| 1 |
The numbers referring to basin areas have been rounded to significant
digits and, as a result, the numbers for area within each basin do not
necessarily add up to the total area for that basin. Also, the percentages
were calculated based on raw data, and therefore do not reflect the rounding
of the areas. |
| 2 |
The dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon, over land and maritime boundaries
in the vicinity of the oil rich Bakasi Peninsula, was referred to the International
Court of Justice, which gave a ruling in 1998. Nigeria has filed
an appeal on the ruling and the dispute has yet to be resolved. The
Bakasi Peninsula, in the southwest province of Cameroon, is divided by
the Akpa Yafi river and lies to the west of Cameroon’s Rio del Ray.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998; Columbia Gazetteer, 1998). |
| 3 |
Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, but the region’s sovereignty
is unresolved and the UN is attempting to hold a referendum on the issue.
A UN-administered cease-fire remains in effect since September 1991.
(Encyclopedia of International Boundaries, 1995; CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 4 |
It has been informally reported that the indefinite segment of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)-Zambia boundary has been settled.
Therefore, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa)-Tanzania-Zambia
tripoint in Lake Tanganyika also may no longer be indefinite. (CIA
World Factbook, 1998). |
| 5 |
A long segment of the boundary between the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) along the
Congo River remains indefinite, as no division of the river or its islands
has been made. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 6 |
Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating
some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis
or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 7 |
Lake Chad varies in extent between rainy and dry seasons - from 50,000
to 20,000 km2. Demarcation of international boundaries in the vicinity
of Lake Chad is complete and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger,
and Nigeria. Determining the boundaries of sectors involving rivers
draining into Lake Chad is complicated by flooding and the uncovering or
covering of islands. The lack of demarcated boundaries has led to
border incidents in the past. (Encyclopedia of International Boundaries,
1995; The CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 8 |
The administrative boundary between Kenya and Sudan does not coincide
with the international boundary. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 9 |
Egypt’s administrative boundary with Sudan does not coincide with the
international boundary and creates the "Hala'ib Triangle," a barren area
of 20,580 km2 north of the 22nd parallel. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 10 |
Although topographically Botswana is riparian to the Orange River basin,
it is unknown whether Botswana territory contributes water to the Orange
River. Botswana’s political status as riparian to the Orange River
basin remains to be clarified among the basin states. (Conley and
van Niekerk, 1998). |
| 11 |
Namibia and South Africa are undergoing negotiations to confirm the
exact positions of their boundary along the Orange River. (Conley
and van Niekerk, 1998). |
| 12 |
Malawi is in dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa
(Lake Malawi). (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 13 |
The quadripoint between Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe is in
disagreement. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 14 |
The dispute between Botswana and Namibia over the uninhabited Kasikili
(Sidudu) Island in the Linyanti (Chobe) River is presently before the International
Court of Justice. Botswana and Namibia are also contesting at least
one other island in Linyanti River. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 15 |
Two disputed sections of the boundary between China and Russia remain
to be settled. China holds that the main channel of the Amur River
is followed northeast to a point opposite the city of Khabarovsk.
Russia claims that the line follows the Kazakevicheva channel southeastward
to the Ussuri River. The two countries dispute control of islands
in the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, despite a 1987 agreement that established
the line as running through the median lines of the main navigable and
unnavigable channels. The five disputed islands in the Amur – Popov,
Savelyev, Evrasikha, Nizhne-Petrovskiy and Lugovskoy – amount to 3,000
km2 of territory. Also in dispute are the Tarbarov and Bolshoy Ussuriyskiy
islands, located in a 30 km section of the boundary at the confluence of
the Amur and Ussuri rivers, and the Bolshoy Island, located in the upper
reaches of the Argun river. (Encyclopedia of International Boundaries,
1995; CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 16 |
Most of the boundary shared between China and Tajikistan is in dispute,
including in the Pamir mountain region. (CIA World Factbook, 1998;
IBRU, 1999). |
| 17 |
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have a territorial dispute regarding their
boundary in the Isfara Valley area. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 18 |
The boundaries of the Caspian Sea remain to be determined among Azerbaijan,
Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. (CIA World Factbook,
1998). |
| 19 |
Brunei may wish to purchase the Malaysian salient that divides the
country. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 20 |
Sections of the land boundary between China and Vietnam are indefinite.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 21 |
India and China dispute approximately 83,000 km2, including three of
the four political divisions of the Northeast Frontier Agency – the Sumdurong
Cho sector. This region falls in the Ganges-Brahmaputra basin.
(Conflict and Border Disputes, 1993; Columbia Gazetteer, 1998; IBRU 1999). |
| 22 |
Portions of the boundary between Bangladesh and India are indefinite.
Much of the boundary between the two countries is based on administrative
units that do not shift with the rivers as they change course or level
over time. Alluvial or "char" land that is exposed as a river shifts
often leads to dispute, as the land is highly valued for agriculture.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 23 |
A 33-km section of the boundary between China and North Korea in the
Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite. North Korea claims territorial
rights to two thirds of Chonji, the crater lake on Mount Paektu. (CIA World
Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 24 |
The Demarcation Line between North Korea and South Korea is in dispute.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 25 |
Disputed boundaries between China and India include approximately 25,900
km2 in the regions of Sang, Demchok, and Aksai, China. (Encyclopedia of
International Boundaries, 1995; Columbia Gazetteer, 1998). |
| 26 |
India and Pakistan dispute the status of the Jammu and Kashmir region,
an area of approximately 220,000 km2. (Encyclopedia of International
Boundaries, 1995; CIA World Factbook, 1998 ). |
| 27 |
The West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with the exception
of territories under control of the Palestinian Authority, as delineated
in the 1995 “Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip,” commonly referred to as “Oslo II”, and in the 1998 agreement
signed at Wye. Permanent status is to be determined during further
negotiation. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 28 |
Israel and Syria dispute the Golan Heights, which is currently administered
by Israel. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 29 |
Topographically, Egypt is riparian to the Jordan River basin, however
Egyptian territory does not contribute water to the basin, except for the
possibility of intermittent, seasonal wadis. |
| 30 |
Parts of the boundary between Cambodia and Thailand are indefinite,
including overlapping claims in the Gulf of Thailand, an area potentially
containing oil and gas deposits, and an island located near the boundary
between Cambodian Koh Kong and the Thai province of Trat. (CIA World
Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 31 |
Parts of the boundary between People’s Democratic Republic of Laos
and Thailand are indefinite. The two countries have an agreement
to demarcate their boundary, but demarcation was suspended in February,
1998. (CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 32 |
Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990, but work continues
on developing written agreements to settle outstanding disputes from their
eight-year war, including boundary demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom
of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway. (CIA
World Factbook, 1998). |
| 33 |
Disputes are ongoing between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, over Serbian
populated areas. According to the Serbian Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina
(SRBH), the external boundaries are marked by the Una river in the west,
the Sava river in the north, the state boundary with the Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia in the east, and Croatia and the Serbian Republic Krajina
in the south. (CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 34 |
Eastern Slavonia, which was held by Serbs during the ethnic conflict
in the former Yugoslavia, was returned to Croatian control by the UN Transitional
Administration for Eastern Slavonia on January 15, 1998. (CIA
World Factbook, 1998). |
| 35 |
Under an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, Hungary and Slovakia
were to agree on the future of the Gabcikovo Dam complex by March 1998.
The dispute, however, has yet to be resolved. Completion of the dam
system would alter the boundaries between Hungary and Slovakia established
under the 1920 Treaty of Trianon. (CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU,
1999). |
| 36 |
The boundary commission formed by Serbia and Montenegro, and the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in April 1996 to resolve differences in
delineation of their mutual boundary has made no progress so far.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 37 |
Romania considers certain territories of Moldova and Ukraine-including
Bessarabia (45,600 km2) and Northern Bukovina-as historically part of Romania.
This territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following
the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940. (CIA World Factbook, 1998; Columbia
Gazetteer, 1998). |
| 38 |
Border problems between Byelarus and Lithuania in part lie in the fact
that the new boundary is different from the old Soviet administrative division
between the two republics. Areas of dispute include the land around
the Adutiskis railway station and the Druskininkai resort claimed by Byelarus.
Demarcation of the boundary between Byelarus and Lithuania is underway.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU 1999). |
| 39 |
The 1997 boundary agreement Lithuania and Russia remains to be ratified.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 40 |
The December 1996 technical boundary agreement reached between Estonian
and Russian negotiators remains to be ratified. Estonia claimed over
2,000 km2 of territory in the Narva and Pechory regions of Russia-based
on the boundary established under the 1920 Peace Treaty of Tartu.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 41 |
Latvia claimed the Abrene/Pytalovo section of the border ceded by the
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944, based on the 1920
Treaty of Riga. A draft treaty delimiting the boundary between Latvia
and Russia has not been signed. The Abrene/Pytalovo region is crossed
by the Utroya River, a tributary of the Vclikaya river. (CIA World
Factbook, 1998; Columbia Gazetteer, 1998). |
| 42 |
While the Meuse basin is topographically part of the Rhine basin, European
nations treat it as a politically separate basin. (Huisman, de Jong,
and Wieriks, 1998). |
| 43 |
The boundary between Belize and Guatemala is in dispute. Talks
to resolve the dispute are ongoing. Changes in the boundary between
Guatemala and Belize could impact the Hondo, Belize, Grijalva, and/or Sarstun
basins. (Until 1991, Guatemala claimed all of Belize). (CIA
World Factbook, 1998; Columbia Gazetteer, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 44 |
Three sections of the boundary between Ecuador and Peru have been in
dispute. The areas cover over 324,000 km2 and include portions of
the Amazon and Maranon rivers. The districts of Tumbes, Jaen, and
Maynas are claimed by Ecuador and administered by Peru. In December
1998, Peru and Ecuador signed a joint agreement on the implementation of
a permanent development policy for the border region. A joint commission
was created to determine their common land boundary. (Encyclopedia
of International Boundaries, 1995; CIA World Factbook, 1998; Columbia Gazetteer,
1998; BBC Summary of World Broadcasts, 12/3/98; Xinhua News Agency, 12/11/1998). |
| 45 |
The boundary upstream from the confluence of the Courantyne/Koetari
(Kutari) River with the New (Upper Courantyne) River remains unsettled.
Guyana administers the triangle formed by the two rivers, while Brazil
and Suriname continue to claim the area. Suriname also claims the
west bank of the Courantyne River below the New River as the boundary,
but de facto the boundary continues to follow the thalweg. (Encyclopedia
of International Boundaries, 1995; CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 46 |
Talks are ongoing between Guyana and Venezuela regarding their boundary
dispute. Venezuela claims all of the area west of the Essequibo River.
(CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
| 47 |
A short section of the boundary between Brazil and Paraguay, just west
of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, has yet to be
precisely delimited. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 48 |
Two short sections of the boundary between Brazil and Uruguay are in
dispute - the Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio
Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai
and the Uruguay River. (CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 49 |
A short section of the southeastern boundary of Chile with Argentina,
in the area of the Beagle Channel, remains unclear. The 1991 Aylwin-Menem
Treaty delineates the boundary between Argentina and Chile in the continental
glaciers area. As of March 1999, the treaty has not been ratified
by the Congresses of either country. (CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU,
1999). |
| 50 |
Suriname and French Guiana are in dispute over which of the upper tributaries
of the Maroni River was originally intended to carry the boundaries down
to the Brazilian boundary. The disputed area is administered by France
as a region of the overseas department of French Guiana and claimed by
Suriname. The area lies between the Riviere Litani and the Riviere
Marouini, both headwaters of the Lawa. (Encyclopedia of International
Boundaries, 1995; CIA World Factbook, 1998). |
| 51 |
Bolivia has desired a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean,
since the Atacama desert area was lost to Chile in 1884. The creation
of such a corridor could impact territory in the Zapaleri basin or create
a new international basin. (CIA World Factbook, 1998; IBRU, 1999). |
|