The principal aim of the Dundee Knowledge and Research (KaR) project is to develop a tool that would enable a Transboundary Watercourse State (TWS) to identify it's legal entitlement and obligations with respect to it's shared freshwater resources. This would assist a TWS to develop national water policy that ensures reasonable and equitable access to freshwater resources for all, especially the most disadvantaged.

The Dundee KaR project aims to develop a Legal Assessment Model (LAM), to establish a set of gauging components, or "quantitative and qualitative parameters", to support national governments in determining with increased certainty their transboundary water entitlements and obligations. The LAM includes a series of Data Collection Tools (Factors Matrix, Legal Audit, Glossary of Terms and Method of Evaluation) designed to enable a TWS to comply with its international obligations.

The KaR project carried out by the International Water Law Research Institute (IWLRI), Department of Law, University of Dundee, is headed by Dr Patricia Wouters, Director of the Institute. Working with Dr Wouters are water resource experts in economics, hydrology and law working in interdisciplinary teams on the 3 project case studies in China (upstream), Mozambique (downstream) and Palestine (transboundary groundwater).

The Inception Report was issued in February 2002 for public dissemination and is available to view at the website http://www.dundee.ac.uk/law/iwlri.

The project's expected completion date is 31st March 2003 with the final report and dissemination strategy following that date.