Flood, Drought, and the Law: Water Governance Under Climate Extremes

Abstract

This article examines how climate change is exposing the legal and institutional weaknesses of water governance systems. It argues that flood and drought should no longer be treated as separate policy domains; both are symptoms of governance systems unable to balance competing demands under climatic volatility. The article draws on contemporary UN-Water reporting to show that many countries lack the financing, coordination, and integrated management instruments required for resilient water governance. Effective response requires legal frameworks that connect basin governance, land use, ecosystem protection, infrastructure planning, and equitable allocation. The central claim is that water law must move beyond static allocation and fragmented administration toward adaptive governance capable of handling variability, scarcity, and excess simultaneously. In the climate era, water governance is no longer a sectoral technical matter. It is a constitutional question of survival, distribution, and public order.