gats: greater rights for water
multinationals
alexandra
wandel, foe europe
Bertram Zagema of FoE
Netherlands hands over 14,000 protest cards
asking Dutch officials to ensure that the
World Trade Organization stops pushing for
water privatization around the world.
Over one billion people lack access to
safe and affordable drinking water, and 2.4
billion people are without adequate
sanitation. Water is scarce, with some 31
countries currently facing water shortages
and another 17 likely to be added to this
list by 2025. This growing scarcity and
demand has led many to believe that water
may well have as important a role as oil in
the 21st century, with the water market
becoming as valuable and politicized as the
fossil fuel market.
Like oil, water is also big business.
The value of the global water and waste
water industry is estimated as much as
US$800 billion annually. Currently, the
corporate water giants are aiming to
substantially increase their current
revenues by lobbying the World Trade
Organization to remove barriers to
trade.
Within the framework of the WTO’s
General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS), the European Union is pushing hard
to secure greater market access for its
water multinationals. The EU, under
pressure from the corporate lobby
federation European Services Forum, the two
French water giants Suez (previously Suez
Lyonnaise des Eaux) and Vivendi Universal,
German multinational RWE and its British
subsidiary Thames Water, is asking for
global trade rules to be adjusted to the
demands of these companies.
Within the framework of the GATS
negotiations, the EU has targetted 109
countries, many of them least developed, in
which they would like to see open markets
for the collection, extraction,
purification and distribution of bulk and
retail water. Countries are being asked to
commit to this commodification of their
water resources by the end of March 2003.
The EU has been accused of bullying
countries into making commitments to open
their water markets in closed-door
bilateral negotiations.
Given the increasing scarcity of water
in many communities, the proposed inclusion
of water collection in the GATS raises
concerns. Market access committments could
limit the rights of governments to restrict
the amount of water removed from lakes,
rivers and groundwater sources by private
service operators. The resulting increased
pressure on water sources could lead to
sustained environmental damage.
Friends of the Earth Europe and many
other groups have called on the EU to halt
the GATS negotiations and to conduct an
economic, social and environmental
assessment before proceeding with further
GATS commitments. Any services related to
water extraction and collection must be
clearly excluded from GATS obligations.
more information:
FoE Europe:
www.foeeurope.org/trade/publications.htm
GATSWatch:
www.gatswatch.org
FoE Australia:
www.foe.org.au
