PROGRAMME

Friday, 20 April

Opening Session – The Status of International and Regional Water Law and Policy

9:30– 11:00

Welcome by the Workshop Organisers

Dr. Philippe Cullet, IELRC & Dr Alix Gowlland-Gualtieri, IELRC

Opening Address : Water, a Global Good in Essence - Ecological, Social, Economic and Political

Dr Philippe Roch, former Director, Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL)

Keynote Address - Fresh Water in International Law: Trends and Prospects

Professor Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva

Water and Mountains, Upstream and Downstream Relationships: Analyzing Unequal Relations

Professor Urs Luterbacher, Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI), Geneva & Dushan Mamatkhanov, Institute of Water Problems and Hydropower, Kyrgyz National Academy of Sciences

11:00 – 11:20: coffee break

Session 2

The International Law and Policy Framework for Water Law Reforms in the South

11:20 – 13:00

Chair : Frits Schlingemann, Senior Adviser, UNEP Regional Office for Europe

International Organizations and the Right to Water:  Realization, Resistance or Repackaging?  

Anna F.S. Russell, PhD candidate, University of Oxford , United Kingdom

The Linkage between International Economic Law and Access to Water and Water Scarcity

Francesco Costamagna, University “L. Bocconi” Milan, Italy & Francesco Sindico, Research fellow and PhD candidate, Faculty of Law, University Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana

[powerpoint presentation]

Legal Implications of Trade in Real and Virtual Water Resources

Dr. Alix Gowlland Gualtieri, Research Fellow, IELRC

The Biwater-Tanzania Dispute

Natalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Managing Attorney, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Geneva

[powerpoint presentation]

Amicus Curiae Submission

Petition for Amicus Curiae Status

13:00 – 14:00: lunch

Session 3

Environment, Health and Human Rights

14:00-15:40

Chair : Henri Smets, Member, Water Academy and European Council for Environmental Law

A Modern Approach to Water Management: The UNECE Protocol on Water and Health

Francesca Bernardini, Secretary, Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Geneva

[powerpoint presentation]

Balancing Development, Environmental Conservation and Protection of the Water Resource Base: The “Greening” of Water Laws

Stefano Burchi, Officer-in-charge, Development Law Service , Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome

[powerpoint presentation]

The Right to Water: A Human Right or a Bird's Right?

Professor Jonathan Verschuuren, Tilburg University , The Netherlands

[powerpoint presentation]

The Right to Water in Cameroon: Legal Framework for Sustainable Utilization

Christopher Tamasang, Lecturer, Faculty of Laws and Political Science, University of Yaounde II

15:40 – 16:00: coffee break

Session 4

Evolving Perceptions of the Legal Nature of Water: Implications of Private Sector Involvement

16:00 – 17:30

Chair : Thomas Zeller, Deputy Assistant Director, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Going Beyond Regulation: Social Policies and Private Sector Participation in Water Supply

Naren Prasad, Research Coordinator, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva

[powerpoint presentation]

Water Runs Dry: Multinational Corporations and the Privatization of Water in African Countries

Dr. Migai Akech, Lecturer, School of Law , University of Nairobi , Kenya

[powerpoint presentation]

Safeguarding Water Contracts in Indonesia

Mohamad Mova Al' Afghani, Attorney, Lubis Ganie Surowidjojo, Jakarta , Indonesia

[powerpoint presentation]

Workshop Dinner

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