2003/03/24

No Consensus on Water as a Human Right

Inter Press Service (IPS)

A ministerial meeting tackling the world's water problems fell short of producing a clearly defined programme of action in its final declaration, which was released here in this central Japanese city on Sunday.

KYOTO, Japan, Mar 24 (IPS) - A ministerial meeting tackling the world's water problems fell short of producing a clearly defined programme of action in its final declaration, which was released here in this central Japanese city on Sunday.

Also missing in the final text seeking to achieve water security was language recognising the right to water as a human right. Furthermore, the ministerial declaration omitted mention of the need for a global mechanism to monitor the progress being made to solve water-related problems, particularly the lack of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Both the human rights aspect of access to water and the need for a mechanism to monitor water programmes received mention during a week-long international conference on water that preceded the two-day ministerial meeting here. During the Third World Water Forum (TWWF), policymakers, water experts, engineers, company executives, activists and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) debated a range of issues, from water and climate, water supply and sanitation, waste water, water for agriculture, the issue of impounding water through dams and potential conflicts that could arise due to water.

As it is, the declaration endorsed at the ministers' meeting, which attracted representatives from over 100 countries, identifies key areas where urgent work is necessary. Among them are exploring new ways of financing water projects, including private sector participation. The other significant themes in the declaration are the need for community-based approaches in managing water, the recognition that cooperation is a must among countries that share rivers to avoid future conflicts and that countries must improve the ''efficiency of agriculture water use.''

Some themes at Third World Water Forum proved to be thornier than others, not least what critics called the too-heavy focus on the role of the private sector in access to a basic good like water. Indeed, these themes included the debate on how to finance water projects in the developing world -- both for safe drinking water and for irrigation and hydroelectric power -- and the need to build large dams. In the end, the declaration states that ''all sources of financing, both public and private, national and international, must be mobilised and used in the most effective and efficient way''. It adds that it ''takes note'' the report of the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure, which backs greater private sector involvement in water services in the developing world and calls on governments to reform laws to ensure the water companies are guaranteed security.

According to a World Bank report released during the Third World Water Forum, the developing world will need annual investments in the water sector to rise from 75 billion to 180 billion U.S. dollars to achieve water security and provide sanitation for the world's poor. But NGOs at the Kyoto forum, which ran from Mar. 16-22, issued a statement to the ministerial meeting denouncing the efforts underway to privatise water.