Abstract
Water governance is a key issue requiring international cooperation. This article examines the role of international water law and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in sustainable water management. Particular attention is paid to the provisions of the 1992 Helsinki Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes and the 1997 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses, as well as to the legal and institutional challenges of equitable and sustainable use of transboundary basins within the framework of the SDGs. The current state of regional cooperation is analysed using the example of the Chu and Talas river basins in Central Asia. Reforms are proposed to bring the region's national legal systems into line with the norms and principles of international law and the requirements of SDG 6 in order to improve sustainable water management.