Peoples Water Forum - All Discussions Feed

FWW and global water justice movement make the cut!

2009-11-13T15:27:42-05:00

Every year, Project Censored publishes a ranking of the top 25 most deserving stories that go unreported in the U.S. mainstream media. I’m pleased to share the news that this year’s list includes “Activists Slam World Water Forum as a Corporate-Driven Fraud,” recognizing the increasingly successful work of the global water justice movement. Out of more than 700 entries, this recognition was based on reporting from the 2009 World Water Forum in Istanbul by Jeff Conant, FWW staff member, and on Democracy Now! and KPFA radio interviews with Maude Barlow, FWW board president.

While the forum only happens every three years, our ongoing campaign endeavors to expose the corporate bias that underlies the World Water Council, who sponsors the forum. The WWC, led by executives from major multinational water companies, tries to present the image that they are a fair and balanced multi-stakeholder body, well-suited for setting global water policy, but the reality is that they host the forum to push their pro-privatization agenda. Rumor has it that due to successful work by the global water justice movement in Istanbul, the WWC is running damage control and is expected to soon replace their not-so-subtly biased leadership with puppet leadership from academia or pro-corporate non-profits. Replacing their leaders won’t fool anyone—we already know who runs the show.

Next week, Oct. 14-16, in Marseille, the World Water Council will hold their
Annual General Meeting and we hear that in an attempt to legitimize their image, they will invite up to 6 seats from UN agencies to join their Board of Governors.

In response, members of the global movement are collecting signatures for a letter advocating that the UN host all future water forums and opposing UN participation in the WWC Board of Governors. Signatures are being collected until October 13th so time is short. Please add your voice to support water for people not for profit.

The folks at Project Censored couldn’t have better timing since around the world, Blue October is being celebrated in honor of Uruguay’s constitutional adoption of the human right to water in October 2004. To learn more and to see a global calendar of events, check out the Blue October website.

Congratulations to Jeff, Maude and all those who fight for water justice around the world!

-Darcey O’Callaghan

Food & Water Watch and International Coalition to Protest Corporate Control of Water Systems at Worl

2009-03-16T15:23:12-04:00

Washington, D.C. Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, along with Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians and representatives of the Latin American network Red VIDA, the Asian organization Focus on the Global South, and many global allies, will protest the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, next week, March 16-22. The organizations are members of an international coalition that has come together to protest the World Water Forum's stance on water privatization and to defend the human right to water. Read More

STOP THE WORLD WATER FORUM

2009-03-11T13:01:09-04:00

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

Activists Slam Water Forum

2009-03-23T09:13:16-04:00

10 hours ago

ISTANBUL (AFP) A global ministerial meeting was putting the final
touches here Saturday to resolutions for tackling the world's water
crisis but activists attacked the process as a corporate-driven fraud.

The communique to be issued by more than 100 countries on World Water
Day on Sunday climaxes a seven-day gathering on how to provide clean
water and sanitation for billions and resolve worsening water stress and
pollution.

"The world is facing rapid and unprecedented global changes, including
population growth, migration, urbanisation, climate change,
desertification, drought, degradation and land use, economic and diet
changes," according to a draft seen by AFP.

The document, which is non-binding, spells out a consensus for boosting
cooperation to ease trans-boundary disputes over water, preventing
pollution and tackling drought and floods.

It also describes access to safe drinking water and sanitation as "a
basic human need." France, Spain and several Latin American countries
were striving to beef up this reference, from "need" to "right," a
change that could have legal ramifications.

But campaigners representing the rural poor, the environment and
organised labour blasted the communique as a sideshow, stage-managed for
corporations who are major contributors to the World Water Council,
which organises the Forum.

Maude Barlow, senior advisor to the president of the UN General
Assembly, said the Forum promoted privatisation of resources by "the
lords of water" and excluded dissident voices.

She called for the meeting to be placed under the UN flag.

"We demand that the allocation of water be decided in an open,
transparent and democratic forum rather than in a trade show for the
world's large corporations," Barlow told a press conference.

David Boys, with an NGO called Public Services International, said
"transparency, accountability and participation" were absent from the
Forum, and dismissed the ministerial statement as "vapid."

Around 880 million people do not have access to decent sources of
drinking water, while 2.5 billion people do not have access to proper
sanitation, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) said in a report on Tuesday.

By 2030, the number of people living under severe water stress is
expected to rise to 3.9 billion, a tally that does not include the
impacts of global warming, according to the OECD.

The World Water Council, based in the southern French city of Marseille,
holds the World Water Forum every three years. The Istanbul conference,
the fifth in the series, drew a record more than 25,000 participants,
and registrations from at least 27,000.

The Council's website says it is funded by more than 300 member
organisations from 60 countries, including water utilities, governments,
hydrological institutions and associations involved in research,
environment and education.

Its president, Loic Fauchon, rejected charges of elitism and exclusion.

"Everyone is invited, and in any case, everyone comes these days," he
told AFP.

He added: "If it (the Forum) were organised by the United Nations, it
would lose its characteristic of being open to all. In a UN conference,
not everyone who wants to come can participate. In the World Water
Forum, anyone can take part."

The Istanbul Forum has focussed overwhelmingly on issues of policymaking
and includes a big trade fair by water utilities and engineering firms.

It has also staged side events on issues of civil society, but to a far
smaller degree than in other big environmental meetings.

Grassroots campaigners have complained of high registration fees, of
geographical separation from the main conference events and of
overbearing security.

Copyright 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

Debate Derecho Humano al Agua

2009-07-16T13:16:28-04:00

...

Joint Declaration of the Movements in Defense of Water

2009-03-20T10:38:45-04:00

From March 14 to 19th, we, human beings with a holistic vision of life, activists from social movements, non-governmental organizations, and networks that struggle throughout the world in the defense of water and territory and for the commons, have shared ideas, struggles, worries and proposals. At the same time we have realized how our struggles have brought change around the world, slowing the process of water privatization. Now that we are not on the defensive, we are capable of promoting concrete proposals advancing in the life of every corner of our world. Download the entire declaration here

Deported From the World Water Forum

2009-03-20T10:05:58-04:00

Ann Kathrin Schneider
Back home in Berlin, I am overwhelmed by the show of support for our
message that dams are a risky business. In India alone, one hundred
activists and organizations signed a petition denouncing our
deportation from the World Water Forum and thanking International
Rivers for saying no to risky dams.
Payal and
I traveled to the World Water Forum in Istanbul to inform the world
about the risks of building large dams. We painted a large banner in
red, yellow and blue with the words "No Risky Dams" and brought that
into the official forum. With the banner, we wanted to show the world
that while the World Water Forum seeks to advocate for the construction
of more large dams, people around the world know that dams are a risky
business.
Read more

Political Intrigue at the World Water Forum

2009-03-19T16:46:55-04:00

- Jeff Conant
Behind the World Water Forum's public posture as a trade expo and an
educational exchange among water advocates lies a labyrinth of
political intrigue and corporate cronyism. Corporate interests that
make up the World Water Council are in constant contact with the World
Bank and other financial institutions; each Forum pretends to be a
quasi-United Nations event, to the extent of issuing a Ministerial
Statement at the Forum's close promoting global policy approaches to
water and sanitation.
Read more.

World Water Forum Demonstration �� Video

2009-03-19T12:08:35-04:00

Watch a video of the demonstration, courtesy of ��Sacred Water Project��.

Fifth World Water Forum Marked by Violence and Repression

2009-03-18T15:18:58-04:00

by Jeff Conant

As the World Water Forum opened on March 16th in Istanbul Turkey, 300
Turkish activists gathered near the forum's entrance were faced with an
overwhelming force of 2000-3000 police. The peaceful protest quickly
escalated as police charged the crowd, firing water cannons, tear gas,
and rubber bullets and lunging into the crowd with fists and truncheons.

The World Water Forum is a triennial gathering which, according to it's website, is "an open, all-inclusive, multi-stakeholder process" where governments, NGOs, businesses and others "create links, debate and attempts to find solutions to achieve water security." The World Water Council, the forum's main organizer, is dominated by two of the world's largest private water corporations, Suez and Veolia. Loc Fauchon, president of the Council, is also thepresident of Groupe des Eaux de Marseille, a company owned jointly by Veolia and a subsidiary of Suez. The alternate president, Charles-Louis de Maud'huy, has been working at Compagnie Gnrale des Eaux, a subsidiary of Veolia, since 1978. Critics contend that the Council's links to Suez and Veolia, as well as the large representation of the business industry in the Council, compromise its legitimacy.

Food & Water Watch Denounces Violent Suppression of Protestors at World Water Forum

2009-03-18T09:34:17-04:00

Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter

Earlier today, Turkish police violently attacked a peaceful protest by water activists convened to oppose the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul. Protesters were assaulted with rubber bullets, water cannons and gas and a number of them were arrested. Food & Water Watch denounces the appalling actions of the Turkish police and sees them as sadly emblematic of the undemocratic nature of the World Water Forum. Read More

Add your photos here!!!

2009-03-16T14:57:46-04:00

Come and share your photos with us!

Petition: Stop the World Water Forum and World Water Council

2009-03-11T12:54:13-04:00

We Must Keep Our Water Services Public

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Stopthe5thworldwaterforum

We are aiming for 20, 000 signatures to match the 20, 000 people expected at the 5th Forum. The petition deadline is March 20, 2009. Please sign and spread the word!

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

What You Can Do:
Please sign the petition to be delivered to the 5th Forum. The goal is 20, 000 signatures to match the number of participants expected at the 5th Forum. There is little time the petition deadline is March 20 - but with your help this goal is 100% attainable!
Send emails to your government, the media and the UN. (See template below)
Please circulate this widely to friends, family and co-workers. Not many people know about the Council despite their power to change government and UN policies.
Join the Facebook group Oppose the 5th World Water Forum.
Visit the Peoples Water Forum (March 12-22, 2009) website for events opposing the 5th Forum.
Protect water as part of the global commons by following these 10 Steps.

Thanks for you help!

Template Letter:
To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to express my concern over the World Water Council and the 5th World Water Forum which is being held in Istanbul, Turkey on March 16-22, 2009. The 5th World Water Forums website states that the forum is "an open, all-inclusive, multi-stakeholder process" where governments, NGOs, businesses and others "create links, debate and attempts to find solutions to achieve water security." The World Water Council, the forums main organizer, was created in 1996 as an international multi-stakeholder platform to promote awareness, build political commitment and trigger action on critical water issues.
While these are commendable goals, my concern stems from the powerful roles that the two largest corporations, Suez and Veolia, have in the Council. Lo?c Fauchon, president of the Council, is also the president of Groupe des Eaux de Marseille, a company owned equally between Veolia and a subsidiary of Suez. The alternate president, Charles-Louis de Maudhuy, has been working at Compagnie G?n?rale des Eaux, a subsidiary of Veolia, since 1978. I believe that the Council's links to Suez and Veolia as well as the large representation of the business industry in the Council comprises the neutrality and legitimacy of the Council and 5th Forum.
In the past, the Council and forums promoted policies, such as Public-Private Partnerships, that privatize segments of water services. PPPs in Bolivia, the US, and other countries around the world resulted in price hikes, pollution and water cut-offs, which prevented people from accessing clean water. Despite these and other harmful impacts, the Istanbul Water Consensus, a key document of the 5th Forum, attempts to secure the commitment of local authorities to various water policies including private sector involvement.
Based on these reasons, I believe that the 5th World Water Forum and World Water Council threaten people's ability to access to water. Therefore, in solidarity with the Global Water Justice Movement, I call upon the United Nations, Canadian and other governments, and other organizations attending the 5th World Water Forum to:
? oppose water commodification and support water as a human right, part of the global commons and a public service
? support the dismantling of the World Water Council
? make the 5th forum the last and create a truly open, transparent and legitimate Global Forum on Water.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME)

4th WWF documentary: Agua Mi Sangre

2009-03-11T12:53:21-04:00

Check out a documentary film about the struggle for water justice and the World Water Forum:

AGUA MI SANGRE documents the voices and the protests of international activists against the 4th World Water Forum held in Mexico City in March of 2006 and pictures water privatization cases. The film teases out the illegitimate and anti-democratic role played by ambiguous bodies that govern the world water policies, like the World Water Council and his allies, the World Bank and the biggest US and European water corporations like Suez or Veolia. It exposes the contradictions built into the current model of water management , a system that converts water - a resource essential to life - into a commodity.

SUBTITLED IN ENGLISH-FRENCH-SPANISH-ITALIAN-TURKISH

Check out the website at: http://sites.google.com/site/aguamisangre/Home

Wikis: new info sharing opportunity for the water justice movement

2009-03-11T12:52:46-04:00

Friends,

I recently received the following information from Gilles Meuriot of Attac Pays d'Aix, France.

He writes:

We seek contributions to a wiki collaborative forum, in the area of Water for People.

It could become a World Citizen Assembly. Yes, it is not yet much developed but we hope that the intent is clear enough, and in 6 languages.

The page is at:
http://www.wsflibrary.org/index.php/Wiki-WTO

To operate as described at:
http://www.wsflibrary.org/index.php/Talk:Framework_for_International_Trade

With a prototype Water page at: http://www.wsflibrary.org/index.php/Water

We would be very pleased to receive any form of feedback.

Best Regards
Gilles Meuriot
Attac Pays d'Aix, France