Posted on 8-3-2003

Public Citizen's Water For All Campaign

Kyoto is only 10 days away and we need your help. Please have your
organization sign the vision statement below. Send names to
lcoletta@canadians.org.

This statement is meant to broadly outline our collective vision before we
get to Kyoto. While there will undoubtedly be other statements developed in
Kyoto; this is an opportunity for groups not able to attend, and others, to
add their voices to the debate that will take place at the Third World
Water Forum.

Please add your name today!

WATER IS LIFE

A CIVIL SOCIETY WORLD WATER VISION FOR ACTION

The signatory groups to this Civil Society World Water Vision for Action
reject the founding principles of the World Water Council Vision Statement
which was adopted at the 2nd World Water Forum in The Hague and which
underlie the policies and plans for the 3rd World Water Forum in March
2003, for the following reasons:

? The Vision proposes a model for water management that relinquishes all
control over water resources to the private sector through
commercialization, privatization, and large-scale development;

? It prioritizes water use for large-scale industrial agriculture at the
expense of small-scale, communal, and traditional practices of indigenous
and peasant peoples;

? It promotes the expansion of genetically modified seeds for the purpose
of "economizing" water use, thereby threatening the biodiversity and
cultural integrity of the planet and its peoples;

? The World Water Council is an unrepresentative and undemocratic body that
derives its influence from an exclusive membership of international
financial institutions, large multinational water corporations, and
non-governmental organizations tied to these interests;

? The WWC and its Vision proclaim to have achieved a "consensus" on the
future of the world's water without any consultation, discussion, or
approval by grassroots organizations that represent the peoples of the world.

This model is being standardized globally, thereby destroying the diversity
of water ecosystems and the peoples who rely on them, and will lead to the
cartelization of the world's freshwater resources, ecological devastation,
and the death of millions, perhaps billions, of the world's people.

Water belongs to the earth and all species for all time. It is an
inalienable human right and a public trust to be protected and nurtured by
all peoples, communities and nations, and the bodies that represent them at
the local, state, and international level. Based on these unwavering
principles, we make the following
claims:

Water is not a commodity and must not be left to the whims of the market
because no person or entity has the right to profit from it. Water must
not, therefore, be commodified, privatized, traded or exported for
commercial gain. Water must be excluded as a "good", a "service" and an
"investment" in all international, regional and bilateral trade agreements.

Every human being has the right to clean water. We demand that governments
of the world substantially increase spending on clean water and sanitation
for poor people with little or no access. We affirm that by reducing
current astronomical levels of military spending that clean and safe water
can be provided for every living person on this planet. We maintain that
debt cancellation is essential for water security in poor countries, and
demand that privatization cease to be used as a condition on international
lending.

We proclaim that the key to the sustainable provision of water for life is
the maintenance and protection of the ecological integrity of all
ecosystems. We call for the adoption and implementation of a restoration
agenda for the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems. Further, we proclaim
that a water-secure future is incompatible with industrial farming and the
monopoly control of food and seeds by a small number of corporations. We
support the goal of self-reliance in food production. We also consider
large-scale water development projects such as mega-dams to be ecologically
and socially unsustainable. As such, a water-secure future is dependent
upon the acknowledgement, respect, and protection of the rights of
indigenous, peasant, and fisher peoples and their traditional knowledge. We
insist that the voices of these groups and of women around the world be
given a central place in water management issues, as these are the
communities most affected by water insecurity.

Water, as a public trust and an inalienable human right, must be controlled
by the peoples and communities that rely on it for their lives and
livelihoods. The management of water services must not only remain in
public hands, but must be revitalized and strengthened to make community
and worker participation central in order to democratize decision-making
processes and ensure transparency and accountability. This articipation
must be extended to the state, regional, and international level in all
decisions pertaining to water resources. Furthermore, all water resource
development projects must be based on respect for the rights of affected
communities and must provide full and meaningful participation in
decision-making.

Finally, we proclaim that the management and protection of the world's
water resources must absolutely be based on the principles of justice,
solidarity, reciprocity, equity, diversity, and sustainability, because
water is a human right. As stated in the Porto Alegre Declaration of 2002,
we call upon all legislators and parliamentarians to take the necessary
steps to encode this vision. Furthermore, in opposition to the 3rd World
Water Forum meeting in Kyoto, water activists are gathering together in
water social forums* in Florence, Italy; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Accra, Ghana;
New York City, USA; and New Delhi, India, which will coalesce in an
alternative worldwide assembly on the future of water.


*The forums are as follows:

1st People World Water Forum; Florence, Italy (March 21-22)

Social Water Forum (March 16-23)

African Conference on Water; Accra, Ghana (date to be determined)

Water Water Conference and Festival; New York City (March 16 - 23)

Peoples' National Water Forum; New Delhi, India (March 15-16)