Transboundary water management: lessons learnt from North America

This article examines the history of the International Joint Commission (IJC) and the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty (BWT), as well as the evolution of the IJC from considerations of water allocations predominantly to an ecosystem approach via the International Watershed Initiative. It also explores how environmental factors led to the formation of new institutional arrangements such as the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) of 1972 and further explains how the ecosystem approach was applied and remedial action plans were developed and implemented to deal with pollution issues in the Great Lakes. The article looks at innovations in cooperation and concludes with lessons that can be learnt from the IJC.