IWRF is a Hohai University based international academic network which committed to promote the development and progress of theory and practice of International River Water rights, or---as the IWRF founder has proposed---BASIN RIGHTS.

The emergence of the global water crisis has been going on for decades. The current main theoretical and practical measures to deal with the water crisis are “Integrated Water Resources Management”. However, the water resources management without clear water rights allocation is superior especially in the international river basin context. Benefit sharing without rights-based allocation might always end in chaos. Those happened in many developing region including Mekong, La Plata and several southern African international basin. Although the basin unit theory has become the foundation of international water law and ecological/environmental science and technology, ignoring the sovereign nature of international rivers and ignoring the international river water rights cannot solve the current water security dilemma. Defining water rights is not only the cornerstone of domestic water resources allocation, resource utilization optimization, and sustainable economic development, but also the key to manage and transform international river water conflicts. The International Water Rights Forum is to address water rights issues at the international level as well as national level, aiming to improve global water security. The Forum will share the latest achievement in scientific research including Hydro-politics, Water Law, Water Resources Administration by both Chinese and foreign experts.

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