In 1995 the vice president of the World Bank ismail serageblin predicted that the wars of this century will be over water. The reality is that the world’s availability of fresh water supply is decreasing. Water pollution, deforestation, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion and climate change all interact and contribute to the depletion of fresh water supplies. From the perspective of Major Corporation, water scarcity has transformed water into the oil of the 21st century. Who had ever thought water our life blood would have such a high price tag.
Global consumption is surging at a rate higher than the population growth. The politics who gets clean water and who does not and at what price reflects the global inequality in the politics of water. Industry, mining, export agriculture, large land owners, real estate development and wealthy urban consumer drive the politics of water. Small farmer and ranchers, rural community, poor people in urban slum are usually the loser in the politics of water. In the United States, Canada and Europe most people take for granted that water will run when they turn on the tap. For many in the developing world piped water in the home is a distant dream.
According to United Nation (UN) statistics 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, 2.4 billion people lack the access to proper sanitation and more than 5 million die annually from water borne diseases. We should not accept the inequality of the global power politics of water. The United Nation projects that by the year 2005, 2/3rd of the world population will face water shortages or lack of clean water. Yet government and international institute do not seem willing to make investment to ensure access to clean and affordable water for all.
Most people in the developing world do not have access to portable water. It is estimated that water business is estimated to be about $7 trillion. The government in many countries are retreating from there responsibilities and are bending to the will of giant transnational companies. Private companies claim that they have the answer to the infrastructure and water availability challenges. The growing water industry is at the patronage of the water stressed people. With the odd stacked against them, the poor have little choice. The transnational companies have worked closely with World Bank, governments bodies around the world to make changes in there in legislation to force privatization of public work. At present privatization has been concentrated in poor countries where World Bank has used its power to force government to privatize water supplies in exchange of loans. Similarly is the case of International Monetary Fund, which in the year 2000, in its loan agreements with 12 countries included conditions imposing water privatization or “full cost recovery”. A review of World Bank water and sanitation loans approved in 2001 found that 80.9% of loans contained cost recovery measures and 51% contained privatization measures. The result was increase in water prices and lack of access for those who cannot pay this price which in turn resulted in increased marginalization of the world’s poor. In Ghana after IMF and World Bank policy required 95% rise in water fees in May 2001, purchasing three bucket of water a day cost ten to twenty percent of the average daily income. In India some poor household pay as much as twenty five percent of there income on water.
In contrast to privatization, there are several community based small-scale water management techniques which offer cost benefit and long term sustainability over the privatization. Rain water harvesting is one such method which involves the collection of water from surface on which rain falls, and subsequently storing them for later use. There are other number of traditional water harvesting systems in various ecological zones of India. These include johads, checkdams and other structures to harvest every drop of drain. The irrigation tanks (earthen bounded reservoirs constructed across slopes by taking advantage of local depression and mounds) of South India are symbols of an ancient and rich tradition of harnessing local rainfall and streamflow.
Better and socially responsible alternatives can be found by investing in community based participatory approaches to water management that ensures equitable and sustainable use of this precious natural resource. Thus the alternative to privatization lies in participation.
References
1) Rain water harvesting.org website: http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/index.htm
2) The Hinduonline.com Website: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2002/08/11/stories/2002081100500100.htm;
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/bline/2003/03/25/stories/2003032500030800.htm
3) Water: Charting a course for the future, Ramaswamy R Iyer, Centre for policy Research, 2000, pp 62
4) Tanks of South India, A Vaidyanathan, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi, 2001, pp 78
5) The world water council website: http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/
6) IndiaTogether website: http://www.indiatogether.org/2003/nov/env-wtrdebate.htm
7) Infochange India Website: http://www.infochangeindia.org/analysis67.jsp
8) Frontline Magazine Website: http://www.flonnet.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment