Activists Breathe Fire Over Water

Satya Sivaraman

From the Philippines to Paraguay and India to Brazil, delegates from all over the world have shouted a resounding 'No' to the privatisation and commercialisation of water resources under the neo-liberal economic policies many of their governments have adopted.

'We will resist the commodification of water, acting from the grassroots to the international level,' declared well-known Indian anti-dam activist Medha Patkar, speaking at the WSF conference yesterday on 'Water for the Common Good'.

Calling for an alternative global water policy, she said that the WSF is a good opportunity for various coalitions working on the issue of water resources to establish a common platform to fight this battle.

Pointing out the link between privatisation of natural resources like land and forests and the issue of water becoming a commodity, the Indian activist said that a holistic approach is essential for solving the problem.

The issue of farmers being denied access to water or being forced to pay exorbitant rates for water supplies was raised at the seminar by Jaime Castillo Ulloa of Vía Campesina, an international organisation of small farmers and rural workers.

'Water,' he said, 'is a basic human right and cannot be turned into a product for sale.'

Riccardo Petrella, of the Global Water Contract, stated that 'there is now a worldwide recognition of the need to establish common control over water resources.'

Popular movements against the commercialisation of water were gaining ground steadily and are bound to be victorious, he said.

Luis Gonzaga Tenorio, of Brazil's Federaçao Nacional dos Urbanitarios, condemned the way large mining and water multinationals are being allowed to take over the country's water resources, indiscriminately construct giant hydroelectric dams and displace thousands of people from their traditional lands. He called for a moratorium on the building of dams and immediate compensation for people who had been affected by such mega-projects.

The conference delegates discussed a 'Treaty Initiative on the Water Commons', which demands that the intrinsic value of water as a common resource be protected by all political, commercial and social institutions. According to the draft Treaty, a World Water Parliament should be established by citizens' organisations to ensure that every human being has access to water in quantity and quality sufficient to meet basic social and economic needs.

The participants in this WSF conference also called for designating March 14 as an annual day of global action against the privatisation of water.