Water Issues: STOP THE WORLD WATER FORUM

How the 5th World Water Forum and the World Water Council Threaten Peoples Access to Water by Emma Lui

Water is essential to life. Yet 1.6 billion people lack access to clean water. Every 15 seconds, a child dies from drinking unclean water. Power, poverty and inequality are root causes to lack of clean water. (UNDPs Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis) Although 70% of the earth is made up of water, only 2.5% is fresh water. Less than 1% of the earth's water is renewable and ready for human consumption. (Water Facts) The worlds clean water supply is also decreasing from pollution, overuse and industrialization.
The 5th World Water Forum, named Bridging Divides for Water, kicks off on March 16th and ends on March 22nd, 2009 in Istanbul, Turkey. At first glance, the 5th Forum is an international event for water experts, activists, government officials and water organizations to exchange ideas and develop policies on these and other water issues. Panelists and participants will discuss 100 topics under the Forums six themes including climate change, development, protecting water resources, governance, finance and education. Yet a closer look at the forum shows that it is driven by the business industry, particularly the worlds two largest water corporations (Suez and Veolia). Previous forums promoted policies that benefit the business industry while threatening peoples access to water.

How the Business Industry Dominates the World Water Council
World Water Forums have been held in Marrakech (1997), the Hague (2000), Mexico (2003) and Kyoto (2006). The forums are organized by the World Water Council, which was created in 1996 as a platform for governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), businesses and other organizations. Despite a move in 2003 to include a wider variety of organizations, the business industry still makes up 41% of the Councils membership, a significant proportion compared to professional and academic institutions (27%), governments (17%), civil society (10%) and intergovernmental organizations (5%). (World Water Council Biennial Report)
Most importantly, the worlds two largest water corporations, Suez and Veolia, have powerful positions in the Council. Lo?c Fauchon has been the president of the Council since 2005 and is on the International Steering Committee for the 5th Forum. He is also the president of Groupe des Eaux de Marseille, a company owned equally between Veolia and a subsidiary of Suez. (Soci?t? des Eaux de Marseille) The alternate president is Charles-Louis de Maudhuy who has been working at Compagnie G?n?rale des Eaux, a subsidiary of Veolia, since 1978. (Board of Governors) Suez and Veolias powerful positions are a clear example of how the business industry dominates the Council.

There Is Significant and Legitimate Opposition to the Forum
The number of participants has increased since the 1st Forum with 20, 000 participants expected at the 5th Forum. Yet significant opposition to the World Water Forum has also grown. Water activists, NGOs and some governments oppose the Council and 5th Forum because their policies promote the management and sale of water services by private companies. This resistance stems from the belief that water should not be commodified (sold for profit) and privatized (companies own, manage and provide water services for profit). As a resource that belongs to everyone, we need to protect water as a human right, part of the global commons and a public service. We should not have to pay into companies profit for something that is essential to life.
The 1st and 2nd Forum aggressively promoted water privatization. However, the Council has since stated that they do not support real privatization as an attempt to dodge the criticisms against them. (World Water Councils Triennial Report) Instead, the Council began promoting Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs or P3s), agreements between private companies and local governments that divide responsibilities between them. However, private companies often manage the sale of water the more lucrative segment while governments are responsible for funding costly infrastructure. PPPs do not put water infrastructure into private hands, as full privatization does. Nevertheless, the sale of tap water by private companies has resulted in price increases, water cut-offs and water pollution preventing people from accessing clean water.

The World Water Forums Promote Policies That Have Harmful Impacts
Water systems have been privatized in varying degrees all over the world including in Canada, the US, Bolivia, South Africa, the UK and Australia. In the mid-1990s, a PPP in Hamilton, Canada resulted in 180 million litres of untreated human waste and chemicals spilling into Lake Ontario and backing up into peoples basements. (Hamiltons Crown Jewel) In 2000, Suez subsidiary cut off South African residents water forcing people to drink from dirty lakes. This lead to one of the worst cholera outbreaks in decades. (Whose Hand on the Tap?) The harmful impacts of privatization are felt most by women, particularly in the global South, because they are often responsible for caring for the sick, gathering water and household duties that require water. (Diverting the Flow: A Resource Guide to Gender, Rights and Water Privatization)
Despite these harmful impacts on people and the environment, the World Water Council and their forums still encourage governments to transfer segments of the water sector to private companies. The Report of the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure: Financing Water for All, also known as the Camdessus Report, was presented at the 3rd Forum in Kyoto in 2003. Some of its most controversial policies reduce risks for corporations using public funds and lock governments into contracts using agencies such as the World Banks Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). MIGA offers coverage for breaches of contracts, political instability and violence. Their dispute resolution process allows investors to seek compensation if a government breaches its contract. This type of guarantee would penalize a government for canceling a contract, even if they had done so because citizens could not access clean water. If we believe that every human has the right to water, then a government should have the right to cancel a contract if it prevents people from accessing clean water.
The Camdessus Reports policies coincided with Suez corporate strategies. At that time, Suez and Veolia were withdrawing from Latin America because of fierce protests against their management of water services. They were receiving negative publicity and their profit returns were low. Suez would only enter into contracts where risks were minimal and profits guaranteed. (Suez 2004 Annual Report; Suez 2003 Annual Report) Although making profits are important to businesses, profit should not trump peoples access to water. The reports policies create conditions that ensure company profits without regard to peoples ability to access water.
The Camdessus Report has had concrete effects. Prior to the report, only one water project in Ecuador was covered by MIGA. After the Camdessus Report, there were nine contracts covered by MIGA with two involving Suez and two involving Veolia. The latest is a request pending approval submitted by Suez with China. (MIGAs Waste and Water Projects) The Camdessus Report is an example of how the World Water Forum promotes policies that benefit the business industry even at the expense of peoples health.

The 5th World Water Forum Does Not Really Reflect the Diverse Views on Water
The World Water Forums claim that the policy recommendations are the consensus of the international water community. On the surface, the 5th Forum appears to be an inclusive and democratic event. The 5th Forum will hold 100 sessions on a wide range of topics related to water. A number of regional, political and thematic processes were held over the last three years in order to include as many regions, levels of governments and sectors as possible.
However, although the sessions include important topics such as the right to water, climate change and preserving natural ecosystems, the forum still promotes private sector involvement as a solution to water problems. There are few sessions where the impacts of the commodification of water and PPPs can be evaluated. Few sessions examine Public-Public Partnerships or rainwater collection, which keep water in public hands. Although the Council supports the right to water, they believe that the private sector has a role in securing this right. Their definition differs drastically from NGOs, activists and governments who oppose selling water as a commodity because they believe that water belongs to everyone. Based on the session descriptions, the 5th Forum will follow in the footsteps of past forums and promote private sector involvement with few sessions examining the harmful impacts. For these reasons, the World Water Council needs to be dismantled and the 5th Forum should be the last.

We Must Keep Our Water Services Public
Governments everywhere face significant barriers to providing water including aging infrastructure and lack of financial resources. Corporations like Suez and Veolia use seemingly democratic international events such as the World Water Forum to persuade governments to transfer water services to them. Yet past cases have shown that privatization and Public-Private Partnerships are not the solution.
It is important that we are vocal about the harmful policies of the World Water Council and the 5th World Water Forum. Emails, phone calls and petitions can have significant impacts. The 4th Forum was originally going to be held in Montreal but protests against the proposal rerouted the forum to Mexico. Protests against PPPs and privatization in many cases have ensured that water remains in public hands. If enough people express opposition to the World Water Council and Forum, we can make sure that water is protected as a human right, part of the global commons and a public service. We need to call upon our governments, the UN and other participants of the forum to launch a truly open, transparent and legitimate Global Forum on Water. (An Open Call to the Global Water Justice Movement