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<br />.' <br /> <br />mine gold; these uses often required diversion of the water to distant places <br />and into other watersheds. The appropriation system does not provide <br />protection for possible future water uses in the area of origin. Rather it is <br />based on the notion that a water right can only be gained by actual <br />beneficial use; water cannot be reserved, for some indefinite and prospective <br />future use, certainly not as against someone who can make a present <br />beneficial use of it. <br /> <br />"Out-of-basin transfers were, from the first days of settlement of the West, <br /> <br /> <br />recognized as a proper use of water under the western appropriation system. <br /> <br /> <br />Thousands of such transfers have occurred throughout the West under this <br /> <br /> <br />system. The appropriation system has, in fact, never made any distinction <br /> <br /> <br />between uses within and outside the watershed. In recent years as state <br /> <br /> <br />and federal government have planned and built larger projects, they have, <br /> <br /> <br />for the most part, accepted this principle, and have not hestitated to plan <br /> <br /> <br />for the transfer of water from one watershed to another. <br /> <br />"The concept of area of origin protection cannot be identified as such in <br /> <br /> <br />the field of international law. It might, however, be said to be a na tura1 <br /> <br /> <br />by-product of the notion of sovereignty which has been the dominant theme <br /> <br /> <br />in international relations since the 18th century. A sovereign nation is <br /> <br /> <br />under no obligation to export its water (or anything else for that matter) <br /> <br /> <br />except under conditions acceptable to it, such as upon the receipt of <br /> <br /> <br />adequate compensation or some other appropriate tradeoff. Various <br /> <br /> <br />international water agreements can be found expressing the notion of <br /> <br /> <br />sovereignty with regard to water resources, although none are found that <br /> <br /> <br />provide for export of water that would not otherwise naturally cross into <br /> <br />-111- <br />