Transboundary Water Governance Beyond EU Borders: Legal Integration, Nature-Based Solutions, and Policy Interactions in Shared River Basins

Aline Telle, University of Geneva

As freshwater ecosystems face increasing pressure from climate change, transboundary water cooperation is essential for supporting ecological resilience and biodiversity. Within the European Union (EU), such cooperation is shaped by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), though many member states share rivers with non-EU countries where the EU’s legal influence is indirect. This paper presents early insights from an interdisciplinary research project that includes a strong legal analysis of how EU water governance principles, particularly the use of nature-based solutions, ecological objectives, and climate adaptation, are reflected in transboundary cooperation. Focusing on four sub-basins of the Danube, Rhine, Rhône, and Po rivers, the project explores how conservation goals are pursued in legal and institutional arrangements between EU and non-EU riparian states. Through legal document analysis and expert interviews, the study identifies factors enabling or limiting biodiversity-sensitive governance. The findings aim to inform more integrated and conservation-oriented legal frameworks for freshwater cooperation under climate change.