Rivers are the arteries of the planet and provide most of the fresh surface water used by people. Approximately 263 international river basins are estimated to cover approximately 50% of the Earth's surface, but by volume they transport approximately 2,120 km3, or approximately 6/1,000 of 1% of the total water (Table 1). About 40% of the world's population lives in river basins that include two or more countries. According to the United Nations, 145 countries have territory within international basins. Although most basins are shared between only two countries, in many basins this number is much higher. There are 13 basins worldwide shared between 5 and 8 riparian nations. Five basins – Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine and Zambezi – are shared between 9 and 11 countries. The river that flows through the greatest number of nations is the Danube, which flows through the territory of 18 nations (United Nations, 2014). At least thirty-three countries depend on other countries for more than 50% of their renewable water resources. These countries include: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Cambodia,...