It is commonly believed that only upstream riparians can harm downstream riparians by affecting the quantity or quality of water flow to them. It is not generally realized that downstream riparians can also harm upstream riparians by foreclosing their future uses of water through the prior use of, and the claiming of rights to such water. This article analyzes the concept of foreclosure of future uses, and concludes that cooperation between riparian states can adequately address the concerns and interests of all riparians.  

The clarification and elaboration of the concept of foreclosure of future uses highlights the fact that measures undertaken by any riparian, regardless of its location on the shared watercourse, will have effects on all other riparians. This, in turn, underscores the basic principle of international water law that cooperation and goodwill of all the riparians, upstream as well as downstream, is the sine qua non for the efficient use, equitable sharing and sound management of shared watercourses. Such cooperation is appropriately manifested in the establishment of a mechanism, inclusive of all the riparians, for exchange of data and information, for planning and executing of joint projects and programmes, as well as for dealing with disputes. An inclusive and effective mechanism would properly address the concerns and demands of all the riparians in a transparent and fair manner. In this way, cooperation would dispense with the upstream–downstream divisions of riparians, and could thus render academic the debate on which riparian can actually cause harm to which riparian.

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