As water resources become scarce, problems and disputes involving water are likely to increase. A legal research project is studying how water is conceptualised and who ultimately has the power to decide on the distribution of water.
Water resources are not inexhaustible. Factors including climate change, population growth and large-scale agriculture have led to desertification and drought in more and more parts of the world. In addition, water resources are distributed highly unevenly, and hundreds of millions of people live in areas where access to clean water cannot be taken for granted.
These global water problems provide a background to a legal research project called THIRST. It is not seeking practical answers to water-related questions, but delving into the structures, actors and legal regulations with a role in decisions on water.
"We don't see ourselves as resolving water crises, but would like to offer new perspectives to activists, lawmakers, politicians and others," says Assistant Professor of International Law Ukri Soirila , who is the research group's co-director alongside Kati Nieminen.
