Shared Waters –Shared Opportunities

Shared water is a vital resource for many people around the world. In the ESCWA region, major

shared rivers include the Nile, Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan. Many less well-known underground water

reservoirs are also shared. Opportunities for negotiation and mutually beneficial use of water also exist in

riparian countries, many based on principles of international law and resolutions on shared water.

This fact sheet opens with an outline of the general principles of international water law and the major

international conventions on shared water, before delineating the major transboundary river basins and

shared water aquifers in the ESCWA region.

In highlighting some of the most important transboundary water bodies in the region, it is hoped that

increased focus and renewed effort will be exerted in creating cooperative agreements for better management

of our most precious resource – water. In so doing, the theme of World Water Day 2009: “Shared Waters –

Shared Opportunities” can be achieved.