3. the right to water
Water is becoming dirtier, scarcer and
costlier for people in many parts of the
world. Big dams, pollution, deforestation,
industrialized agriculture and mining are
all part of the problem, and the
international financial institutions, trade
treaties and multinational water
corporations that promote the privatization
of water services are decreasing people's
access to water.
Friends of the Earth International
believes that water is a fundamental human
right as it is essential to livelihoods,
and it should not be treated as an economic
good. Friends of the Earth groups are
campaigning for water justice by promoting
collective water management systems, urging
water reduction and reuse, restoring rivers
and wetlands to more natural states, and
resisting the privatization of public water
sources.
In the face of a global corporate push
to privatize water sources, communities are
resisting the violation of their water
rights in various creative ways. In
Cochabamba , Bolivia , massive public
uprisings led to the withdrawal of the
government's water privatization law and
forced an unwelcome water company to leave
the country. In Slovakia , public water
services in the city of Trencin are being
privatized without public involvement,
fuelling Friends of the Earth's campaign
against corporate water secrecy. To protect
the right to water for future generations,
Friends of the Earth Uruguay has
co-initiated a procedure for constitutional
reform that would make access to water a
fundamental human right.
more information:
Friends of the Earth
International:
www.foei.org/water
Water Justice:
www.waterjustice.org
The Center for Economic and Social Rights:
www.cesr.org/PROGRAMS/water.htm
