WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING

From babbling alpine springs to gigantic meandering channels and myriad branches in deltas, rivers are a life-source for billions. The sprawl of their natural catchment areas seldom matches international borders, and, indeed, many of the world’s largest rivers flow through more than one country.

Sixty per cent of the world’s freshwater supply is transboundary, including lakes and aquifers. The UN predicts that rising global temperatures, combined with unequal distribution and mismanagement of this precious resource, could lead to 1.8 billion people facing absolute water scarcity as early as 2025 and two-thirds of the world population experiencing water stress. No wonder then, that the question of sharing the waters of transboundary rivers is also becoming