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asian development bank
water projects
sri lanka
thailand
pakistan
nepal
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image: FoE Sri
Lanka
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The Government of Sri Lanka is receiving a
$10.7 million loan from the Asian Development
Bank to improve the management of water
resources. This is part of a scheme promoted
by the World Bank and the Development Bank to
stop farmers growing non-export food crops
and to start charging farming families for
irrigation water. Both farmers and the poor
will be forced to sell their water rights to
high value sectors such as export food crops,
industrial sectors or modern economic sectors
in urban areas.
In 2000 ministers approved a 'National
Water Resources Policy'. Its major
recommendation is that all the water
resources should rest with the government.
Once implemented every user of water will
have to pay for their water entitlement. This
is only one step towards transferring the
ownership of water resources to international
companies so they can make profits through
distribution. Historically, water has always
been regarded as the common property of the
Sri Lankan people. The State is only a
guardian. However, about 12 foreign companies
have already visited Sri Lanka and held
international workshops to explore business
opportunities with water.
Paddy cultivation will be seriously
affected if water is issued as a commodity on
the market. The World Bank has advised the
government that paddy cultivation in Sri
Lanka is a non-profitable venture and
recommended the diversification of
agriculture into cash crops. Making water a
commodity and fixing a market price amounts
to taking away the livelihoods of the urban
and rural poor, as well as farmers, animals
and plants.
visit
the
website of the Sri Lankan Friends of the
Earth group, Environmental Foundation Ltd
In Thailand, the Asian Development Bank's
$600 million Agricultural Sector Program Loan
demands fundamental reforms of national water
policy, despite possibly contravening the
Thai constitution.
The Asian Development Bank called for:
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a National Water Resources Policy;
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a Water Law;
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a policy on cost recovery in
irrigation;
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an increase in National Water Resource
Committee's authority in managing water
resources nationwide;
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river basin organizations in three
pilot river basins;
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the privatization of the irrigation
system so that farmers pay for the costs of
private water management.
The Thai government has been required to
use the free market model. Groups who can
make a high profit from water are given
priority in access to water resources.
Farmers, who do not generate much profit from
water, are given the lowest priority.
In drafting National Water Resources
policy, the National Water Resources
Committee obtained technical assistance from
consultant companies hired by the Asian
Development Bank and some committee members
had close relationships with consultant
companies hired by the Asian Development
Bank. The decision-making was processed
behind closed doors. Put simply, the
direction of National Policy on Water
Resource was determined by the Asian
Development Bank.
The Government of Pakistan, with the help
of the Asian Development Bank, set up the
Water Resources Strategy Study. It was
undertaken by the Ministry of Water and
Power, the Office of the Chief Engineering
Advisor and the Chairman of the Federal Flood
Commission. The Study's main objective was to
prepare a road map for the future development
of the water sector towards more efficient
service delivery and the optimum utilization
of resources to meet the competing demands of
all water users in the future.
The Strategy and the Medium Term
Investment Plan prioritize fairness in water
allocation, improving and maintaining the
quality of water, the conservation of the
country's water resources and the need for
efficiency and financial sustainability in
water service delivery. These terms mean
privatization and full-cost recovery – higher
tariffs for the consumer.
The privatization of Karachi 's water
supply
The government has pointed to the massive
losses that the public sector makes; and the
World Bank has stressed quite correctly that
it is the poor who bear the burden of these
public sector losses because Pakistan have a
very regressive taxation system. However, the
only thing that Government can do is to bring
in the private sector and replace public
corruption with private profit.
If the Government guaranteed similar
profits and salaries to the public sector, it
would do just as well. Pakistan 's main
problem is a lack of public funding as an
enormous share of the budget, over a third of
it, goes to the military. Another third or
more goes to debt servicing and the remainder
is for running the government. So the only
way the Pakistani government can get the
money it needs is through the private
sector.
The Asian Development Bank has approved
$1.4 million technical assistance grant to
support water and sanitation sector reform in
Kathmandu Valley. It includes the
establishment of the National Water Supply
Regulatory Board and the Kathmandu Valley
Water Authority, and a private sector
participation scheme.
The Nepal Water Supply Corporation says
the Asian Development Bank has failed to
supply efficient and affordable services or
significantly to expand its service coverage
for residents of the Kathmandu Valley. The
Asian Development Bank project in Nepal is
pushing for implementation of cost recovery,
water costs and charges, and
privatization.
Private management of the Nepal Water
Supply Corporation would increase the price
of water five-fold by the time water starts
flowing in the pipes of Kathmandu.
visit
the website of the Nepali Friends of the
Earth group, Pro Public
find
out more about
the asian development bank.
Source: P. Raja Siregar
(2003) “World Bank and ADB’s role in
privatizing water in Asia Region” presented
at the
Asia Pacific Conference on Debt
and Privatization of Water and Power
Service
, held by Jubilee South/APMDD,
in Bangkok 8-12 December. P. Raja Siregar is
Coordinator of KAU/ Anti Debt
Coalition-Indonesia. The author also works
with WALHI (Friends of the Earth Indonesia)
as Policy Campaigner. Any input, or
suggestions can be sent to or . Information
regarding KAU’s activity and issues available
on:
www.kau.or.id
.
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