitable. By 2013, only Hungary had officially agreed to this protocol, and it was not yet active.