Principles of Water Law and Administration

The Author: Dante A. Caponera (1921-2003)

Dr. Dante Caponera began his career as a water law and administration expert in the 1950s undertaking field missions for international organizations such as UNDP, FAO, the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE, now ESCAP), and assisting governments and international basin institutions in the drafting of water legislation and international water agreements. He became the Chief of the FAO Legislation Branch, which thanks to his efforts is now a provider of technical legal assistance to developing countries. He was the initiator of the FAO 'Legislative Studies' series.

After retirement, he continued to provide technical assistance in water law and administration to governments and international basin institutions, leading to water codes embodying principles such as those of river basin management and users' participation and improved river basin management institutions.

Dr. Caponera followed a methodological approach that he developed during his career with FAO and is now known world-wide. Dr Caponera promoted training in the field of water law and administration as a vehicle for dialogue and cooperation leading to improved legal and institutional frameworks.

Dr. Caponera is also the author of the book 'National and International Water Law and Administration, Selected Writings', published by Kluwer Law International in 2003.

The Reviser: Marcella Nanni

A disciple of Dr. Caponera, Dr. Marcella Nanni is now a recognized international expert in water law and administration and related disciplines. To date, she has provided expert advice in this field to a number of governments and international river basin institutions within the framework of projects financed by international organizations such as the FAO, the European Union, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and by bilateral donors. This advice has covered the development of draft water legislation and international agreements, the development of proposals for the approximation of the legislation of EU accession countries to the EU water acquis, the restructuring of water resources management institutions, water law implementation requirements and the formulation and conduct of capacity-building programmes, amongst other things.

Dr. Nanni is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Water Law/Asociacion Internacional de Derecho de Aguas (AIDA), the Editor of the Association's newsletter 'Aquaforum'.