ARTICLES

Digitalisation of water services and the water sector cyber threat landscape: Is the EU regulatory framework adequate?
DIMITRA MARKOPOULOU
VAGELIS PAPAKONSTANTINOU 
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Like other sectors, the water sector has increased its dependence on information and communications technology (ICT) to improve its  service,  sustainability  and  affordability,  but  this  also  makes  it increasingly  vulnerable  to  malicious  cyberattacks  or  accidental cyber  incidents.  Water  sector  entities  are  also  responsible  for  processing and protecting personal information, including employees’ records and customers’ billing data. While the current EU  regulatory  framework  on  water  management  has  undergone considerable reform, it does not deal with the protection of water facilities against cyber risks. And although both EU cybersecurity policy, including the protection regime for critical infrastructures, and the General Data Protection Regulation are fully applicable to water entities, the new digitalised water landscape calls for a shift in approach in order to create a more cyber resilient water sector.

The management of the Guarani Aquifer System: a ‘stop-and-go’ pattern of cooperation among states
ELENA QUADRI WARREDOC –
University for Foreigners of Perugia (Italy)

This research focuses on the Guarani Aquifer System common to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and on the cooperation process  among  the  four  countries  that  resulted  in  the  Guarani Aquifer Agreement of 2010, modelled on the principles enshrined in the United Nations Draft Articles on the Law of Transboundary Aquifers (2008). The analysis bears out a ‘stop-and-go’ cooperation  pattern:  nothing  substantial  happened  from  2010,  when  the  Agreement  was  signed,  to  2019  when  cooperation  resumed thanks to the Guarani-2 project, which culminated in the Agreement finally entering into force on 26 November 2020.

The impact of wastewater treatment effluent on water resources: a South African perspective
TAKALANI PHUNGELA, BABALWA GQOMFA, THABANG MAPHANGA, KARABO SHALE 
Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 
South Africa

The  deteriorating  state  of  municipal  and  industrial  wastewater treatment facilities and infrastructure globally is one of the largest contributors  to  pollution  in  water  resources  especially  surface water. This article presents a review of the impact of discharged effluent  on  the  receiving  water  resources  from  a  South  African perspective. It further discusses the influence of municipal waste- water  and  sanitary  infrastructure  on  the  quality  of  discharged effluent  and  reviews  legislative  frameworks,  regulations,  and  policies related to the treatment and discharge of treated effluent and  environmental  protection  in  South  Africa,  where  enforcement and aging treatment infrastructure is a challenge.

Managing blue gold: a comparative study of Islamic law and international water law
MOHAMMAD DAUD REZAEE 
Professor of International Law,  Kateb University
GLEN HEARNS 
Principal of Eco Logical Resolutions
CHRISTINA LEB 
Senior Counsel (World Bank) and Research Fellow of the Platform for International Water Law, University of Geneva

Transboundary rivers not only cross international borders but they also  traverse  territories  governed  by  different  legal  cultures  and systems, which raises the question of how differing legal systems relate  to  rules  of  international  water  law,  and  in  particular  the international  rules  governing  the  management  of  shared  fresh- water resources. Many of the most arid transboundary river basins include  states  whose  legal  systems  are  influenced  to  varying degrees  by  Sharia  law.  This  article  discusses  the  relationship between  Islamic  guiding  principles  and  principles  of  international  water  law  governing  transboundary  rivers,  and  highlights their similarities and differences. While not initially apparent, the two legal systems have many commonalities and the article out lines what Islamic guiding principles offer for water management in general and transboundary water management in particular.

BOOK REVIEW
Science and Judicial Reasoning: The Legitimacy of  International Environmental Adjudication
Katalin Sulyok