Better knowledge of national-, county- and municipal- level laws and institutional regimes will improve the process of collaboration and the development of agreements governing shared waters, thereby leading to greater cooperation in the regional and international management of shared waters. In other words, laws—their substance and enforcement across domestic jurisdictions—and the structure of governance at the national- level and lower are enabling conditions for effective cross- border water negotiation and management. These laws and institutions also represent innovation labs.

The Challenges We Face

There Is Not Enough Water to Quench Our Thirst

Water is essential to our lives and livelihoods. Yet, the Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) estimates that four billion people could be living in water scarce regions by 2050.1 Without a clear vision delineating how growing water needs will be met and how deleterious impacts to waterways will be minimized, our limited water resources could be depleted and our populations put at risk. This vision is typically established through laws which set forth standards and rules that account for competing needs, equitably allocate waters, prohibit or limit pollution and plan for floods and droughts. Laws and cross- jurisdictional agreements are essential to effectively managing these limited waters in a fair, equitable and longterm manner.

Law- Making Authorities at Different Jurisdictional Levels Make It More Difficult to Cooperate

Multiple jurisdictions often exist along a shared river. Each jurisdiction typically has their own unique, independent approach and set of rules to govern their part of the river. These rules and institutions within each jurisdiction are likely to inform their thinking when designing and negotiating an agreement that will govern more than just their own jurisdiction. Their perspective will be enhanced or clouded by those prior institutional experiences and structures. Such experiences can lead to inertia and parochialism or a point of reference that leads to innovation.

Cooperation is further complicated by multiple levels of authorities within a state, both vertical (national to local) and horizontal (among organs within a single jurisdiction). Authorities over water are frequently spread across multiple organs within one jurisdiction and at the national, county and municipal levels.