In Helsinki, on 17 March 1992, the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (the Water Convention / Helsinki Water Convention) is opened for signature under UNECE auspices. It enters into force on 6 October 1996. By 2022 it has 47 parties (46 states and the European Union); the United Kingdom has signed but not ratified.

Its purpose is to improve national measures and cooperation for the protection and management of transboundary surface waters and groundwaters. Parties must cooperate and create joint bodies. Provisions cover monitoring, research, consultations, warning and alarm systems, mutual assistance, access and exchange of information.

The Convention addresses UNECE water problems (water stress, overexploitation, droughts and floods, contamination) holistically: ecosystems, societies and economies, and integrated water resources management. In the UNECE region more than 150 major rivers and 50 large lakes are shared or lie along borders.

In 2003 the Convention was amended to allow accession by countries outside the UNECE region; the amendment entered into force in 2013. Two protocols exist: the Protocol on Water and Health (1999, in force from 2005) and the Protocol on Civil Liability for damage from industrial accidents on transboundary waters (Kyiv, 2003, not yet widely in force).

Implementation bodies include the Meeting of the Parties, the Bureau, working groups on IWRM and monitoring, the Legal Board, the Implementation Committee (from 2012) and the International Water Assessment Center. An implementation guide and periodic assessments (over 140 rivers, 25 lakes, about 200 groundwaters) support practice.

The Helsinki Convention of 17 March 1992 remains the UNECE framework treaty on transboundary waters, open globally after 2013.

Image: Helsinki Cathedral; Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. Treaty text: UNECE Water Convention (Helsinki, 17 March 1992).