Hardback
Trade in Water Under International Law
Bulk Fresh Water, Irrigation Subsidies and Virtual Water
9781785369124 Edward Elgar Publishing
It is clear that more sustainable and efficient use of fresh water resources will become crucial in future global water management to avoid major threats to biological life. Trade in Water Under International Law offers a careful and well-reasoned introduction and analysis of this emerging and largely unchartered subject of international trade law, which has hitherto been of key importance in domestic law and policy, exploring the potential and limits of addressing the use of water resources in the context of World Trade Organization law.
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Critical Acclaim
Contents
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Freshwater is an increasingly scarce resource globally, and effective sustainable management will be absolutely crucial in the future. This timely book sets out future scenarios of international trade in both ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ water, examining the relationship between climate change, water scarcity, the human right to water and World Trade Organization law.
Trade in Water Under International Law addresses questions of global importance such as: how can international trade in bulk water contribute to the advancement of the human right to water? Are ‘green-boxed’ irrigation subsidies disturbing the markets? Should water-footprint process and production methods allow for a different treatment of otherwise ‘like’ products? From examining the impact of water law on small-scale farmers in developing countries, to the broader issue of global environmental responsibility, Fitzgerald Temmerman explores the options available for fair resource allocation through international law arrangements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
By taking a wide-reaching and non-technical approach, this book will capture the attention not only of international trade law professionals, but of all stakeholders in the field. With such relevance to contemporary environmental issues, this book will also be of interest to non-legally qualified individuals who want to comprehend the future possibilities of fair water trade.
Trade in Water Under International Law addresses questions of global importance such as: how can international trade in bulk water contribute to the advancement of the human right to water? Are ‘green-boxed’ irrigation subsidies disturbing the markets? Should water-footprint process and production methods allow for a different treatment of otherwise ‘like’ products? From examining the impact of water law on small-scale farmers in developing countries, to the broader issue of global environmental responsibility, Fitzgerald Temmerman explores the options available for fair resource allocation through international law arrangements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
By taking a wide-reaching and non-technical approach, this book will capture the attention not only of international trade law professionals, but of all stakeholders in the field. With such relevance to contemporary environmental issues, this book will also be of interest to non-legally qualified individuals who want to comprehend the future possibilities of fair water trade.
Critical Acclaim
‘Few things are as important as water. Yet, many of us, particularly in developed countries, take its abundant availability for granted. Wrongly so. There is little doubt that issues relating to water and its use will be high on the international agenda in years to come. The present book focuses on three of these issues, namely trade in bulk fresh water, subsidies for irrigation, and water-footprint Processes and Production Methods (PPMs) and labelling schemes. It addresses the question to what extent World Trade Organization rules affect the policy space of governments regarding each of these issues. Hence, this book is an important contribution to the debate on the international regulation of water and its use.’
– Peter van den Bossche, World Trade Institute, Bern, Switzerland
– Peter van den Bossche, World Trade Institute, Bern, Switzerland
Contents
Contents: INTRODUCTION PART I TRADE IN BULK FRESH WATER 1. Bulk fresh water resources and the GATT 2. Environmental and human rights concerns PART II IRRIGATION SUBSIDIES 3. Productivity meets sustainability 4. Irrigation subsidies and the Agreement on Agriculture PART III VIRTUAL WATER TRADE 5. Water-footprint PPMs, the GATT and the TBT Agreement 6. Water-footprint Labelling Schemes and the TBT Agreement Index