RELIGIOUS AT THE U.N.
Water For Life – Streams of Justice

 FACT SHEET

“All you who thirst come to the water! Though you have no money come”  (Isaiah 55:1)

The year 2003 has been designated International Year of Freshwater. As Representatives of our Catholic faith communities at the United Nations we offer these thoughts on water.  

This we believe…..

All life springs from water. Water is unique. It cannot be substituted for. Water symbolizes what is sacred and spiritual in all religions and many cultures. Access to water is a basic right of all living beings. 

Protection of creation is a commitment for which all must feel responsible. We believe the earth belongs to God, though put into human hands to care for it (see Genesis 1:28). For this reason, a radical cultural change is necessary: There must be a "conversion" from indiscriminate use of resources to responsible administration of the goods offered to us by creation.

Access to water, fit to drink and enough to sustain the life needs of people, is a basic human right, not a privilege. So, in speaking of water for the developing world, we speak not of charity or generosity by the rich nations, but of human rights and justice that are the prerogative of every person who shares this earth with us.

The World Bank estimates that 870 billion $US will be needed over 10 years to achieve the Millennium Goal of clean water for the poor.

This we see…

The world is running out of water. Half the world’s poorest countries will face moderate to severe water shortages by the year 2025. This trend, unless reversed, flies in the face of the Millennium Development Goal: “we resolve further …to halve [by 2015] the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water…and to stop the unsustainable exploitation of water resources by developing water management strategies… to promote both equitable access and adequate supplies”.  

·         One-third of the world’s households are forced to use water sources outside the home. From 1970-2000 in East African cities, water use per capita was almost halved. But each trip to collect water rose from  9 to 21 minutes. Water poverty targets women and girls more than men and boys. More time to get less water!

·         40 percent of the world’s population has no access to safe drinking water.

·         80 percent of disease in two-thirds of the world is related to poor drinking water and sanitation. Each day in the developing world more than 6,000 children contract diseases linked to unclean drinking water and inadequate sanitation.

This we know…..

·         agricultural, industrial and mining waste is causing an increase in the levels of pollution of aquifers and water sources round the world.

·         reduction in water- retention capacity of the earth’s soil is due to 80% of the forests of the world being destroyed.

 ·         poor management of water resources has led to degradation of the environment and loss of natural resources on which the rural poor depend for livelihood.

 ·         over-consumption and wasteful overuse of water, mainly in the North, has significantly depleted the world’s water resources.

This we challenge…..

Governments have often abdicated their responsibility to provide such basic services as water. Such behaviour enables for-profit corporations to engage in unregulated competition.

Privatisation of water has become an issue of concern in many developing countries. If water is reduced to a commodity with a price tag, then a primary need of the poor is threatened.

The World Bank’s conclusion that water privatisation is the way to provide safe water and sanitation in developing countries. The World Bank/IMF often impose as a precondition for funding, the privatizing of public utilities such as water and sanitation programmes.  

The value of the global market for water and sanitation is estimated as a $405 billion a year industry. This is 40% of the size of the oil sector!

If privatizing water aims to increase access to safe water and sanitation, the price factor may well negate this. There is no guarantee corporations, in their need to show profit, will not sacrifice quality control as well as access, at an affordable price, to clean and safe water for all.   

As a result, access to water depends on the purchasing power of the people. When it comes to water we do not have any choice.

Equitable access to safe water is essential  to social and environmental justice.

This we demand…..

·         Access to water be named as a human right, linked to the right to life.

·         Essential freshwater be designated a Global Public Good (GPG) which should not be reduced to a market-force commodity.

·         Governments commit to a global action plan to achieve access for the poor to clean drinking water and sanitation by 2015.

·         Water management plans be integrated into national strategies for poverty reduction and sustainable development by 2005.

·         Participation of women at all levels in the control, managing and distribution of water.

·         An international monitoring body to track the trade of water in relation to indigenous peoples; Indigenous traditions set rules for water use, domestic consumption and extracting resources from the water to regulate water exploitation. Future planning should take these traditional tariffs into account.

·         Water councils at all levels that are independent, democratic and participatory  to provide an integrated strategy for managing and protecting all fresh water systems;

   ·         Clear limits on private ownership and control of water resources. All public/ private partnerships in the delivery of water and sanitation must be monitored to ensure that in their structure there is a pro-poor component.

·         Member States commit to concrete targets and the allocation of money so that there is real hope of meeting the time-line to achieve the Millennium Goals of poverty reduction. 

 In Conclusion….

The UN sees the increasing scarcity of available freshwater as a factor critical to world peace and security. We urge member States of the UN to prevent further water-related conflicts, within countries and across borders. Access to water  and promotion of peace are inseparable.