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Towards Improved Regional Co-operation over Water Uses in Central Asia: The Case of Hydroelectric Energy and Inland Fisheries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2015

Mar CAMPINS ERITJA ,
Jaume SAURA ESTAPÁ  and
Xavier PONS RÁFOLS
Mar CAMPINS ERITJA
Affiliation:
University of Barcelona, [email protected]
Jaume SAURA ESTAPÁ
Affiliation:
University of Barcelona, [email protected]
Xavier PONS RÁFOLS
Affiliation:
University of Barcelona, [email protected]
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Abstract

This paper analyzes one of the key factors for understanding the region of Central Asia: its distinctive relationship to water resources and how states in the region co-operate—or should do so—in order to achieve better management of this valuable resource. Section I introduces the general legal context and, after the presentation of factual data, examines the management of water resources in the region from the viewpoint of the obligation of co-operation established under general international law, including the realization of the right of access to water and sanitation by all citizens. Subsequently, we analyze how and to what extent current international co-operation tools might contribute to solving existing challenges. To this end, we explore both co-operation in the generation and distribution of hydroelectric power in the region, and regional co-operation in the management, conservation, and sustainable development of the inland fisheries of Central Asia.

Type
Articles
Information
Asian Journal of International Law , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 119 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © Asian Journal of International Law 2015 

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Footnotes

*

Professor of European Union Law and International Environmental Law, Department of International Law and Economics, Universitat de Barcelona. This paper is part of the project Àsia Central: una nova cartografia de les relacions energètiques i un nou espai per la constitució de marcs de governança energètica-ambiental [Central Asia: A New Mapping of Energetic Relationships and a New Framework of Environmental-Energy Governance), Co-ordination: Dr Aurèlia Mañé Estrada, Institut Català Internacional per la Pau, 2011RICIP00001 (2012–2013).

†

Professor of International Law and International Human Rights, Department of International Law and Economics, Universitat de Barcelona.

‡

Professor of International Law, Department of International Law and Economics, Universitat de Barcelona.

References

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4. Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia (ICWC), “Basin Water Organization ‘Amudarya’ ”, online: ICWC <http://www.icwc-aral.uz/bwoamu.htm>.

5. “Review of Water Resources Statistics by Country” (2014), supra note 3.

6. For more information on this project undertaken by the “Aral Tenizi Society”, see online: <http://www.aralsea.net/en/>.

7. For more complete information on these states, see the webpage of the Observatorio Asia Central created by the consortium of the CIDOB Foundation, Casa Asia, and the Elcano Royal Institute, online: <http://www.asiacentral.es/>; the databases of Aquastat (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and of Global Security, online: Aquastat (FAO) <http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/water_res/indexesp.stm> and, online: Global Security <http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/centralasia/>. For each country, see also Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), “Policies for a Better Environment: Progress in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia” (2007), online: OECD <http://www.oecd.org/countries/uzbekistan/policiesforabetterenvironmentprogressineasterneuropecaucasusandcentralasia2007.htm>; United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), “Environmental Performance Reviews, Uzbekistan” (2001), online: UNECE <http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/epr/epr_studies/uzbekistan%20e.pdf>; UNECE, “Environmental Performance Reviews, Tajikistan” (2004), online: UNECE <http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/epr/epr_studies/tajikistan.pdf>; UNECE, “Environmental Performance Reviews, Kazakhstan, Second Review” (2008), online: UNECE <http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/publications/environment/epr/epr_kazakhstan.html>; UNECE, “Environmental Performance Reviews, Kyrgyzstan, Second Review” (2009), online: UNECE <http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/publications/environment/epr/epr_kyrgystan.html>; UNECE, “Our Waters: Joining Hands across Borders. First Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters, Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes” (2007), online: <http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/blanks/assessment/assessmentweb_full.pdf> at 71; SIEVERS, Eric W., “Water, Conflict and Regional Security in Central Asia” (2002) New York University Environmental Law 356 at 371Google Scholar.

8. Ibid., UNECE's Environmental Performance Reviews of Tajikistan and Kyrgyztan.

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13. Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary and International Lakes, 17 March 1992, 1936 U.N.T.S 269 (entered into force 6 October 1996) [Helsinki Convention].

14. Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, 21 May 1997, GA Res. 51/229, UN Doc. A/51/869 (entered into force 17 August 2014) [1997 UN Convention].

15. In this respect, the aim of the Helsinki Convention is to avoid negative transboundary impacts, i.e. adverse environmental effects in an area under the jurisdiction of one of the signatory states caused by a modification to the conditions of transboundary waters resulting from human activity whose physical origin is wholly or partially located in an area under the jurisdiction of another signatory state. The environmental effects envisaged in the convention include effects on human health and safety, on flora and fauna, on soil, air, water, climate, and landscape, on historical monuments, and other physical structures. The convention also covers effects from the interaction of these factors and effects on cultural heritage or socioeconomic conditions arising from any alterations in these factors.

16. None of the five states of Central Asia has signed or ratified the 1999 Protocol to the Helsinki Convention on Water and Health, and only Uzbekistan has ratified the 2003 amendments to the Helsinki Convention that seek to extend its range of territorial application beyond the Member States and consultative members of the UNECE.

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18. Basically, for our purposes, the “Agreement On Cooperation in the Field of Joint Water Resources Management and Conservation of Interstate Sources, 18 February 1992” and the “Agreement on Joint Activities in Addressing the Aral Sea and the Zone Around the Sea Crisis, Improving the Environment, and Enduring the Social and Economic Development of the Aral Sea Region, 26 March 1993” (both texts are available online: ICWC <http://www.icwc-aral.uz/legal_framework.htm>).

19. For information on the ICWC, see online: <http://www.icwc-aral.uz/>.

20. This also responds to the competing interests of states in the region, particularly in the different seasons of the year. It suffices to note that eighty percent of all water use goes to agricultural irrigation in the downstream states and that the upstream states make use of the water for hydropower production, establishing dams and opening them as needed.

21. On this and other aspects, see Mar CAMPINS ERITJA, “La gestión de los cursos de agua internacionales en Asia Central: ¿amenaza u oportunidad?” Elcano Royal Institute, ARI 77/2009.

22. On the scope and content of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation in contemporary international law, see ESTAPÀ, Jaume SAURA, “El derecho al agua potable y al saneamiento en perspectiva jurídica internacional” (2012) 26 Revista Derechos y Libertades, Época II 145Google Scholar.

23. Data corresponding to 1990 and 2006, respectively. See M. CHAN, “Safe Drinking Water and Health in Asia” in Asia's Next Challenge: Securing the Region's Water Future, Report by the Leadership Group on Water Security in Asia (2009), online: Asia Society <http://asiasociety.org/files/pdf/WaterSecurityReport.pdf>.

24. The only exception, which is fragile and too recent to have had any practical effect on our object of study, is Kyrgyzstan. See ESTAPÀ, Jaume SAURA, “Central Asia: Political Regimes and Socioeconomic Context” in Observatorio de Asia Central (February 2012)Google Scholar, online: Central Asia Observatory <http://www.asiacentral.es/docs/JSaura_regimenespol_contextosocioec_febr2012_engl.pdf>.

25. See Bektur SAKIEV, “Land and Water Management Patterns in Ferghana Valley” in Khamzayeva et al., supra note 11 at 77, where the author cites codes in four states, but says nothing about Turkmenistan.

26. A 2001 law in Kyrgyzstan on the use of water among states not only asserts public ownership of this resource, but also calls it a “commodity” with an international market price and establishes the right of the state to obtain compensation for the use of water by downstream inhabitants. See MACKAY, Joseph, “Running Dry: International Law and the Management of Aral Sea Depletion” (2009) 28 Central Asian Survey 17Google Scholar.

27. See Rodríguez, supra note 9.

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31. ESTAPÀ, Jaume SAURA and SINOU, Despina, “Le droit à l'eau et à l'assainissement: approches européennes” (2012) Changements environnementaux globaux et Droits de l'Homme 469–470Google Scholar.

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33. The English version of these agreements is available on the ICWC website, online: ICWC <http://www.icwc-aral.uz/statute1.htm>.

34. In the same year, the five states also signed two additional accords on 6 April 1992 in Ashgabat, relating to the legal statute of the organisms “Amu Darya” and “Syr Darya” for the joint management of the waters of both watersheds. The English versions of the two agreements are available on the ICWC website, online: ICWC <http://www.icwc-aral.uz/statute9.htm> and ICWC <http://www.icwc-aral.uz/statute10.htm>, respectively.

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42. See “Regional Water Intelligence Report Central Asia”, supra note 38.

43. See information on the World Bank website, online: World Bank <http://go.worldbank.org/KX2UXYAD40>.

44. See online: World Bank <http://go.worldbank.org/8DWA7P22L0>.

45. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the role of renewable energies in its Fourth Assessment Report. It is estimated that, in 2008, renewable energies represented 12.9 percent of the world's total raw energy supply. In that year, hydroelectric energy accounted for 2.3 percent, and other sources of renewable energy only 0.4 percent. In the same year, renewable energy contributed approximately 19 percent of the worldwide electricity supply (16 percent hydroelectric, 3 percent other energies). In spite of the economic recession, the use of renewable energies continued to grow in 2009, with significant increases in the presence of wind energy (a 32 percent increase), hydroelectricity (3 percent), photovoltaic energy (53 percent), geothermic energy (4 percent), and solar energy (21 percent). The REN21's “Renewables 2011 Global Status Report” has confirmed the growing penetration and consolidation of renewable energies. In 2010, renewable energy accounted for approximately 16 percent of global final energy consumption and supplied almost 20 percent of world electricity production, but only in the hydroelectric sector did renewable energy represent approximately 50 percent of the total energy generation capacity (EDENHOFER, Ottmar and SOKONA, Youba, “Summary for Policymakers” in Ottmar EDENHOFER and Youba SOKONA, eds., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011)Google Scholar, available online: IPCC <http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/report/IPCC_SRREN_SPM.pdf>; REN21, “Renewables 2011 Global Status Report” (2011), online: REN21 <http://www.un-energy.org/sites/default/files/share/une/ren21_gsr2011.pdf>.

46. David HODAS, “International Law and Sustainable Energy: A Portrait of Failure” Widener Law School Legal Studies, Research Paper No 10–21, 26 July 2010, online: SSRN <http://ssrn.com/abstract=1648906>.

47. United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, 17 December 1981, UN Doc. A/RES/36/193.

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63. In this context, for example, the WTO's Appellate Body has recently condemned the green energy programme of the Canadian province of Ontario, on the grounds that a system of regulated tariffs which requires electricity producers to obtain up to sixty percent from facilities in Ontario contravenes WTO law. See World Trade Organization, “Reports of the Appellate Body, Canada-Certain Measures Affecting the Renewable Energy Generation Sector” (6 May 2013), online: WTO <http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/412_426abr_e.pdf>.

64. The European Commission has stressed the importance of these two aspects in a series of documents: (1) “Renewable Energy Road Map-Renewable Energies in the 21st Century: Building a More Sustainable Future” (10 January 2007), online: EUR-Lex <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52006DC0848>; (2) Publications Office of the EU, “Energy 2020-A Strategy for Competitive, Sustainable, and Secure Energy” (10 November 2010), online: EU <http://ec.europa.eu/energy/publications/doc/2011_energy2020_en.pdf>; (3) “Renewable Energy: Progressing Towards the 2020 Target” (31 January 2011), online: EUR-Lex <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2011:0031:FIN:EN:PDF>; (4) “The Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe” (20 September 2011), online: EU <http://ec.europa.eu/environment/resource_efficiency/pdf/com2011_571.pdf>; (5) “Energy Roadmap 2050” (15 December 2011), online: EU <http://ec.europa.eu/energy/publications/doc/2012_energy_roadmap_2050_en.pdf>; (6) “Renewable Energy: A Major Player in the European Energy Market” (6 June 2012), online: EU <http://ec.europa.eu/energy/renewables/doc/communication/2012/comm_en.pdf>.

65. The Lisbon Treaty should facilitate this, insofar as it allows the EU to act in these and other areas on the international scene with a single voice. In September 2012, the EU adopted Decision No. 994/2012/EU of 25 October 2012, establishing an information exchange mechanism with regard to intergovernmental agreements between Member States and third countries in the field of energy (online: EUR-Lex <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2012:299:0013:0017:EN:PDF>) to facilitate the execution of bilateral agreements on energy with non-EU states (according to the European Commission's estimations, there are some thirty agreements on oil in place and almost twice as many on gas), and to ensure that the European Commission is informed of all the intergovernmental proposals that may have an impact on the internal energy market or on the security of the energy supply.

66. EC, “Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy” (26 November 1997), online: EU <http://europa.eu/documents/comm/white_papers/pdf/com97_599_en.pdf>.

67. “Directive 2001/77/EC on the Promotion of Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources in the Internal Electricity Market” (27 September 2001), online: EUR-Lex <http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2001L0077:20070101:EN:PDF>.

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69. As a result, according to the EurObserv'ER 2011 Report, “ ‘The State of Renewable Energies in Europe’: European Union Renewable Energy Shares in 2010, Including Employment, Turnover, and Highlights of Seven EU Regions Successfully Attracting Investments in Renewable Energy” (2011), online: EurObserv'ER <http://www.energies-renouvelables.org/observ-er/stat_baro/barobilan/barobilan11.pdf>, the quota of renewable energies in the gross final energy consumption in 2010 in the twenty-seven EU Member States was 12.4 percent, up from 11.5 percent in 2009. In 2011, the consumption of energy from renewable sources rose to 13 percent of the total used in the EU. The EU Member States with the highest rates of renewable energy use were Sweden (with 46.8 percent of total energy consumption), Latvia (33.1 percent), Finland (31.8 percent), and Austria (30.9 percent). The states with the lowest rates were Malta (0.4 percent), Luxembourg (2.9 percent), the UK (3.8 percent), Belgium (4.1 percent), and the Netherlands (4.3 percent). Eurostat indicates that the consumption of renewable energies has risen in all EU Member States since 2004: the most significant increases are recorded in Sweden (from 38.3 percent in 2004 to 46.8 percent in 2011), Denmark (from 14.9 percent to 23.1 percent), Austria (from 22.8 percent to 30.9 percent), Germany (from 4.8 percent to 12.3 percent), and Estonia (from 18.4 percent to 25.9 percent).

70. EC, “Renewable Energy: A Major Player in the European Energy Market”, supra note 64 (6).

71. IPCC, “Potential of Renewable Energy Outlined in Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change” (9 May 2011), online: IPCC <http://srren.ipcc-wg3.de/press/content/potential-of-renewable-energy-outlined-report-by-the-intergovernmental-panel-on-climate-change>. See also Sokona, Edenhofer and, supra note 45Google Scholar.

72. GRANIT, Jakob, JÄGERSKOG, Anders, LÖFGREN, Rebecca, BULLOCK, Andy, de GOOIJER, George, PETTIGREW, Stuart, and LINDSTRÖM, Andreas, “Regional Water Intelligence, Report Central Asia” (March 2010)Google Scholar, online: UNDP <http://www.watergovernance.org/documents/WGF/Reports/Paper-15_RWIR_Aral_Sea.pdf> at 16.

73. Jacques VERNIER, Les Energies renouvelables, «Que sais-je ?», n° 3240 Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1997).

74. Granit et al., supra note 72 at 20.

75. Central Asia Atlas of Natural Resources, online: CAATLAS <http://www.caatlas.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46:renewable-energy-&catid=9&Itemid=11>.

76. See “Renewable Energy Country Profile, Tajikistan”, online: IRENA <http://www.irena.org/REmaps/countryprofiles/asia/Tajikistan.pdf#zoom=75>; Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), “Water and Energy Resources in Central Asia: Utilization and Development Issues” (24 April 2008), online: EDB <www.eabr.org/media/img/eng/research-and-publications/AnalyticalReports/Report_2_water_and_energy_EDB.pdf>; World Bank, online: <datos.bancomundial.org>.

77. See “Renewable Energy Country Profile, Kyrgyzstan”, online: IRENA <http://www.irena.org/REmaps/countryprofiles/asia/Kyrgyzstan.pdf#zoom=75>; “Water and Energy Resources in Central Asia: Utilization and Development Issues”, supra note 76; World Bank, online: <datos.bancomundial.org>.

78. See “Renewable Energy Country Profile, Kazakhstan”, online: IRENA <http://www.irena.org/REmaps/countryprofiles/asia/Kazakhstan.pdf#zoom=75>; “Power Resources of Kazakhstan”, Power Kazakhstan 2013, online: <http://www.powerexpo.kz/en/res-kz>; “Water and Energy Resources in Central Asia: Utilization and Development Issues”, supra note 76; World Bank, online: <datos.bancomundial.org>.

79. See “Renewable Energy Country Profile, Uzbekistan”, online: IRENA <http://www.irena.org/REmaps/countryprofiles/asia/Uzbekistan.pdf#zoom=75>; “Water and Energy Resources in Central Asia: Utilization and Development Issues”, supra note 76; OLCOTT, M.B. and SULEIMANOV, S., “Prospects for Renewable Energy in Uzbekistan” (24 February 2009)Google Scholar, online: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace <http://m.ceip.org/2009/02/24/prospects-for-renewable-energy-in-uzbekistan/8kvp&lang=en>; World Bank, online: <datos.bancomundial.org>.

80. See “Renewable Energy Country Profile, Turkmenistan”, online: IRENA <http://www.irena.org/REmaps/countryprofiles/asia/Turkmenistan.pdf#zoom=75>; “Water and Energy Resources in Central Asia: Utilization and Development Issues”, supra note 76; World Bank, online: <datos.bancomundial.org>.

81. See, for example, HOGAN, Bea, “Decreased Water Flow Threatens Cotton Crop, Peace in Region” (1 August 2000)Google Scholar, online: Eurasianet <http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/environment/articles/eav080200.shtml>; LILLIS, Joanne, “Central Asia: Water Woes Stoke Economic Worries” (27 April 2008)Google Scholar, online: Eurasianet <http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav042808.shtml>; PARSHIN, Konstatin “Tajikistan: Dushanbe may Stop Water Flow as Uzbekistan Pulls Plug on Power” (29 November 2009)Google Scholar, online: Eurasianet <http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav113009.shtml>.

82. PEYROUSE, Sebastien, “The Hydroelectric Sector in Central Asia and the Growing Role of China” (2007) 5 China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly131 at 133Google Scholar.

83. Other efforts are being done in order to promote this co-operation and address the hydropower issues of Central Asia: it is worth mentioning, at an institutional level, the ICWC and the International Fund for the Aral Sea, which have possessed observer status at the United Nations since 2009; the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development and the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia; the High-Level Group set up in 2006 by the Eurasian Economic Community; the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Forum; the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

84. ICWC, Agreement Between the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan on Cooperation in the Field of Joint Water Resources Management and Conservation of Interstate Sources, 18 February 1992, online: ICWC <http://www.caee.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/agreements/ICWC-Feb18-1992.pdf>; “Statutes of the Basin Water Association ‘Amudarya’ ”, supra note 4; and ICWC, “Basin Water Association ‘Syrdarya’ ”, online: ICWC <http://www.icwc-aral.uz/statute10.htm>.

85. Agreement on Joint Activities in Addressing the Aral Sea and the Zone Around the Sea Crisis, Improving the Environment, and Ensuring the Social and Economic Development of the Aral Sea Region, supra note 18.

86. Resolution of the Heads of States of Central Asia on Work of the EC of ICAS on Implementation of Action Plan on Improvement of Ecological Situation in the Aral Sea Basin for the 3–5 Years to Come with Consideration for Social and Economic Development, Concerning Water Quality in the Areas of the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya Basin, and the Syr Darya Basin, 3 March 1995, online: <http://www.cawater-info.net/library/eng/nukus_declaration.pdf>.

87. Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Joint and Complex Use of Water and Energy Resources of the Naryn and Syr Darya Cascade Reservoirs in 1998, 17 March 1998, online: <http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/agreements/Annual-Operation-98.pdf>; Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Cooperation in the Area of Environment and Rational Nature Use, 17 March 1998, online: <http://ocid.nacse.org/tfdd/tfdddocs/593ENG.pdf>; and Agreement Between the Governments of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Use of Water and Energy Resources of the Syr Darya Basin, 17 March 1998, online: <http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/agreements/SyrDaryaAgr-Mar17-98.pdf>.

88. Protocol on Inserting Amendments and Addenda in the Agreement Between the Governments of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and the Republic of Uzbekistan on the Use of Water and Energy Resources of the Syr Darya Basin, of 17 March 1998, 7 May 1999, online: <http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/agreements/SyrDaryaAmm-Jun-99.pdf>.

89. Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on Utilization of the Water Facilities of Interstate Use on the Chu and Talas Rivers, 21 January 2000, online: <http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/agreements/OandM-Agreement.pdf>.

90. See, for example, Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on Utilization of the Water Facilities of Interstate Use on the Chu and Talas Rivers, supra note 89, or the Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on Comprehensive Use of Water and Energy Resources of the Naryn and Syr Darya Cascade Reservoirs, 16 March 2000, online: <http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/mckinney/papers/aral/agreements/Annual-UzKg-00.pdf>.

91. International Environmental Agreements (IEA) Database Project, “The Framework Convention for the Protection of the Environment for Sustainable Development in Central Asia” (22 November 2006), online: <http://www.ecolex.org/server2.php/libcat/docs/TRE/Full/En/TRE-143806.pdf>.

92. CAMPINS ERITJA, Mar and MAÑÉ-ESTRADA, Aurèlia, “Building a Regional Framework in Central Asia: Between Cooperation and Conflict”, ICIP Research Paper, 2014 at 47Google Scholar.

93. ERITJA, Mar CAMPINS and MAÑÉ-ESTRADA, Aurèlia, “Regional Conflict over Water in Central Asia: A New Model of Decentralized Energy Relations”, ICIP Policy Paper (No. 5), September 2012Google Scholar.

94. International Hydropower Association (IHA), “IHA Sustainability Guidelines” (February 2004), online: <http://www.hydropower.org/downloads/IHA%20Sustainability%20Guidelines_Feb04.pdf>; Kristin SCHUMANN, Larry HAAS, Richard TAYLOR, and Refaat ABDEL-MALEK, “Hydropower and Sustainable Development: A Journey” (paper submitted to the World Energy Congress 2010 International Hydropower Association), online: IHA <http://89.206.150.89/documents/congresspapers/392.pdf>.

95. The data of the European Association of Small Hydropower Producers (EASHP) show that, in the EU, small hydroelectric stations of up to 10 megawatts produce around 46 terrawatts per hour of electricity per year, which represents nearly 1.5 percent of the total production of energy and 9 percent of the production of renewable energy—enough to supply thirteen million homes: EASHP, “Current Status of Small Hydropower development in the EU-27. Raising Awareness of Small Hydropower Sector. Stream Map Project”, online: EASHP <http://www.streammap.esha.be/fileadmin/documents/Raising_awareness_doc___press_release/FINAL_SHP_Awareness_2011.pdf>.

96. Carnegie Endowment, “Summary of ‘Renewable Energy in Central Asia: Enhancing Food Security and Improving Social and Economic Conditions in Remote Locations’ ”, online: Carnegie Endowment <http://carnegieendowment.org/files/Summary_Final2.pdf>.

97. Carnegie Endowment, “Central Asian Renewable Energy Remote Community Assistance Project”, online: Carnegie Endowment <http://carnegieendowment.org/files/Project_on%20Renewable%20Energy%20in%20Central%20Asia.pdf>.

98. “Summary of ‘Renewable Energy in Central Asia: Enhancing Food Security and Improving Social and Economic Conditions in Remote Locations’ ”, supra note 96.

99. “Water Energy Nexus in Central Asia: Improving Regional Cooperation in the Syr Darya Basin”, supra note 3 at 5.

100. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, “İstanbul Process on Regional Security and Cooperation for a Secure and Stable Afghanistan” (2 November 2011), online: Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://mfa.gov.af/en/news/4598>.

101. Peyrouse, supra note 82 at 134.

102. DENISON, Michael, “Game Over? Shifting Energy Geopolitics in Central Asia” (October 2012)Google Scholar, online: Central Asia Policy Brief <http://www.centralasiaprogram.org/images/Policy_Brief_5,_October_2012.pdf>.

103. Of note in this regard is the adoption of the 1958 Convention on Fishing and Conservation of Living Resources of the High Seas, 29 April 1958, 559 U.N.T.S. 285 (entered into force 20 March 1966).

104. For a complete overview of inland capture fisheries and their threats and strengths in various regions of the world, see WELCOMME, Robin L., COWX, Ian G., COATES, David, BÉNÉ, Christophe, FUNGE-SMITH, Simon, HALLS, Ashley, and LORENZEN, Kai, “Inland Capture Fisheries” (2010) 365 Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society at 2881Google Scholar.

105. This principle begins to appear at the International Conference on Responsible Fisheries, held in Cancun in May 1992 (see the Cancun Declaration in the documents COFI/93/Inf.7 and CL102/19 presented at the 102nd session of the FAO Council, which unanimously endorsed the Cancun Declaration), and the contents of Section 17 of Agenda 21 [Agenda 21] adopted at the Rio Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992 (see the resolutions of the Rio Conference in the Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, 3–14 June 1992, UN Doc. A/CONF.151/26/Rev.1 (Vol. I)).

106. The FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries [Code of Conduct] was adopted by the FAO Conference in its Resolution 4/95 of 31 October 1995 (see the “Report of the 28th Session of the Conference” (20–30 October 1995), online: <ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/v9878s/v9878s00.pdf>).

107. In many cases, the domestic legislation of states fails to distinguish between marine fisheries and inland fisheries, and it even regulates the latter within the framework of rules governing marine fisheries, creating still greater problems.

108. Code of Conduct, supra note 106, arts. 6.1 and 6.2.

109. See ibid., art. 6.12, which establishes that

[s]tates should, within their respective competences and in accordance with international law, cooperate at sub-regional, regional and global levels through fisheries management organizations, other international agreements or other arrangements to promote conservation and management, ensure responsible fishing and ensure effective conservation and protection of living aquatic resources throughout their range of distribution, taking into account the need for compatible measures in areas within and beyond national jurisdiction.

110. Ibid., arts. 7.1.1 and 7.5.1.

111. In general, see WELCOMME, Robin L., Inland Fisheries: Ecology and Management (Oxford: FAO/Blackwell Publishing, 2001)Google Scholar. For example, see Chapter 18 of Agenda 21, supra note 105, ss. 18.40.f and 18.67, the framework of the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, 5 June 1992, 1760 U.N.T.S. 79, 31 I.L.M. 818 (entered into force 29 December 1993), to which all states in Central Asia are parties (Decisions X/28 and XI/23 adopted in the last two Conference of the Parties (COP), held in 2010 and 2012, respectively); and the Ramsar Convention, or the 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, 2 February 1971 (entered into force 21 December 1975), to which all the states are parties as well and have designated sites.

112. As called for by DUGAN, Patrick, with Vasu V. SUGUNAN, Robin L. WELCOMME, Christophe BÉNÉ, Randall E. BRUMMETT, and Malcolm C.M. BEVERIDGE, “Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture” in David MOLDEN, ed., Water for Food, Water for Life (London: Earthscan, 2007), 479Google Scholar.

113. In recent years, this trend appears to have experienced a limited reversal (see, in general, the complete report by THORPE, Andy and ANROOY, Raymon VAN, “Inland Fisheries Livelihoods in Central Asia: Policy Interventions and Opportunities” (2009)Google Scholar, online: FAO <http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0870e/i0870e00.htm>.

114. See the study produced for the preparatory meeting of CACFish held in June 2011: “Draft Conclusions and Recommendations of the Regional Study on the Feasibility of Restocking and Development of Culture-based Fisheries in Central Asia” (March 2011), online: FAO <ftp://ftp.fao.org/Fi/DOCUMENT/sec/CAFCAC_2011/5e.pdf>. The study provides an overview of regional bodies of water and the experiences of rebuilding fish stocks.

115. In this respect, see PETR, T., “Fisheries in Irrigated Areas of Central Asia” (1995)Google Scholar, online: FAO <http://www.fao.org/docrep/v9529e/v9529e00.HTM>.

116. For example, the Aidar-Arnasay is a man-made system of lakes in Uzbekistan that covers an area of 4,000 km2, and was created by draining the Chardara Reservoir. Subsequently, fish species were introduced in the resulting lakes. Outside the Aral Sea Basin, Lake Balkhash, in Kazakhstan, covers an area of over 18,000 km2 and is also of great importance to fishing.

117. Petr, , supra note 115 at 229Google Scholar.

118. See van Anrooy, Thorpe and, supra note 113Google Scholar.

119. For more on this subject, see van Anrooy, Thorpe and, supra note 113Google Scholar.

120. A centralized system like the Soviet one benefited from well-organized networks for gathering statistics and monitoring fish stocks. This assisted in evaluating the management strategies for fishing activity and made fine-tuning possible. Independence caused this entire water management system to break down (supra note 113 at 232).

121. In the Soviet era, the recommendation was to eat fish once a week, and during these “fish days”, restaurants served many varieties of fish. This tradition disappeared with the collapse of the Soviet Union and fish became less available and less common in the diet (see WELCOMME, R., “Review of the State of the World Fishery Resources: Inland Fisheries” (2011)Google Scholar, online: FAO <http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2484e/i2484e.pdf> at 41).

122. This constitutes “one of the—if not the—greatest output declines of any productive sector” in the region (see Thorpe and van Anrooy, supra note 113 at 11; emphasis in original).

123. Petr, , supra note 115 at 239Google Scholar.

124. Ibid.

125. See Dugan et al., supra note 112 at 459–60.

126. For a general analysis of RFMOs, see the Spanish language text, E. VÁZQUEZ GÓMEZ, Las Organizaciones Internacionales de ordenación pesquera. La cooperación para la conservación y la gestión de los recursos vivos del alta mar, Regional Government of Andalusia, Seville, 2002.

127. Historically, however, the oldest regional fisheries organization pertains to Lake Constance. Created in the nineteenth century, its specific task has been to manage fishing in the lake. Other organizations and commissions governing international waterways, which focus their activities on other uses, principally shipping, could also play a potential role in the protection of fisheries (see Welcomme, supra note 111 at 324).

128. In addition to the five regional offices (for Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East), the FAO has various subregional offices, including one for Central Asia, which has its headquarters in Ankara, Turkey.

129. See the corresponding references and Resolution 1/137 in the FAO Council Report (137th Session), 30 September 2009, online: FAO <ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/018/k5962s01.pdf> at 54–7.

130. See “Report of The Third Intergovernmental Meeting on the Establishment of the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission” (30 November–1 December 2010), online: FAO <http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2114b/i2114b00.pdf>, and the “Report of the Fourth Intergovernmental Meeting on the Establishment of the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission” (22–24 June 2011), online: <http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/ba0096b/ba0096b00.pdf>.

131. See “Report of the First Session of the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture” (19–21 December 2011), online: FAO <http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i2704b/i2704b00.htm>.

132. These decision-making mechanisms are widespread in RFMOs and other international organizations.

133. Notwithstanding art. I.3 of the agreement itself, which provides that any other FAO or UN Member Nation can request observer status in the meetings of the Commission and of the Technical Advisory Committee.

134. See the previously cited report SEC/R935 (Bi), paras. 25–43.