Publication: The World Bank Policy for Projects
on International Waterways : An Historical and Legal Analysis
Loading...
Date
2009
ISSN
Published
2009
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This study deals with the evolution and context of the Bank policy for projects on international waterways. It starts with a brief description of how the Bank has faced the challenges stemming from such projects, and the different approaches deliberated by the Bank that led to the issuance of the first policy in 1956. The study then reviews the implementation experience of the policy and analyzes the principles and procedures, as well as the main features of each of the policies issued in 1956, 1965, and 1985 respectively. The principles of international water law prevailing at each stage of the policy issuance are examined and compared with those of the Bank policy. The study also discusses in detail the notification process: its basis, by whom, to whom, its content, different riparian's responses, and the exceptions to the notification requirement. It then analyzes how the Bank handles an objection from one or more of the riparian's to projects proposed for Bank financing. It also examines how the Bank has dealt with transboundary groundwater, as well as the linkages between the policy for projects on international waterways and the policies on disputed areas and environmental impact assessment. The conclusion provides an overview of the main findings of the study, and highlights some of the lessons drawn from the implementation experience of the policy.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Salman, Salman M. A.. 2009. The World Bank Policy for Projects
on International Waterways : An Historical and Legal Analysis. Law, Justice, and Development Series. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2631 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Ganges Strategic Basin Assessment(Washington, DC, 2014)The objective of the Ganges Strategic Basin Assessment (Ganges SBA) is to build knowledge and promote an open, evidence-based dialogue on the shared opportunities and risks of cooperative management in the basin. It is hoped that this will lead to greater cooperation in the management of this shared river system, beginning with a shift from information secrecy to information sharing. The key feature of this regional research is the development of a set of nested hydrological and economic basin models, along with targeted analyses on social vulnerability and climate change. The mosaic of information produced using these tools and approaches can be used to examine alternative scenarios across a range of possible Ganges futures.Publication Ten Fundamental Questions for Water Resources Development in the Ganges(IWA Publishing, 2013-03)This paper summarizes the results of the Ganges Strategic Basin Assessment (SBA), a 3-year, multi-disciplinary effort undertaken by a World Bank team in cooperation with several leading regional research institutions in South Asia. It begins to fill a crucial knowledge gap, providing an initial integrated systems perspective on the major water resources planning issues facing the Ganges basin today, including some of the most important infrastructure options that have been proposed for future development. The SBA developed a set of hydrological and economic models for the Ganges system, using modern data sources and modeling techniques to assess the impact of existing and potential new hydraulic structures on flooding, hydropower, low flows, water quality and irrigation supplies at the basin scale. It also involved repeated exchanges with policymakers and opinion makers in the basin, during which perceptions of the basin could be discussed and examined. The study’s findings highlight the scale and complexity of the Ganges basin. In particular, they refute the broadly held view that upstream water storage, such as reservoirs in Nepal, can fully control basin wide flooding. In addition, the findings suggest that such dams could potentially double low flows in the dry months. The value of doing so, however, is surprisingly unclear and similar storage volumes could likely be attained through better groundwater management. Hydropower development and trade are confirmed to hold real promise (subject to rigorous project level assessment with particular attention to sediment and seismic risks) and, in the near to medium term, create few significant tradeoffs among competing water uses. Significant uncertainties, including climate change, persist, and better data would allow the models and their results to be further refined.Publication The Zambezi River Basin : A Multi-Sector Investment Opportunities Analysis - Modeling, Analysis, and Input Data(World Bank, 2010-06-01)The Zambezi River Basin (ZRB) is one of the most diverse and valuable natural resources in Africa. Its waters are critical to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in the region. The overall objective of the Zambezi River Multi-Sector Investment Opportunity Analysis (MSIOA) is to illustrate the benefits of cooperation among the riparian countries in the ZRB through a multi-sectoral economic evaluation of water resources development, management options and scenarios from both national and basin-wide perspectives. Better management and cooperative development of the Basin's water resources could significantly increase agricultural yields, hydropower outputs, and economic opportunities. Collaboration has the potential to increase the efficiency of water use, strengthen environmental sustainability, improve regulation of the demands made on natural resources, and enable greater mitigation of the impact of droughts and floods. Seen in this light, cooperative river basin development and management not only provide a mechanism for increasing the productivity and sustainability of the river system, but also provide a potential platform for accelerated regional economic growth, cooperation, and stability within the wider Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).Publication The Zambezi River Basin : A Multi-Sector Investment Opportunities Analysis - Summary Report(World Bank, 2010-06-01)The Zambezi River Basin (ZRB) is one of the most diverse and valuable natural resources in Africa. Its waters are critical to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in the region. The overall objective of the Zambezi River Multi-Sector Investment Opportunity Analysis (MSIOA) is to illustrate the benefits of cooperation among the riparian countries in the ZRB through a multi-sectoral economic evaluation of water resources development, management options and scenarios from both national and basin-wide perspectives. Better management and cooperative development of the Basin's water resources could significantly increase agricultural yields, hydropower outputs, and economic opportunities. Collaboration has the potential to increase the efficiency of water use, strengthen environmental sustainability, improve regulation of the demands made on natural resources, and enable greater mitigation of the impact of droughts and floods. Seen in this light, cooperative river basin development and management not only provide a mechanism for increasing the productivity and sustainability of the river system, but also provide a potential platform for accelerated regional economic growth, cooperation, and stability within the wider Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).Publication Good Dams and Bad Dams : Environmental Criteria for Site Selection of Hydroelectric Projects(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003-11)This paper provides a simple, yet robust, methodology for comparing proposed hydroelectric project sites in terms of their expected negative environmental impacts, and relating these to power generation benefits. The paper also summarizes the environmental mitigation options for large dams. If properly implemented, these mitigation measures can effectively prevent, minimize, or compensate for many (though not all) of a hydroelectric project's negative impacts. Nonetheless, the most effective environmental mitigation measure is good site selection, to ensure that the proposed dam will cause relatively little damage in the first place. The paper presents quantitative indicators (using data that are relatively easy to obtain) for rating and ranking proposed new hydroelectric projects in terms of their likely adverse environmental impacts. Projects with a small reservoir surface area (relative to power generation) tend to be most desirable from both an environmental and social standpoint, in part because they minimize natural habitat losses as well as resettlement needs. In general, the most environmentally benign hydroelectric dam sites are on upper tributaries, while the most problematic ones are on the large main stems of rivers.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 1994(New York: Oxford University Press, 1994)World Development Report 1994, the seventeenth in this annual series, examines the link between infrastructure and development and explores ways in which developing countries can improve both the provision and the quality of infrastructure services. In recent decades, developing countries have made substantial investments in infrastructure, achieving dramatic gains for households and producers by expanding their access to services such as safe water, sanitation, electric power, telecommunications, and transport. Even more infrastructure investment and expansion are needed in order to extend the reach of services - especially to people living in rural areas and to the poor. But as this report shows, the quantity of investment cannot be the exclusive focus of policy. Improving the quality of infrastructure service also is vital. Both quantity and quality improvements are essential to modernize and diversify production, help countries compete internationally, and accommodate rapid urbanization. The report identifies the basic cause of poor past performance as inadequate institutional incentives for improving the provision of infrastructure. To promote more efficient and responsive service delivery, incentives need to be changed through commercial management, competition, and user involvement. Several trends are helping to improve the performance of infrastructure. First, innovation in technology and in the regulatory management of markets makes more diversity possible in the supply of services. Second, an evaluation of the role of government is leading to a shift from direct government provision of services to increasing private sector provision and recent experience in many countries with public-private partnerships is highlighting new ways to increase efficiency and expand services. Third, increased concern about social and environmental sustainability has heightened public interest in infrastructure design and performance. This report includes the World Development Indicators, which offer selected social and economic statistics for 132 countries.Publication World Development Report 2021(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-03-24)Today’s unprecedented growth of data and their ubiquity in our lives are signs that the data revolution is transforming the world. And yet much of the value of data remains untapped. Data collected for one purpose have the potential to generate economic and social value in applications far beyond those originally anticipated. But many barriers stand in the way, ranging from misaligned incentives and incompatible data systems to a fundamental lack of trust. World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives explores the tremendous potential of the changing data landscape to improve the lives of poor people, while also acknowledging its potential to open back doors that can harm individuals, businesses, and societies. To address this tension between the helpful and harmful potential of data, this Report calls for a new social contract that enables the use and reuse of data to create economic and social value, ensures equitable access to that value, and fosters trust that data will not be misused in harmful ways. This Report begins by assessing how better use and reuse of data can enhance the design of public policies, programs, and service delivery, as well as improve market efficiency and job creation through private sector growth. Because better data governance is key to realizing this value, the Report then looks at how infrastructure policy, data regulation, economic policies, and institutional capabilities enable the sharing of data for their economic and social benefits, while safeguarding against harmful outcomes. The Report concludes by pulling together the pieces and offering an aspirational vision of an integrated national data system that would deliver on the promise of producing high-quality data and making them accessible in a way that promotes their safe use and reuse. By examining these opportunities and challenges, the Report shows how data can benefit the lives of all people, but particularly poor people in low- and middle-income countries.Publication International Experience for Assessing the Quality of Educational Services at Higher Education Institutions(Washington, DC, 2010-02)The Government of Poland benefits from a Technical Assistance Activity in support of the reforms under way in the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. This Technical Assistance accompanies Development Policy Loans financed by the World Bank; its activities have been identified jointly by the Government of Poland and the World Bank. One activity is focused specifically on the assessment of the quality of educational services at Higher Education Institutions, specifically for post-graduate courses and training (adult education). This report has helped us to identify the main key characteristics of a good quality assurance system. To us, it should in particular: Be capable of correctly grasping the essence of university teaching and learning and being able to seize it correctly, encourage universities to develop a quality culture promoting improvement instead of encouraging them just to pass the criteria necessary for accreditation or similar ratification, but it should also provide an external check and support. To make it happen, the system should be focused on the fitness for purpose of the strategies followed by HEIs and quality assurance processes more than on pre-defined criteria; be as much institution-driven as agency-driven, which means that internal quality assurance procedures are an important element of quality assurance; be as light as possible by pushing the concerned institution to do a great part of the work as it is finally in its interest and by avoiding processes in which the bulk of the work is done by external experts. Finally be partly adapted to the type of institution. The higher the level of the institution measured by its research performance and quality of its teachers and students, the more it is advisable to have an institutionally-led system. On the other hand, modest professional schools or universities, particularly if they have been strongly regulated for a long time, as well as private institutions that are permanently fighting for survival, are more in need of a rigorous external evaluation made by an agency. This does not mean, however, that they are freed of developing their own internal QA system as it is also important for them to put quality as a high priority.Publication Senegal : Country Environmental Analysis(Washington, DC, 2008-11-12)The main objective of the Senegal Country Environmental Analysis (CEA) is to reinforce the ongoing dialogue on environmental issues between the World Bank and the Government of Senegal. The CEA also aims to support the ongoing Government implementation of a strategic results-based planning process at the Environment Ministry (MEPNBRLA). The main goal is to enable Senegal to have the necessary tools to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and manage its natural resources and environment in a sustainable manner that contributes sharing wealth and reducing poverty. The CEA presents a review of national environmental priorities and the institutional framework for managing these priorities. The CEA also proposes recommendations about reforms that could be implemented with the support of international development partners. This final CEA report includes three sections to encourage discussion on the observations made from the analysis and the suggested recommendations: a) section one summarizes the main environmental issues identified in the CEA (institutional framework for environmental management, sustainable management of terrestrial ecosystems, management of water resources, management of fisheries, and urban environmental management in Dakar. Other environmental issues are also tackled in this section, urban environmental management in regions, waste management, management of coastal zones, and management of retention basins and artificial lakes; b) section two analyzes each of the issues and singles out specific observations and recommendations about institutional and legal reforms and ways to improve management; and c) section three summarizes the operational recommendations drawn from the previous section according to the main environmental issues identified in the CEA framework.Publication Managing Risk and Creating Value with Microfinance(World Bank, 2010)This report brings together the results of an eight-part series of presentations by leading experts in issues directly related to microfinance institutional sustainability. It is intended for microfinance institution (MFI) board members, managers, and staff members as well as for government regulators, supervisors, and donor staff members. The first four chapters include topics in risk management: (1) risk management systems, (2) good governance, (3) interest rates, and (4) micro-insurance. The last four chapters include four topics in new product development and efficient delivery methodologies: (5) housing microfinance, (6) micro-leasing, (7) disaster preparedness products and systems, and (8) new technologies. The objectives of the series were as follows: i) to strengthen MFIs by disseminating innovative approaches in risk management, cost control, governance, and new technologies; ii) to promote a South-South exchange of experiences and lessons learned; iii) to promote greater ties among the MFIs in the region and between MFIs and government supervisors and regulators; and iv) to highlight the Bank's ability to mobilize international technical expertise in microfinance.