| Water Pure water is essential
for all life on Earth, however we are
increasingly putting this essential resource in
serious danger. We poison our ground and surface
water. We burn fossil fuels that cause acid rain
and global warming. We dam our rivers,
interrupting water flow and destroying delicate
ecosystems downstream. We clear vegetation and
pave massive land areas, decreasing the
groundwater level and increasing flooding and
soil erosion. On top of all this, those with
access to the most water are wasting vast amounts
of it.
Water
Privatization
Global
consumption of water is doubling every 20 years.
Around the world, the most common tactic to meet
increased water demand has been to divert rivers
and to build environmentally destructive dams [see
Hotline Urgent Appeals on the effect of dams on Pak Mun Village in Thailand, and on the
Narmada Valley in India]. As a result,
freshwater fish and amphibians are at risk of
extinction. More than 30 countries already face
water stress and scarcity.
Who owns water
and how much they are able to charge for it, is
becoming a serious question of justice. The
privatization of water has already resulted in
profits for multinational corporations profit
through international trade and investment
agreements (Structural Adjustment Programs of the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund).
Today, they are using these agreements to gain
ownership over the world's ever-dwindling water
supplies.
In the past, it
was generally believed that access to basic
services like water, healthcare and education
should not be included in trade agreements.
However, the development of the Free Trade Area
of the Americas (FTAA) has challenged this belief.
[For information about FTAA, see the website of International Forum on
Globalization] Privatization of water reduces the
ability of governments to ensure protection of
the environment, consumers and workers.
Privatized water is delivered to those who can
pay for it. This has often resulted in increased
prices and a concurrent loss of access to water,
failed promises of infrastructure improvement,
loss of indigenous people's rights to water, and
a lack of information on water quality. For
example, in India, some households pay a
staggering 25 percent of their income for water.
More than 5 million people, most of them
children, die every year form illnesses caused by
drinking poor-quality water.
Water
as Human Right
In January 2000,
an international "civil summit" of
farmers, workers, indigenous people, students,
professionals, environmentalists, educators and
nongovernmental organizations from Bolivia,
Canada, India, Brazil and US gathered in
Cochabamba, Bolivia. "The Cochabamba
Declaration" which resulted from the summit
says in part that:
"…water
belongs to the Earth and all species and is
sacred to life. Therefore, the world's water must
be conserved, reclaimed and protected for all
future generations and its natural patterns
respected"
"Water is
a fundamental human right and public trust to be
guarded by all levels of governments. Therefore,
it should not be commodified, privatized or
traded for commercial purposes. These rights must
be enshrined at all levels of government. An
international treaty must ensure these principles
are non-convertible."
Source:
Water Incorporated by Maude Barlow, Earth Island Journal, Spring 2002
Water
as a Gift from God to be Shared
"Praised
be You, my Lord, through Sister Water, Which is
very useful and humble and precious and chaste."
From
The Canticle of the Sun by St Francis of
Assisi, Patron Saint of the Environment
Over 1,000
million people have to rely on unsafe water in 80
countries of the world. About 50% of the world's
rivers are polluted. About 3,000 million people
consume water of poor quality. Each year 2.2
million people die from sickness related to water.
By the year 2025 half of the world's population -about
3,500 million people - will face serious water
problems. Control of water is now becoming high
profit business for multi-national companies.
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