Wastewater Irrigation and Health: Assessing and Mitigating Risk in Low-Income Countries

states. These basins cross the territories of 145 states, covering about half of the earth’s surface, and with about 40% of the world’s population around. Shared waterways remain, therefore, one of the most important resources in the world, yet without a global treaty in force regulating their sharing, use or protection. The Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses—a Framework Convention—was, indeed, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1997, after three decades of preparatory work, with the objective of managing this aspect. But, even after 13 years, it has not yet been ratified by the minimum number of countries required (35), and has thus not entered into force and is not yet enforceable, strict sensu. The matter is complicated further because there are only very few waterways that are governed by agreements between the states sharing them, and even when these types of agreements have existed, they, in most cases, have not included all the riparians. As a result, therefore, a number of co-riparians are unnecessarily dragged into existing or emerging disputes involving some or all of the riparian states. But even in this situation of international legal vacuum, the regime as envisaged by the above-noted international instrument, although not in force, is still being applied. Indeed, the bank’s policy is fully consistent with the international regime established by the above Convention, and by proxy, the international law is being implemented, and even monitored, through the bank’s own available tools, the development projects it finances. That is also why this book by Dr Salman Salman, with its rich bibliography and abundant practical examples from all around the world, becomes a ‘must’ for scholars, students, professionals, practitioners, individuals or institutions alike, which, by virtue of their interest, have to delve constantly into the areas of international law, development or water resources in general.