A Regional Response to Asia’s Shared Waters
Lahore, Pakistan - The Parvez Hassan Centre for Chinese Legal Studies (PHCCLS), based at the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, LUMS, in collaboration with the Research Society for International Law (RSIL), has established the Asian Coalition of Co-Riparians (ACoC); a regional platform dedicated to advancing rigorous research, policy dialogue, and institutional capacity on transboundary water governance across Asia.
The Asian Coalition of Co-Riparians has been conceived as a long-term, structured, and action-oriented initiative that brings together legal scholars, policymakers, diplomats, engineers, environmental experts, and institutional stakeholders to engage with shared river systems in South and Central Asia. The Coalition responds to the growing importance of water governance in the context of climate change, environmental stress, and evolving regional dynamics.
Headquartered at PHCCLS, ACoC aims to bridge academic scholarship and policy practice by grounding regional water dialogue in international law, multidisciplinary research, and solutions-oriented engagement. The Coalition is designed as a platform for sustained intellectual exchange, informed policy thinking, and collaborative capacity-building—moving beyond fragmented or reactive approaches to shared water issues.
The Coalition’s core areas of engagement include:
- Research and knowledge production on riparian law, international water law, and transboundary river governance;
- Policy-oriented analysis and advisory engagement to support informed dialogue on water diplomacy, treaty interpretation, and dispute resolution;
- Training and capacity-building programs for diplomats, government officials, legal practitioners, and professionals working at the intersection of water, climate, and governance; and
- Regional dialogue and knowledge exchange, fostering cooperation among co-riparian stakeholders, academic institutions, and international experts.
While the Coalition’s initial research agenda engages closely with the Indus Basin, its mandate is explicitly regional and comparative, extending to other major Asian river systems including the Mekong, Ganges, Amu Darya, and Euphrates–Tigris basins. ACoC seeks to position itself as a regional hub of expertise on riparian law, contributing to broader global conversations on water security, climate resilience, and shared natural resources.
The establishment of the Asian Coalition of Co-Riparians was affirmed during a high-level preliminary session held at LUMS in September 2025, bringing together senior diplomats, legal experts, academics, and policy leaders. The Coalition will operate through a structured governance framework and an advisory council with regional representation.
Through ACoC, PHCCLS, working in close collaboration with RSIL, reinforces its commitment to institution-building, regional thought leadership, and policy-relevant scholarship, contributing substantively to Asia’s evolving discourse on transboundary water governance.
