According to the United Nations, there are 276 international rivers shared by two or more countries and 200 identified transboundary aquifers (UNESCO, 2013). Transboundary river basins cover 50% of the Earth's surface (excluding Antarctica) and channel 60% of the world's flow (Biswas, 1999). About 40% of the world's population lives in transboundary lake and river basins and two billion people depend on more than 300 transboundary aquifer systems (Du and Zhong, 2011).8.1 TRANSBOUNDARY WATERS AND THE ROLE OF THE STATE Worldwide , countries have found more cost-effective solutions to exploit water sources within their jurisdiction rather than investing in water management strategies. The only remaining water sources that can now be exploited are mostly transboundary in nature (Biswas, 1999; Black and King, 2009). Countries manage their shared waterways based on their own national priorities, typically neglecting upstream or downstream water needs (Kreamer, 2012; Zeitoun, 2013). As this trend grows, pressures for improved management and institutional governance at national and international levels call into question state responsibility for contemporary cross-border issues and future threats (Suhardiman and Giordano , 2012; Although the role of state actors as key players in international water affairs is not debatable, it is recognized that their role has been insufficient in understanding the real challenges of transboundary water management. There is recognition of the participation of non-state networks, institutional soft power alliances in decision-making processes and the existence of scalar relationships and interactions between regional, national, subnational and local influences (Sanchez and Kaiser, 2011 .... middle of document ......as climate change is one of the challenges of transboundary water management, the current international legal framework (bilateral and multilateral agreements) will also be affected. Generally, transboundary agreements have not been designed to address increased climate variability, as they are often limited by rigid definitions of water allocation rather than certainty of variability. climate leads to increased pressure on alternative governance structures, potentially diminishing the legitimacy of weak international agreements (Suhardiman and Giordano, 2012). The United Nations declaration of 2013 as the International Year of Cooperation, which encourages states and other non-state actors to promote actions aimed at achieving cooperation in water-related goals, responds to the international need for new assessments of cross-border governance..