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)
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