South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE)

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Water is a Consumer Right
Published: The Rising Nepal, 15 March 2004
By: Kamalesh Adhikari

Of all the social and natural crises we humans face," according to Koichiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO, "the water crisis is the one that lies at the heart of our survival and that of our planet Earth." May be it was one of the reasons why the United Nations also in its one of the reports on water stated, “The humankind's most serious challenge in the 21st century might not be war or hunger or disease or even the collapse of civic order but it may be the lack of freshwater."

The world is facing sever water crisis, particularly due to growing population, pollution and climate change. Water use grew at more than twice the rate of population during the 20th century. A number of regions, mostly the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, are chronically water-short. Already, four out of every 10 people worldwide live in water crisis areas. And as estimated, by 2025, as much as two thirds of the world’s population - an estimated 5.5 billion people - may be living in countries that face water shortage.

In most regions of the world, there is still enough water to meet everyone’s needs. But it needs proper management and use. In many countries, much water is wasted or used inefficiently. For example, one flush of a toilet in the developed world uses as much water as the average person in the developing world uses for a whole day’s washing, cleaning, cooking and drinking. Therefore, finding solutions should become a high priority now.

Realising that water scarcity is a critical issue, not only for present but also for future generations, different efforts were made since the very beginning of 1970s. The Mar del Plata Conference of 1977 initiated a series of global activities in water. One of such activities was the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990), which made a valuable contribution in bringing awareness on proper water management. The International Conference on Water and the Environment in Dublin in 1992 set out the four Dublin Principles that are still important and more interestingly relevant. Similarly, the UN Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED) in 1992 has produced Agenda 21, which set seven programme areas for action in freshwater, with particular emphasis on water management practices.

Both of these conferences were influential. They put a similar effort to bring water at the centre of the sustainable development debate. The second World Water Forum in The Hague in 2000 and the International Conference on Freshwater in Bonn in 2001 further reinforced that water is key to achieving sustainable development. These various meetings set different targets for proper management of water. It is, however, unfortunate that very few of them were met. Then came the UN Summit of 2000, the largest ever gathering of heads of states, representing 189 countries. The Summit set the Millennium Development Goals for 2015. World leaders pledged at the Summit to halve the proportion of people unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water by 2015. And at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, governments and international community again expressed their commitment to work for achieving the Millennium target on water. And, in order to galvanise action on the critical water problems, the UN declared 2003 as the International Year of Freshwater.

Notwithstanding these efforts, it is unfortunate to note that water short still exists in many regions of the world, particularly in developing and least developed countries. Studies reveal that the global water crisis will reach unprecedented levels in the years ahead with growing per capita scarcity of water in many parts of the world, especially in the developing world. Appallingly, it has been estimated that over the next 20 years, the average per capita supply of water worldwide is expected to drop by a third.

At this stage, merely conferences and reports do not bring promising results. A string of international conferences over the past 25 years has proved the same. Neither the targets themselves do make the things happen. This has also been rightly noticed as targets in the past have been rarely met. MDGs, including the targets on water, do also seem to be impossible to accomplish.

What is lacking then? The answer is, coordinated action among different actors, agencies and individuals. To meet the targets set by the global community requires coordinated action, not just from governments but also from private and business sector, international agencies, communities and individuals. But are all ready to put in such efforts to manage water short?

Yet, even if water scarcity is minimised, problems do not end. As marked by Consumers International (CI), a global federation of over 250 consumer organisations, "…water is an issue even in areas where water supplies are plentiful. Health and standards are universal concerns. Even in areas where access and quality are acceptable, controversies rage over privatisation and public ownership, investment, regulation, maintenance of infrastructure and water conservation, with civil society taking a leading role in the debates."

The initiative taken by the consumer organisations worldwide to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day on 15 March 2004 with the slogan "Water is a Consumer Right" is commendable. The Day focuses on issues such as access, ownership, delivery, costs, public policies and the environment. This indeed gives an opportunity to consumer organisations across the globe to press forward the issue of water as a fundamental consumer right.

Interestingly, the UN-designated annual World Water Day is going to take place a week later on 22 March. This timing provides consumer groups a full week for activities and generating media interest on issues of consumers and water. In this regard, the celebration of Consumer Rights Day is not only to mark the importance of water from a consumer's perspective but is also to make an effort to generate interest on issues of consumers and water among a wide range of stakeholders in general and media in particular.

We must realise that only together we can make a difference and help to ensure our future and our planet's long-term prospects. It is time for us to focus our attention on protecting, managing and respecting our water resources as individuals, communities, countries, and as a global family of concerned citizens. It's never too late to right a wrong.

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