Water Issues

Water Issues
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Water Issues
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Created:July 12, 2002
Latest Update: February 4, 2007
jeannecurran@habermas.org
takata@uwp.edu

The Commodification of Water in Bolivia
Site Copyright: Jeanne Curran and Susan R. Takata and Individaul Authors, July 2002.
"Fair use" encouraged.

This piece was inspired by current news articles and by numerous eports on the commodification of water world-wide. One of the strangest experiences of our trip to China in May of 2002, was the way in which water was culturally handled in China. Because of the way in which Arnold had set up the travel arrangements all ou China expenses had been paid before we left the U.S. With these arrangements came Chinese speaking guides and meal reservations. Shortly after arriving we discovered that though we we were served large and wonderful breakfasts in our hotels, lunch and dinner were different. We were summarily driven off to lunch each day in a tourist location, where we were served quite good complete meals, whether we wanted them or not. But each day, either the guide or the waitperson announced that with our meal we could have one, and the one was emphasized, glass of soda (Coke) or one glass of beer or one glass of water. This, combined with the fact that some of the places we were taken to eat were down right tacky, led to our ultimate rebellion.
Never, in our hotels, were we treated this way. And both of us, New York and New Orleans bred, found the Chinese just plain rude over their attitude towards water. Especially since, with few exceptions, like some of our hotels, the water was not potable. They brought us enormous amounts of food, asking courteously if we wanted more. This even happened when we went to a famous restaurant for Peking Duck, until our guide explained to them that we were weird about water, and they let us have more than one glass. And all this was in temperatures that hovering near the 100 mark.
One evening they actually took us to eat in some hallway, with hardly any decent lighting, and seated against a plain and ugly wall. There was a window nearby, and a lovely scene outside. But there was also some huge and horrible machine snug up against it so you couldn't see out. When the young waitress began her speech about one glass of water, I looked at Arnold. He looked at me. And together we rose to our full petit heights and announced that we were leaving. Period. We had had it with the locations and with the water. Our guide rushed back and asked what we wished. "We wish not to eat here," we announced together. "Take us back to our hotel, please." (I say "please," not because I'm sure we were that polite, but because I customarily say "please" because I was taught to.) Our guide continued to plead, "What would please you? What would you like me to do?" We explained as patiently as we could that the location and the rudeness over water were intolerable. "So would you like to eat at your hotel?" Yes, we answered together.
They drove us back to the hotel and our nervously concerned guide arranged for us to eat in the wonderful Chinese restaurant in the hotel. There were also a Japanese restarant and an American restaurant at which he had dinner and performance reservations the following night. We protested, being now in a protesting mood, that they were feeding us too much. That we did not want a zillion dishes served. We would be delighted with just some soup and a couple of dishes. The grateful guide explained to our water fetish to the waitress, and we were given water whenever we seemed to be running low. The meal was wonderful. Why on earth did we have to raise this much fuss to eat reasonably?
And then I got it. None of them had said we couldn't have water. They had said, "you must pay extra for anything more than one glass of water." Suddenly what I had seen in the temples and palaces began to make sense. They sell bottled water everywhere. And the prices cover an extraordinary range from practically nothing to more expensive than Evian in Beverly Hills. The next time we sat down to eat, even at the dinner show, I chirped when asked what we would like to drink: "One glass of coke, one glass of beer, and a bottle of water." Drinking water in China is not graciously offered to every living thing. Drinking water is a commodity. Arnold and I were used to believing that water was for all of us, the poor, the rich, the tired, the hungry; water was essential to life. One simply shared water with the Other as a gesture of good will. We even expect water to be shared with active enemies. I must have explained this to Arnold two or three times before he could make himself believe it. Slowly, he caught on, as he said with aplomb: "And a bottle of water, please."
"Only one glass of water" became our motto for China. We laughed at our own silliness, and gradually lost our discomfort with the commodification of water. And then I came home and found the story of American exploitation of water in Bolivia. And so we must begin this Fall our discussions of commodification and the market and justice.

Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit By Vandana Shiva. Chaptrer 4: The World Bank, WTO, and Corporate Control Over Water. Link added July 12, 2002.
Water Markets National Center for Policy Analysis. Link added July 12, 2002. Favors privatization to force some to save. No mention of communal benefit.
Energy-and Natural Resources in the Changing Middle East: Privatization of Water Resources In an Era of Peace by S. Fred Singer. Strong right wing perspective. Privatization best way to control scarce resources. Discusses "Who owns the water?"
Trading Water Rights by Travis Engen, Former Chairman and Chief Executive ITT Industries. Right perspective. How do you know? Check out the author's background.
"But now, a new economics of water is sweeping the world. For the first time, governments and people are realizing that water itself is a commodity with a real market value."

Campaign Against Privatization of Water Resources in Sri Lanka The World Bank advises privatization.
"2. The Hidden Agenda.
The major recommendation is that 'all the water resources shall vest with the government'. Once implemented every user of water has to obtain water entitlement on a price. It is only a step in transferring the ownership of the water resources to the international companies for making profits through distribution.
Hitherto in the history of Sri Lanka, water was always regarded as a common property of people. It was meant to be freely available not only for human beings, but all beings including the animals and plant life. The State is only the guardian of those and has no authority to intervene or change the course of nature.
These aspects are directly undermined by the new recommendations made by the so-called experts, whose only criterion is profits. On the basis of the Market Policies of the World Bank IMF and WTO, profits are more important than life.
It is very clear that the hidden agenda of the recommendations in the 'National Water Resources Policy' document is to allow the World's elite to make profits out of natures' gifts at the expense of the poor, animals and plants.
Already about 12 foreign companies have visited Sri Lanka and held international workshops to explore business opportunities with water.

IMF Forces Water Privatization on Poor Countries by Sara Grusky. Left perspective. Comes out of a German left perspective organization. You might want to look also at their "Coca Cola Sucks" piece.
Tools for Advocacy: Water Long-Term Loans To Roll-Out Massive Water Privatization: The Cases Of Ghana And The Philippines Citizens' Network On Essential Services (CNES) "The Citizens' Network On Essential Services (CNES) works to democratize national and global governance by supporting citizens' groups in developing and transition countries that are engaged in influencing policy decisions about basic services: water, power, education, and health care. CNES contends that citizens and their elected representatives (in democratic systems) should determine the kind of service provision that can best serve their social, environmental, and development goals."

Understanding The IMF & World Bank"
Understanding The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Roles Of Civil Society Organizations
Understanding IMF/World Bank Loan Documents
Understanding Economic Reform & Adjustment Programs
History of Advocacy Re: IMF/World Bank
Assessing The Impacts Of IMF & World Bank Operations [NEW]

Water Governance in Latin America and the Caribbean By Peter Rogers. A sustainable development perspective.
The Corporate Theft Of The World's Water by Maude Barlow. A sustainable development and left perspective.
The Public Pain Of Private Water by Maude Barlow. A sustainable development and left perspective.
Women's water rights by Shiva, Vandana (1998). "Women's water rights". In: Waterlines, vol.17, no. 1, p. 9- Ecofeminist perspective.
Water as Commodity - The Wrong Prescription by Maude Barlow. A sustainable development and left perspective. Concern expressed over the treatment of water as a tradeable commodity instead of as a natural human right.
[stop-war!] Bolivia: Cochabamba Declaration on the Right to Water Bechtel sues Bolivia to recoup its investment in the privatization of water in Bolivia.
Bolivia Water
Liquid Assets: Enron's Dip into Water Business Highlights Pitfalls of Privatization Public Citizen: Protecting Health, Safety, and Democracy. A National Non-Profit Public Interest Organization. Perspective akin to sustainable development.
Jaime Paz Zamora - Bolivia Spanish.
BBC on Jaime Paz Zamora Spanish.