Realising the Right to Water within Environmental Limits

Abstract

This article examines the right to water from an environmental perspective. In particular it focuses on the various forms of legal recognition provided to the right and how these interact with the realities of water stress and shortage. It places particular emphasis on the international construction of the right and its domestic application. The article also examines how existing legal mechanisms, such as the ecosystem approach and concept of sustainability, may assist in balancing these supply and demand considerations. Finally, it looks to ways the right to water may be realized within the constraints of environmental capacity.