The Problem Of Water Privatization

According to the International Water Management Institute environmental research organisation global water stress is increasing, and a third of all people face some sort of water scarcity. Where demand exceeds supply and no effective management operates, there will be conflicts between the various players involved.

Climate change is arguably the greatest threat to humanity and the worst of it’s effects are fast approaching. It is the basis of a myriad of problems, one of which is water scarcity. As the world population grows and the climate warms, demand for fresh water has surged-- with water scarcity affecting more than 40 percent of the global population (United Nations, 2010). Conversely, the world’s fresh water supplies are dropping. Water is indispensable to biotic existence. While it aided in humankind's creation, it can also aid in its downfall. Bearing these elements in mind, one can consider the implications of this water crisis: What are the threats to its quality? Who will it affect? Is water a right or a commodity? What are the social, economic, and political variables and how do they connect? And ultimately, how can we fix this? Throughout my research I seek the answers to these critical questions.

The world’s supply of water is in steep decline as more and more is being used each year by more and more people around the globe. Currently, 800 million people do not have access to a drinking source. At the current rate, 1.8 billion people could be living in areas of absolute water scarcity by 2025.

There is a water crisis which faces many parts of the world and it is a threat to survival of human beings since humans are primarily dependent on water. Shortage in drinking water is beginning to show its effects in first world countries, but is a current major problem facing lesser developed countries which have not taken drastic steps to harvest water and purify it to make it safe for human consumption. In developed countries the population growth has strained available water resources and stretched the ability of governments and private firms to provide safe drinking water to the vast majority of the population. Seventy one percent of

Water, like food, is a necessity for human life that is used for many purposes such as agricultural, industrial, and domestic systems. While water is a common element around the world not all of it is clean and able to be consumed or used by humans. With only a percentage of the world’s water being clean and the use of water increasing, the availability of water around the world has become a common issue in the developing and even the developed world. This may be a smaller problem in areas close to clean water sources compared to areas far from a clean water source but, the availability of water is not strictly based on location, it also depends on the specific political and social needs and issues of the area as well. These all become issues that must be accounted for when deciphering whether water is a basic human right or a commodity and what action must be taken to aid the developing water systems in community’s that lack them.

Water scarcity is a major issue the world now faces because of the prolonged global warming that the Earth has been enduring. Global warming has been causing a dramatic change in the Earth’s atmosphere, water supply, as well the ecosystem. It has caused glaciers, that hold a great deal of the world’s freshwater supply, as ice, to melt into the surrounding oceans because of the Sun’s heat warming the waters, and melting the glaciers. This has caused a problem for countries that rely on those sources. Not only the warming of the Earth, but also the multitude of pollutants that currently affect water supplies such as fecal matter, lead, and garbage, harm the available drinking water and render it useless. Due to the fact that certain countries are more polluted than others, just by default, their water supply has a greater chance of contamination. Therefore, the most ethical thing to do would be divide up remaining water equally amongst all countries. However, America and other first world countries will get privilege over the water because of their resources, wealth, and power.

There are two common areas of privatization, transportation and garbage collection. In Boston for example, the Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority undertook a huge effort to privatize public transportation. The result was a "private company and a coalition of unions each tentatively chosen to run their own network of MBTA buses, at costs considerably below what the authority now pays according to a Boston Globe article (Metro, Monday Feb. 3, 1997). How they arrived at this strange equation is unknown but the stated goal was to cut costs though competition. "Such arrangements reflect the belief that competition brings out the best among contenders-and that by inserting government units into a competitive environment, service recipients stand to gain much while risking little." (Ammons, D. and Hill D. pg. 12).

Water is just as important as air, it is a basic need for life, ever since the

As we all known, humans can survive weeks without foods, but only days without water—for special conditions, only hours. That's why we call water as "blue gold". This "gold" occupies 71% of the Earth and 60% of our bodies and is a rare resource over the world. So what will happen when some private companies control this scare resource? When a private company operates public water facility is often considered as a solution to improve the overall water supply and make water systems more efficient. However, this more often cause some social issues. I will talk about water privatization from two sides.

Bywater, K. (2008). Globalization, privatization, and the crisis of sustainability: Examining the global water crisis. Conference Papers -- American Sociological Association, 1.

The movie set in Bolivia, this Spanish stars Gael Garcia Bernal and `Rudi as film director Sebastian. He is making a film in the Cochabamba region at auditioning a feisty Indian, They are also keen to show how the Indians were exploited by the Spanish Empire and show a few good men who stood up for the Indians and the tyranny of the Church. However, then they discover that Daniel is a leading activist against the privatisation of water or more accurately the theft of water and the exception of some minor glitches for particular scenes the Indians find too dangerous, until a conflict develops over the governmental privatization of the water supply. In addition, the government plan is to increase in price of water a %300 which the average daily income for the Indians is $2 a day, and the conditions in the city become unfriendly for the film to continue to be bloody, violence, and chaos breakout and many citizens are being killed or jailed. Therefore, the water became the new gold of the 21st century.

There are some people who believe that There is nothing wrong with believing that water is a commodity. That means that select companies view water as a way to make a profit because in their opinion it is considered to be a commodity. This is the wrong perspective to have on water since it should be considered a basic human necessity and not something to be bought and sold on the market. In many parts of the world obtaining clean and bacteria free water is already an issue, and to add to that by requiring individuals to purchase water is inexcusable. By privatizing water, it shows how little others care about the people who are unable to have money and would not be able to afford water. The participation in privatizing water has placed an undue

Water is just as important as air, it is a basic need for life, ever since the

Life springs up around water sources. It is no coincidence that some of the greatest civilizations have been build need fertile bodies of water. Known life relies on water to sustain that life. So it is no surprise when a debate arose in 2013 around comments made by Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck regarding privatization of water and the fundamental human right to survive from dehydration and illness from non-portal water consumption. Although the context of Brabeck’s comment was taken out of context, issues surrounding the access companies like Nestlé have been given to bottle their water when people do not have access to clean water and droughts are threatening crop production. Adding a price tag is not the answer. The market, both these companies and their consumers have a major role to play in the management of water; a role that requires a change in mindset of privilege many citizen of the United States, and other countries that do not see the direct effects that serious clean water issue have on people that do not have it.

Water is a human right, not a commodity. It is the essence of life, sustaining every living being on the planet. Without it we would have no plants, no animals, no people. However, while water consumption doubles every twenty years our water sources are being depleted, polluted and exploited by multinational corporations. Water privatization has been promoted by corporations and international lending institutions as the solution to the global water crises but the only one’s who benefit from water privatization are investors and international banks. The essential dilemma of privatization is that the profit interests of private water utilities ultimately jeopardizes the safeguarding of the human right to water. Access to clean, sufficient