The purpose of this article is to examine the research advanced in the journal, International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics that represents key insights into international agreements on water and their political, legal, economic and cross-disciplinary dimensions for water governance. The article analyses evidence and lessons learnt over the last twenty years to inform policy through a review of theoretical advances, innovations in principles and policy instruments, outcomes of problem-solving and knowledge gained regarding water agreements and associated institutions. Important international agreement principles of no significant harm and economic frames of water as a ‘commons’ advance equity and community of interest in relation to water. The studies on water, sanitation and hygiene point to the ways the role of the state can be advanced in achieving Sustainable Development Goals and in complex contexts of water scarcity and public private partnerships. Cross-disciplinary learnings substantiate the existence and utility of multiple water frames in legal arrangements and use of multiple policy instruments. Cross-disciplinary insights are significant in addressing equity, whether through the nascent development of water indicators or in advancing social learning. Water governance frameworks increasingly focus on adaptation by incorporating multiple stakeholders. These findings that advance equity and inclusivity are tempered by crucial lessons in our understanding of the very contested, power-laden nature of water governance that impact agency at multiple scales and policy coordination across sectors of water, food and energy.

本文的目的是审查《国际环境协议：政治、法律和经济学》杂志上的最新研究成果，该研究代表了对国际水协议及其水治理的政治、法律、经济和跨学科维度的重要见解。本文分析了过去二十年的证据和经验教训，通过回顾理论进展、原则和政策工具的创新、问题解决的成果以及在水协定和相关机构方面获得的知识，为政策提供信息。无重大损害的重要国际协议原则和将水作为“公地”的经济框架促进了与水相关的公平和利益共同体。关于水、环境卫生和个人卫生的研究指出了在水资源短缺和公私伙伴关系的复杂背景下，如何推进国家在实现可持续发展目标方面的作用。跨学科学习证实了多种水框架在法律安排和多种政策工具的使用中的存在和效用。跨学科的见解对于解决公平问题具有重要意义，无论是通过水指标的新兴发展还是推进社会学习。水治理框架越来越注重通过纳入多个利益相关者来适应。这些促进公平和包容性的发现受到了重要教训的影响，这些教训使我们认识到水治理的竞争性和权力性，影响着多个层面的机构以及水、粮食和能源部门的政策协调。