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ETHICS-NEWS: Vol 1, #3 March, 2003
TOPIC: "WHOSE WATER IS IT ANYWAY?"
Edited by Martha Gallahue, National Service Conference, American Ethical Union, Member, CEBO.org.
“Water is telling us to take a much deeper look at ourselves. When we do look at ourselves through the mirror of water, the message becomes amazingly, crystal, clear. We know that human life is directly connected to the quality of our water, both within and all around us.” Masaru Emoto

Water Facts
Freshwater is the single most precious element for life on earth. Is is essential for satisfying basic human needs, health food production, energy and maintenance of regional and global ecosystems. Although 70% of the world’s surface is covered by water, only 2.5% is fresh water, of which 70 percent is frozen in ice caps. The remainder is present as soil moisture. This leaves less than one percent of the world’s freshwater resources accessible for human use. If present consumption patterns continue, two out of every three persons on Earth will live in water-stressed conditions – moderate or severe water shortages – by the year 2025.

1.1 billion people lack access to safe water, roughly one sixth of the world’s population. Some 6000 children die every day from diseases associated with unsafe water and poor sanitation and hygiene – equivalent to 20 jumbo jets crashing every day. One flush of a Western toilet uses as much water as the average person in the developing world uses for a whole day’s washing, drinking, cleaning and cooking. Over pumping groundwater for drinking water and irrigation has caused water levels to decline drastically, forcing people to use low-quality of water for drinking. Losses of water through leakage, illegal hook-ups and waste amount to about 50 percent of water for drinking and 60 percent of water for irrigation in developing countries. (United Nations Department of Public Information)WaterYear2003.org

Water Issues
Suffering the deleterious consequences of our water problems falls squarely upon the shoulders of the poor. Yet, during the Second Preparatory Commission for the WSSD, Bhutan, one of the poorest countries in the world, proclaimed proudly of its care of water as it flows through its country. Bhutan also remains one of the least industrialized countries of western Asia. Why has water become such a desperate issue. First of all, global consumption of water is doubling every 20 years – more than twice the rate of human population growth. Another and even more critical issue is the way governments are choosing to manage water especially in the trend toward privatization of it. Ownership, entitlement and the present tendency to commodify water are clustered issues that raise important ethical conundrums.
Globalpolicy.org

One of the assumptions about water has been that it is a national good, noted Ms. Inge Kaul, Director, office of Development Studies, UNDP, and Editor, Providing Global Public Goods: Managing Globalization. Thus, its management is under the governance of whichever sovereign state may be said to own it. These assumptions were created when industrialized countries developed our present economic system. It was a time when not much was known about groundwater. Not much was understood about the dangers of pollution. Water seemed to exist in endless amounts. When modern capitalism operates from the premise of scarcity and freshwater becomes increasingly scarce, a dangerous combination of greed and desperation collide.

Rachel Carson foresaw this possibility when she wrote Silent Spring in l962. Denial, however triumphed when it came to addressing the solutions. The World Bank developed policies that fit within the constraints of the present economic system. Particularly through the Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs), The International Monetary Fund (IMF) used these economic restructuring programs to give corporations access to the water systems of developing countries. “ In the past, governments unanimously believed that access to basic human services such as water, healthcare and education should not be included in trade agreements because these were essential components of citizenship. However, in the early l990’s, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Grade (GATT) began the process of eroding these basic human rights. Today, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is poised to take this process to a whole new level,” said Maude Barlow in The Island Journal, March 5, 2000.

Maude Barlow reported in The Earth Island Journal, March 5, 2002, “The World Water Forum which took place in The Hague in March 2000 (2nd Forum) was chaired by World Bank Vice President Ismail Serageldin. The WWF is connected with the World Water Council (WWC), a coalition of governments, international agencies and private-sector interests. The WWC has formed close working partnerships with private corporations, the Global Water Partnership and Business Partners for Development. The Websites and reports of these organizations and corporations make clear that some of the world’s largest water privateers are taking the lead in developing global water policies. In l990, about 51 million people got their water from private companies, according to water analysts. That figure is now more than 300 million. Over a 12-year period, the revenue growth has grown exponentially. One Company alone, Vivendi Universal, the parent of Vivendi Environment, reported its earnings have increased from five to twelve billion dollars. (The Center for Public Integrity: iciz.org)

“With the support of international trade agreements, these companies are setting their sights on the mass transport of water by pipeline and super tanker. Several companies are developing technology to pump fresh water into huge sealed bags to be towed across the oceans for sale. The US Global Water Corp., a Canadian company, has signed an agreement with Sitka, Alaska, to export 18 billion gallons of glacier water per year to China. It would then be bottled for export in one of China’s “free Trade” zones to take advantage of cheap labor….

“Under the agreement, the goods that are subject to the agreement’s obligations include ‘waters, including natural or artificial waters, and aerated waters.’ In l993, then-US Trade Representative Mickey Kantor said in a letter to a US environmental group, ‘When water is traded as a good, all provisions of (NAFTA) governing trade in goods apply.’

“’National Treatment’ is a standard trade provision guaranteeing that countries do not ‘discriminate’ by favoring domestic producers over foreign producers. This means that if a locality provides any portion of its water supply through a private company, it cannot favor a locally owned service provider that may have a greater commitment to the area and may be easier for the local community to oversee. Furthermore, once a permit is granted to a domestic company to export water, the corporations of all the other (FTAA) countries would have the same access rights to the commercial use of that water….”

One well-documented case occurred in Bolivia when the government turned over their water systems to a company jointly owned by the US-based multinational Bechtel and the Italian utility Edison. Water rates increased 35 percent in one of the poorest countries in the world and surpassed the median cost of shelter for its citizens.

What Is To Be Done

Changes come when all sectors, governments, civil society and corporate institutions are grounded in win/win solutions. Policies that flow from international instruments need to include a broader spectrum of “the good”. How much longer can wealthy countries assume they are entitled to treat water as a commodity when the poor have no money to buy it? What is Earth entitled to? Wealth cannot be seen merely in terms of cash flow especially when earth and human resources are being degraded. Finally, responsibility for the future needs to be shouldered by every living human being according to her abilities. With regard to water, agreeing upon the urgency of the problem is a start.

UNESCO was one of the first UN Agencies to pay attention to what human beings were doing with water. In l975, UNESCO pioneered efforts to provide a scientific basis for evaluating global water resources and formulating ethical and socio-economic principles to guide water management and development practices. (Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of the Launch of the International Year of Freshwater, 2003.) The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is another leader. UNEP is one of the most effective agencies in the UN system both as an information resourcec and an agency for bringing peoples together to work out positive solutions. On World Water Day, March 22, 2003, UNEP will launch it World Water Development Report, the first-ever UN system-wide effort to monitor progress against targets in such fields as health, food, ecosystems, cities, industry, energy, risk management, water valuation, resource sharing, knowledge base construction and governance. Waterday2003)

The intent of these studies and reports is to inspire political and community action and encourage greater global understanding of the need for more responsible water use and conservation. By providing these valuable educational tools all agencies and schools can access in order to redirect more prudent attitudes that must shape policies.

Information from older more earth-connected cultures is also a step in the right direction. With the establishment of The Permanent Forum of The Indigenous People’s at the UN we may reverse some of the limitations that have resulted from a sometimes too narrow focus of industrialized countries. Indigenous Peoples have always held that earth is not a commodity to be bought and sold. The presence of this Forum may well hold the seed for a growing enlightenment as to how all of us need to look more closely at the earth around us. NGO’s at the UN are also collaborating to promote Earth Values and EarthCharter.org. Many corporations have yet to shift their assumptions of profit to include the health of Earth, to respect basic entitlement of citizens and to lend their expertise in transparent ways for reciprocal benefit between themselves and the people they serve..

When water is recognized to be a security issue and it is, people will pay attention. See an interview with Vandana Shiva, author of Water Wars, on September 1, 2002 during the World Summit for Sustainable Development. In Bolivia, one of the poorest countries in the world, privatization of water there proved disastrous, and violent revolution resulted in an effort to force change. When privatization occurred, water became more expensive than shelter. Action was taken that led to The Cochabamba Declaration. This Declaration was written at an international gathering of farmers, workers, indigenous people, students, professionals, environmentalists, educators and nongovernmental organizations from Bolivia, Canada, India, Brazil and the US. It reads in part:
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 a 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-controvertable.

Does this mean that private corporations must simply pack their bags and walk away from engaging in any form of partnerships? The answer is no if they can be enlightened ones. One example is a public/private partnership called the Roundabout Project. South Africa’s water supply is considered the 26th most stressed in the world in terms of per person availability. In l999, Roundabout Outdoor entered a public/private partnership with the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to assist the Department in its commitment to deliver water to all of South Africa by 2008. Roundabout Outdoor also made a pledge to carry public health messages (HIV prevention) into the rural areas. Its method of delivering in the rural areas comes through a patented South African invention, the Roundabout Playpumps. These Playpumps simplify the whole exercise of drawing water by providing a low maintenance pump that is easy to use. Children playing on a roundabout, power the Playpump. This pumps water from a borehole to a water tank where it can be drawn more easily than the regular methods. Following Roundabout’s win of the World Bank’s Development Marketplace Award in 2000, the project has found international support from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and Clear Water Project of the USA.

“An increasing awareness of the centrality of water to peoples’ wider livelihoods is leading to a reassessment of traditional approaches to water supply,” writes Dick de Jong of IRC. Whether it is identifying the productive potential of domestic water supplies, or acknowledging the domestic use of ‘irrigation’ water, the need to respond to the real demands of water users is forcing the break down of governmental boundaries and a search for new, practical solutions: policy, technical, institutional, environmental and financial. This is a central theme of an international symposium on ‘water, poverty and productive uses of water at the household level’, in South Africa. See IRC.nl

When the Third World Water Forum convenes, March 16–23, 2003, in Kyoto, Japan, many of these issues will be discussed. For more information of the Forum, see Water supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council. According to Public Citizen’s Critical Mass Energy and Environment Program, however, this upcoming Forum continues to push for privatization without enough consideration for public well-being. In their vision statement, this NGO declares: “Every human being has the right to clean water…We proclaim that the key to the sustainable provision of water for life is the maintenance and protection of the ecological integrity of all ecosystems. We call for the adoption and implementation of a restoration agenda for the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems….Water, as a public trust and an inalienable human right, must be controlled by the peoples and communities that rely on it for their lives and livelihoods… Finally, we proclaim that the management and protection of the world’s water resources must absolutely be based on the principles of justice, solidarity, reciprocity, equity, diversity and sustainability, because water is a human right…”

Water is a cross cutting issue that forces us all to see the pitfalls of consumerism and indifference to the earth that supports us. UN sponsorship of World Conferences from Rio in l992 to The World Conference on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, 2002, and followed by the Year of The Launch of Fresh Water 2003 continue to put pressure on those countries that seek to constrain development and globalization merely in terms of economic growth. Information continues to flow and networks continue to form with these events. Advocacy throughout the world increases as new instruments are forged.

International institutions need to continue forging instruments such as The Agenda 21, an outcome document of The Rio Conference l992 and implement the Kyoto Protocol. (esp. Chapter 18, pp.167-196.) Furthermore, these declarations need to become binding. Governments must not cede their responsibilities to fair regulations. As said before, multinational trade agencies need to develop practices from a broader spectrum of information, not merely the logics of economic development. They must abandon ideological assumptions in the name of what works for everybody. Water users need to develop conservation practices.

” The world needs to improve its stewardship of water resources. We need much more efficient irrigation, far less toxic agriculture and industry, and new investments in water infrastructure and services. And we need to free women and girls from the daily burden of walking great distances in search of water – time and effort that could be better spent on education and building better lives for themselves, their families and their communities. The International Year of Freshwater should mobilize the world behind these goals by raising awareness, by generating new ideas and strategies, and by promoting participation, partnerships and peaceful dialogue. Let us pool our efforts; let us use the knowledge and technology at our disposal; and let us do our utmost to protect the world’s precious freshwater resources – our lifeline for survival and sustainable development in the 21st century.” -- Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General.
Message for the International Year of Freshwater (2003)

And read this beautiful essay:
By the Rivers of Babylon.Znet. March 15, 2003 By Vijay Prashad

Bibliography:
Agenda 21 The United Nations Programme of Action From Rio
Outcome document from World Summit on Sustainable Development
Providing Global Public Goods: Managing Globalization, edited by Inge Kaul, Pedro Conceicao, Katell Le Goulven, Ronald U. Mendoza, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).
The Message from Water , by Masaru Emoto
Water Incorporated: The Commodification of The World’s Water,” by Maude Barlow, Earth Island Journal, March 5, 2002.
Water Year 2003. Division for Sustainable Development, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

For gender perspectives on water,
Untapped Connections: Gender, Water and Poverty, a report developed by Women’s Environment and Development Organization, in consultation with several women’s organizations working on water and sustainable development issues in different parts of the world and with support from the United Nations Population Fund
For advocacy information,
Genderandwateralliance.org
IRC.nl.prodwat
Corpwatch.org
Center for Public Integrity Website

For case studies and project descriptions on community-based management, collaborative management and Indigenous Peoples Management.

This newsletter compiled by Martha Gallahue, for CEBO.org, the Council of Ethics Based Organizations, is a group of ethics based NGOs affiliated with the United Nations Department of Public Information.

"Representing our individual organizations but joined in common cause, we have formed a council of peers to share information and raise awareness of ethical humanist responses to UN-related initiatives in the fields of human rights, intellectual and religious freedom, peace and conflict, corporate ethics, and sustainable development."

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