This publication was developed by the Division of Environmental Law and Conventions of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in cooperation with the International Water Law Project. It was drafted and edited by Prof. Gabriel Eckstein, professor of law at the Texas Wesleyan University and Director of the International Water Law Project. Mr. Stefano Burchi, Executive Chairman of the International Association for Water Law, Ms. Maaria Curlier, Development Director of the Aquatic Resources Conservation Group, and Prof. Richard Kyle Paisley, Director of the Global Transboundary International Waters Research Initiative at the University of British Columbia, provided important contributions and suggestions to the draft.