As noted in the December 2025 issue of AquaForum, we regret to announce that our dear colleague and friend, Prof. Paul Stanton Kibel, passed away this past November 2025. For more than a decade he was involved with, and committed to, our Association, and took up the position of Projects Chair of the AIDA Executive Council with great results.

He participated (as a presenter) at two World Water Congresses (Recife, Brazil and Edinburgh, Scotland) for which AIDA organized the law track panels. He also contributed a chapter on dams and fisheries to The Greening of Water Law Handbook that AIDA produced for the United Nations Environment Programme. Paul was Water and Natural Resource Counsel at the Water and Power Law Group PC. He was Professor Emeritus at Golden Gate University School of Law, where he had taught Water Law and California Environmental & Natural Resources Law, and co-directed the Golden Gate University Center on Urban Environmental Law. He was also a Visiting Professor in Water Law at the University of California at Berkeley School of Law. Prior to joining the Water and Power Law Group, Paul was a partner with the water and natural resource practice group at Fitzgerald Abbott & Beardsley LLP, and worked for the California State Coastal Conservancy’s Office of Counsel and Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund. He previously co-chaired the Natural Resources Subsection of the California State Bar Real Property Section, and served as a faculty advisor to the California Water Law Symposium. His publications include the books Rivertown: Rethinking Urban Rivers (MIT Press, 2007) and Riverflow: The Right to Keep Water Instream (Cambridge University Press, 2020), and articles on water law in the Stanford Environmental Law Journal, Ecology Law Quarterly, Virginia Environmental Law Journal and Berkeley Journal of International Law. Dear Paul, you will be greatly missed!!!

The deadline for the submission of nominations for the Global Water Law Excellence Award 2026 has been extended to 30 January, 2026.

AIDA is pleased to launch the 2026 edition of the Global Water Law Excellence Awards, recognising outstanding contributions to national, regional, and international water law. Two categories are open:

• Senior Award – for lifetime or high-impact achievements
• Early-Career Award – for exceptional emerging scholarship

Professionals, academics, institutions, and early-career researchers are warmly invited to nominate themselves or colleagues.

Deadline: 10 January 2026
Full details and nomination forms: aida-waterlaw.org/awards

Please feel free to share within your networks.

Webinar: Water Policies to Support Investment in Human Rights & Nature

23rd July 2025 | 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM GMT

Register Here

Human Right 2 Water is co-hosting with the African Development Bank and the Water Research Commission. Throughout this webinar we will hear from project managers from both organisations, and it will explore how the human rights-based approach (HRBA) principles can be integrated practically to protect both people and ecosystems.

What to Expect:

• Practical strategies for integrating HRBA in project design and policy-making
• Real-world case studies from across Africa
• Insights from leading water engineers and researchers

The International Association for Water Law (AIDA) and the Permanent Forum for Binational Waters (PFBW) are proud to announce the release of their joint Policy Brief: Emerging Policy Themes for Interconnected Waters: Integrated Approaches for the Connection Between Surface Water and Groundwater.

This publication by the AIDA and PFBW joint Environment Working Group for Law Policy addresses one of today’s most critical water governance challenges—the disconnection between hydrological systems and regulatory frameworks for surface water and groundwater.

Drawing directly from the two series of expert Coffee Breaks hosted in November and December 2024—“Hydrologic Realities and Delusions at the Domestic Level” and “Hydrologic Realities and Delusions at the International Transboundary Basin Level”—the Policy Brief distills the core insights, debates, and recommendations that emerged during these events.

It integrates diverse perspectives from global water experts and provides actionable insights for national and transboundary water policy. Both event recordings are available on the PFBW YouTube channel.

As water scarcity intensifies across many regions, the report calls for an overhaul of outdated legal models that manage groundwater and surface water as separate entities. It delves into urgent topics such as recharge zones, data interoperability, land use regulation, sovereignty, and international legal gaps.

Co-authored by Paul Stanton Kibel, Raquel Neri Barranco, Rosario Sanchez, and Gabriel Eckstein —renowned experts in water law and governance— the report highlights the importance of coordinated, science-informed strategies to ensure water security across the U.S.–Mexico border and other transboundary regions.

This collaborative work reflects the mission of AIDA and PFBW joint Environment Working Group for Law Policy to align scientific knowledge with legal frameworks and institutional action.

It is an essential resource for decision-makers, researchers, and civil society stakeholders shaping the future of water governance.

The full report is downloadable in both English and Spanish here.

Recording of the joint AIDA-GWH webinar on the status of the Indus Water Treaty is now available online

On 10th July 2025, The International Association for Water Law and the Geneva Water Hub hosted a webinar on "India's Suspension of the Indus Water treaty: Underlying Causes and Consequences for Pakistan."  The webinar recording is now available online here. 

The webinar speakers included:

• Dr. Salman M.A. Salman - Former Lead Counsel and Water Law Advisor, The World Bank; Distinguished Honorary Member and Fellow, International Water Resources Association
• Dr. Mara Tignino - Senior Lecturer, University of Geneva and Senior International Law Specialist, Platform for International Water Law, Geneva Water Hub
  
• Dr. Kishor Uprety - Former Senior Legal Adviser, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; Former Senior Lawyer, The World Bank

The program was moderated by: Paul Kibel - Professor Emeritus of Water Law, Golden Gate University School of Law; Water and Natural Resource Counsel, Water and Power Law Group

WEBINAR

India's Suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty: Underlying Causes and Consequences for Pakistan

10^th July 2025

9am NYC | 3pm Paris | 6:30pm Delhi | 9pm Beijing

REGISTER HERE

Speakers

• Dr. Salman M.A. Salman - Former Lead Counsel and Water Law Advisor, The World Bank; Distinguished Honorary Member and Fellow, International Water Resources Association
• Dr. Mara Tignino - Senior Lecturer, University of Geneva and Senior International Law Specialist, Platform for International Water Law, Geneva Water Hub
• Dr. Kishor Uprety - Former Senior Legal Adviser, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; Former Senior Lawyer, The World Bank

Moderator: Paul Kibel - Professor Emeritus of Water Law, Golden Gate University School of Law; Water and Natural Resource Counsel, Water and Power Law Group

You are warmly invited to an engaging presentation by Professor Gabriel Eckstein on the emerging international legal frameworks for managing transboundary groundwater. This session will explore global legal trends, practices, and priorities governing the use, allocation, and protection of cross-border groundwater resources. 

Whether you work in environmental law, water governance, or international development, this is a valuable opportunity to gain insights from one of the field’s leading experts.

 Date: Tuesday, June 24, 2025

 Time: 9:00 – 10:30 AM Eastern Time

 Location: Join us in person or virtually 

Microsoft Teams Join:

Meeting ID: 247 996 805 123 4
Meeting passcode: 7Ha9wZ3U

 Having issues Joining?

Please contact: Tomkeen Mobegi:  tmobegi@worldbank.org