Texas A&M School of Law professor Gabriel Eckstein participated as a forum panelist in the third annual Istanbul International Water Forum in Turkey May 27-29. His topics included trans-boundary water cooperation and the right to water and sanitation. Eckstein also participated in a side event with a focus on water quality guidelines.
“The forum was extremely diverse in terms of participants, and the conversations were fascinating,” he said, describing it as worthwhile for open discussions about water at an international level. This year’s topic was water law and water security. This was the first international event that Eckstein says he’s ever seen dedicated to water governance and water law.
The forum offered viewpoints from more than 400 professionals discussing water policy at a global level with over 4,500 participants from 100 different countries in attendance.
He also participated in an executive board meeting for the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) as the organization’s treasurer. Eckstein is working with Texas A&M University to start a student organization through this same association. The student group will probably be called: "Texas A&M University Chapter of the International Water Resources Association." Its primary focus will be to continue the advancement of leaders in water resource management and education while furthering conversations among key partners, including lawyers and environmental leaders. He anticipates this group will be available for Texas A&M University law students to join as soon as this fall.
Eckstein serves as an expert advisor and consultant on U.S. and international environmental and water law issues and has worked with the United Nations, U.S. Agency for International Development, World Commission on Dams, Organization of American States, International Association of Hydrogeologists, and various local water entities in the United States. Eckstein directs the Internet-based International Water Law Project with the mission to serve as the premier resource on the Internet addressing the future of international water law and policy.
Eckstein recently organized and moderated the Texas A&M University School of Law Water Lecture Series program "Is Texas Missing an Opportunity? Lessons from Australia" featuring Professor Mike Young of the University of Adelaide and current Harvard professor.
Professor Eckstein has been on the law faculty since 2010 and is a member of the Graduate Faculty at Texas A&M University as well as of the Texas A&M University Water Management and Hydrological Science Graduate Faculty. Previously, he was a law professor at Texas Tech University School of Law where he held the George W. McCleskey Chair in Water Law and directed the Texas Tech Center for Water Law & Policy.