Anna Cottier/Amy Gibb/Jacquie Marechal/Vanessa Macdonald

water privatization

INTRODUCTIONThe privatization of water violates

basic human rights for the benefit of large scale corporations at the expense of developing populations. In this presentation we will discuss the use of water, the overuse of water by developed countries, the benefits and consequences of privatization, the direct violation of human rights, wars and riots, the distribution of water and fossil fuel extraction, and industrial water use.

STATISTICS

In the past 10 years, diarrhea has killed more children than all those lost to armed conflict in almost 60 years since the Second World War

Of the 6 billion people in the world, 1.1 billion lack access to safe drinking water

more than 10% of people worldwide consume foods irrigated by wastewater that can contain chemicals or disease-causing organisms

2.4 billion are denied proper sanitation water is a $400, 000, 000 dollar industry, 3rd

to oil and electricity 70% of all water resource use is for

agriculture

instruction booklets are distributed, but they are printed in English - more than half of the communities do not speak Englishpeople may wait up to 4 weeks to get water, it is not always guaranteed to come1 in 10 children dies before the age of 5 due to lack of water 777 million people in developing countries are estimated not to have access to sufficient and adequate foodon average, house holds in rural Africa spend 26% of their time fetching water; it is generally women who do this task

WATER FOR EVERYTHING NOT JUST DRINKING

FOUR CATEGOTRIES OF WATER USE: Commercial Domestic Industrial Irragation

EFFECTS ON LIVES

OVERUSE OF WATER BY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

USA uses 408 billion gallons/day Minimum requirement would be 13

gallons of water/day for drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc. This would be 3.8 billion

gallons/day in USA (less than 1% of 408 billion being used)

Water is usually free in developed countries or very cheap

Farmers in USA get subsidies for irrigation

Governments could impose rules about water wasting

WHO DOES PRIVATIZATION BENEFIT?Privatization is to take water control out of the

hands of the public sphere. Privatization helps to conserve water. Increasing the amount water costs could preserve, or increase awareness. Water is reducing because of climate and geographical factors, as well as ineffective distribution by governments. Etc etc...

Cost controlDownsizing governmentThe profit motive

POVERTY AND THE EFFECTS OF PRIVATIZATION

POVERTY IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH IN THE WORLD TODAY1 child every 15 seconds dies from lack of clean drinking waterDuring the length of our 2 hour tutorials…that amounts to 480 children.

The world has the necessary resources and skills to eradicate poverty totally in less than one generation

$1.2 billion a year would ensure universal access to basic social services (basic education, health, nutrition, access to water and sewage disposal)

This is the same cost as a single American Stealth B-2 Bomber Jet.

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of ... circumstances beyond his control.”

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, United Nations, December 10, 1948

Water is not a privileged service that you can access if you can afford it

Water is a human rightYou can live 40 days

without food, but just 5 days without water

WARS AND RIOTS

in February and March of 2000, protests broke out in Cochabamba, Bolivia due to the steep prices of water

50 people detained, many injured, 6 people killed, police began to break into the houses of protest leaders who were then sent to remote prisons in the jungle

the state of emergency allowed the state to place a 90 day suspension on all basic human rights, restricting media, allowing captures and arrests to occur without a warrant

BOLIVIA

WARS AND RIOTS

August 2003: residents meet in the streets to express concerns

the meters were installed as a pilot project to upgrade supply facilities in Soweto

government claims that billions of water has been saved by restrictions - yet households consume the lowest amount of water; agriculture and mines consume the greatest amount

the water meters were briefly abandoned in 2000 following a cholera outbreak in which several hundred people died.

PHIRI, SOWETO

DISTRIBUTION OF WATER

Cost determined by treatment, transportation, demand and subsidies

Governments subsidizes costs for major cities, developing countries aren’t subsidized (they pay more)

IMF pressures developing countries to privatize water distribution

Companies may distribute water to more wealthy & politically powerful groups

They do not invest in water conservation technologies

FOSSIL FUEL EXTRACTION AND INDUSTRIAL WATER USE

Oil sands in Alberta use water to recover oil from sand

2-5 barrels of fresh water per barrel of oil produced

Pressure from government & public improved technologies and now they recycle ~90% of water used

• Examples of water used to produce 1 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of energy:– Nuclear power uses 8-14 gallons – Conventional oil uses 8-20 gallons– Coal uses 13-32 gallons– Oil sands use 27-68 gallons– Ethanol (corn fuel) uses 2510 – 29100

gallons– Soy biodiesel uses 14000 – 75000

gallons (K. Cashman, 2010)• Industrial production uses 23% of

worldwide water supply• Virtual water: water used in production of

goods and services that is not part of final product

• Industry could use waste waters or salt water to increase water conservation

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we believe that access to clean water is a human right. People who are lacking clean water are suffering, and millions are dying. Just take a minute to reflect on how your life would turn out if those papers were true. They are proportional to world statistics. While there are some benefits to water privatization, changes must be made to save lives.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Go green to reduce the water needed by energy sources

Do not waste production goods, as this uses virtual water

Remember what you have been told your whole life; turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, shorten your shower time, don’t water your grass at 2pm in the summer time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY