The governance of wetland ecosystems and the promotion of transboundary water cooperation – opportunities presented by the Ramsar Convention

Abstract

Based on a consideration of the interrelationships between cooperation, institutions and governance, this article explores the governance of transboundary wetlands, or wetlands within transboundary basins, and the potential role of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) in the promotion of transboundary water cooperation.

Keywords:

• governance
• wetland ecosystem
• transboundary water cooperation
• Ramsar Convention
• international law

Acknowledgements

This article is based on a presentation given at the 2014 Transboundary Water Cooperation Symposium and Workshop, ‘Promoting Transboundary Water Cooperation in Asia’, Xiamen, China, May 2014, jointly sponsored by Xiamen Law School, China and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) [GGPM-2013-083]. The author wishes to thank the organizers of the symposium and workshop for the opportunity to publish in this volume and also the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful comments made on an earlier draft of the paper.