Between salt and salmon

The approach to environmental problems that extend beyond national borders requires a particular management strategy. If at the national level the possibilities for direct hierarchical management are limited, in cross-border situations this is even more the case: in a trans-boundary context, we are dealing with sovereign states that cannot compel one another or each other’s citizens to do anything. Therefore, international consultations become necessary in order to deal with global problems such as the greenhouse effect and the depletion of the ozone layer. In fact, problems on this scale require network management in an international context. Disputes that arise on a fluvial scale also call for network management. The quality and/or quantity of crossborder water supplies are the subject matter of such disputes. Whereas the question of water quantity predominates in the southern hemisphere (Biswas, 1992, p.3), the issue of water quality prevails in the northern hemisphere. Unfortunately, for many years, most industrialized countries have assigned the growth of material production a higher priority than the integrity of their water systems.