Abstract
Water recognises no political boundaries, only the topographic and phreatic limits of catchments, yet most large river systems of the world are subjected to artificial international or intranational boundaries, or a mixture of these. As such, river resources are shared amongst nations and states within nations. An International River is one that lies within two or more countries, or forms the boundary between two or more countries, with equitable utilisation of the system concerned (Helsinki Rules on Apportionment). Examples include the Nile (which drains four NE African countries), the Amazon (six S American countries), the Zambezi (six southern African countries), the Mekong (six SE Asian countries), and so on. In Africa alone there are 44 rivers (or major tributaries) which cross or form the boundaries of nations.
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Davies, B.R., Walker, K.F. (1986). River systems as ecological units. An introduction to the ecology of river systems. In: Davies, B.R., Walker, K.F. (eds) The Ecology of River Systems. Monographiae Biologicae, vol 60. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3290-1_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3290-1_1
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