The Exigency for Building a Regime Based on Integrated Water Resources Management; Case Study: Kor-Aras Basin

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Kor-Aras Basin faced a vacuum of integrated water resources management. The centralized water management system collapsed in the three newly formed countries of the South Caucasus, consisting of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. As a result Turkey launched the massive "DAP" project on Aras. Furthermore, in order to compensate for its 50% quota deficit from Aras, and while constructing joint dams with the Republic of Azerbaijan, Iran has launched the Aras water transfer project to simultaneously supply drinking water to Tabriz and save the Urmia Lake.Despite the fact that the bilateral water regime has continued since the collapse of the Soviet Union and has led to new bilateral agreements, the change in the nature of the Aras River from "border" to "transboundary" and its attachment to the Kor River to form a single river system, and the increase in the number of coastal member states from three to five, seem to have led to the inability of the bilateral legal regime to deal with the needs and the current and future challenges of the Kor-Aras Basin.The present article examines and analyzes the challenges arising from the lack of integrated management of water resources and regional water regime in the post-Soviet period. Results show, the accession of the coastal states of the Kor-Aras Basin to the 1997 UN Convention and the creation of a new water regime based on the 2004 Berlin Rules regarding basins, can help fill existing gaps and guarantee future cooperation in this joint watershed.