Water Law and Governance in Asia
- Course Code:
- 15PLAC171
- Unit value:
- 1
- Taught in:
- Full Year
This course examines water governance and water law and policy in Asia. It seeks to provide students with a broad understanding of the multi-faceted issues arising in the water sector from the local to the international level. It focuses in large part on India but also examines other countries in the region, regional interactions as well as the international context within which water law and governance takes place in South Asia.
The course focuses on the law and policy framework. It examines water law as a separate branch of the law, its sectoral development and its basic principles. It addresses the multiplicity of legal instruments making up the water regulatory framework, ranging from constitutional issues to laws, judicial pronouncements and policy instruments. Further, it considers water law in its evolving dimension that includes both a set of policy reforms and a range of new water laws progressively introduced over the past fifteen years. It further considers the links between the law and policy framework at the national level, the water policy framework at the international level and some of the mechanisms and institutions that ensure the transition from the international to the national level.
This general part is followed by forays into specific sectoral issues. These include consideration of the law and policy framework for different water uses such as drinking water and irrigation as well as different water bodies such as surface and groundwater. These issues are contextualised with a focus on issues that are most relevant for each sector. Thus, the different frameworks governing urban and rural drinking water supply are analysed separately to highlight, for instance, issues related to decentralisation and participation in rural water supply and issues related to private sector participation in urban areas. This part of the course also examines the rapidly evolving institutional framework for water governance.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
A student should be able to demonstrate the ability to understand and analyse issues concerning water governance and regulation in South Asia from a broad perspective encompassing their economic, social and environmental dimensions. Students will acquire knowledge of basic concepts and principles underlying the governance, regulation, management and conservation of water in the context of South Asia, focusing on national, regional examples in the international context in which governance evolves.Method of assessment
Assessment weighting: 50% unseen examination and 50% coursework (one essay of 5,000 words).
All coursework may be resubmitted
