global public goods

BÄR Rosmarie

Water needs the protection of international law

> 2005, Social Watch (Report by Alliance Sud)

http://www.socialwatch.org/en/inform (...)

With facts like "80% of all diseases in developing countries can be traced back to the use of polluted water", the need for an equitable supply of safe water is great. This article outlines the arguments for an international convention within the UN framework binding the right to water and protecting it as a public good. The article discusses the policy failures surrounding the battle for access to water to be safeguarded, looks at some of the existing UN documents which state the need for access to clean drinking water, particularly within a human rights context and the shift from a "public good" to an "economic good". Finally it presents the need for a holistic approach to safeguarding water supply.

• The full report, which goes into further details, can be found in pdf format at the Alliance Sud website here. This report is also available in French and Spanish.

date of on-line publication : 8 November 2005

Massan d’Almeida

Is Water a Public Good or a Commodity?

> Appeared on Globalizacija site in English, October 2004. (Original text from AWID in French)

This article considers first the ethical principles by which access to water should be viewed. It argues that using the current approach of considering water as a commodity and privatising its supply will not allow us to reach the target of the Millennium Development Goals to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. Finally it presents the reasons for and the benefits of an international binding convention on water. (...) read

date of on-line publication : 8 November 2005

SHIVA Vandana

India’s Water Future

The commodification of water

> 3rd November, 2005, ZNet

http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/conte (...)

This commentary looks at the World Bank’s efforts to reduce water to a “market economy” and its intentions for privatisation in India. The author also brings in a comparison with the Seed Act of 2004. Furthermore, the author argues: “by ignoring the ecological and hydrological limits of water availability and allowing water access and water distribution to be driven by insatiable markets, the Bank is prescribing a deepening of the water crisis and a growing polarization in access the water. The Bank’s future vision is the vision for a hydro-apartheid.”

• More commentaries by the same author on the subjects of water and biopiracy can be found here.

date of on-line publication : 8 November 2005