Water: A Human Right or an Abused Commodity

Water: A Human Right or An Abused Commodity

The day, water, sun, moon, night - I do not have to purchase these things with money.

                                                -Plautus

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If only it were that simple today. 

Water is the most essential substance on earth; it covers three-quarters of the earth's surface and also accounts for 60-75% of our body's make up (The USGS Water Science School 2013).  It comes out of our faucets for cooking, cleaning, laundry and most importantly - drinking.  Some of us see water as a commodity; others aren't so fortunate.

Many people in developed countries account for those who would consider water as a commodity. We take 10-20 minute showers - once or twice a day; we keep the faucet running while cleaning dishes and use water in our dishwashers; we do multiple loads of laundry per day; we wash our cars; we water our lawns during droughts; we use it to extract energy.  But as I said, some people - actually most - are not so lucky; millions, if not billions, of people around the world could not imagine the lives we live, and could not imagine abusing water as we do.  More recently, water has become a political tool, a scarce resource around the world, and it is quickly becoming a resource causing political and military conflicts.  

To put these last examples into realistic perspectives: the average United States family uses 176 gallons of water per day - compared to the average African family that uses 5 gallons per day (Water Facts 2013).  American's, and those living in developed nations, seem to have a sense of entitlement to water usage and water rights.  As I stated earlier, I can only assume that those living in third world nations cannot imagine having the availability to water that we have; on the contrary, if any American were forced to live in conditions such as those living in poor African nations or regions in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, it can be argued that they would not be able to last a day without the filtered, safe water for drinking and bathing.

While putting together this topic that is ever so important to our society, I not only looked to third world populations that struggle for water, but also our own water issues here in the United States and how our water usage affects others around the world.  In addition, I plan to discuss international water policy issues that have caused tense political drama in the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.  By the end of this, I hope that you have a better understanding of water usage; how lucky we (in developed nations) are; the severity and scarcity of water all over the world; and the future of water usage and the issues that may arise with it.  I believe that we are at a very delicate point in our world, a time where the decisions of one nation or one leader can negatively impact the lives of millions in another part of the world.  Perhaps if we are not careful, we may all end up in the same boat - struggling for water and survival.

A few years ago, I became aware of the water issue in my high school environmental science class.  We were taught that, which is well supported by research, aside from the very few well-developed nations, most of the world does not have enough water to sustain life in a healthy way, or enough water to grow food to feed themselves (Courtland 2008).  Over the past decade, this has become an increasingly important topic as the world's population has his 7 billion people and it projected to hit 8 billion in 10 years, and more than 10 billion by 2100 (Kaiser 2011). 

According to the United Nations, water scarcity is defined as “the point at which the aggregate impact of all users impinges on the supply or quality of water under prevailing institutional arrangements to the extent that the demand by all sectors, including the environment, cannot be satisfied fully.” (Water Scarcity 2013).  Currently, the region of the world where water is the scarcest is in Northern Africa and the Middle East.  Extremely vulnerable regions include much of Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia (Water Scarcity 2013).  The UN estimates that more than 700 million people in 43 nations currently suffer from water scarcity; by 2025, they project that that number will be 1.8 billion people (Water Scarcity 2013).  This is a serious issue facing our society and global population growth will directly contribute to the scarcity of water.  To fully understand this issue, this section will be broken down into regions of the world and how water scarcity affects them. 

Latin America:

            Latin America is considered to be a one region of the world where population growth will be the largest (Rose 1998).  Consequently, it is also one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change and has serious water rights and scarcity issues (Rose 1998).  Bolivia has one of the world’s lowest GDP per capita rankings (Central Intelligence Agency 2013); much of the nation suffers from poverty and the nation has become victim to a drier climate due to climate change (Water War in Bolivia 2000).  The changes in climate have cause many parts of the nation to become water scarce.  In a nation where water is privatized, meaning private companies own the rights to the water in the region, one company – Aguas del Tunari – has argued that building a pipeline from other rivers to major cities is the solution to the problem (Water War in Bolivia 2000).  The issue is that this company is making its customers, the people of Bolivia, pay for part of this project; Aguas del Tunari raised water bills 35-70% to help compensate for the costs (Water War in Bolivia 2000).  Many argue that this project will do little solve the water scarcity issue in the nation, as this project has been ongoing since 1998 with no proof of progress (Water War in Bolivia 2000). 

           

In Latin America, water scarcity not is not only due to a physical scarcity of water, but also a severe lack of safe drinking water – this is the case in Belize, one of the poorest nations on earth (Water Missions in Belize 2013).  Many in Latin America, as well as throughout the world, argue that the privatization of water has lead to a decrease in the availability and quality of water (VanOverbeke 2004).  In Mexico, one of the main reasons for water scarcity is the United States.  Mexican officials and scientists argue that the damming of the Colorado/Rio Grande River has virtually eradicated one of the nation’s main sources of water for drinking and agriculture.  Water is so scarce in parts of Mexico that soda is the main fluid consumed by adults, children, and babies (Yardley 2002).  Once the Colorado River crosses the Mexican border, the once vast Rio Grande, is no more than a trickling stream in certain areas.  In addition, the Rio Grande no longer has the ability to reach the Gulf of Mexico (Vaknin 2005).  This significant lack in water is taking a toll on Mexico’s economy, society, health status of its population and agricultural industry.  

Africa and the Middle East:

The United Nations is closely observing the intensifying situation in this region.  They believe that increasing water scarcity in Africa and the Middle East could result in widespread “water wars”, primarily between nations that share a river or a lake (Smith 1999).  The most vulnerable regions are the nations that come in contact with the Nile, Zambezi, Niger and Volta rivers, as well as the diminishing Lake Chad.  The Nile, which runs through Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, – the latter two nations being two of the poorest on earth – is becoming a volatile case.  Egypt, where the Nile originates, will not take kindly to losing valuable water resources for their agriculture, large population and increasing economy to nations much smaller and much poorer in terms of GDP (Smith 1999).  As seen in cases throughout the world, nations that house the head of a river tend to block off and divert the river, via dams, to the point where once the river crosses into another nation, water levels are significantly reduced.  It is a domino effect; the more nations in the path of the river, and the larger need for water, the more this method is applied (i.e. more dams are built resulting in less water available for the next nation).  Many are predicting that this may happen along the Nile and the other mentioned rivers, which will result in political and even military conflicts as nations become desperate to support their peoples. 

This example, however, is already occurring just a few hundred miles East.  There is a political (for now) water war occurring between Turkey, Syria and Iraq for water resources from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, both of which originate in Turkey.  Turkey has constructed numerous dams to divert these waters for personal consumption, energy production and to satisfy agricultural needs.  In an increasingly unstable political environment in this region, recently due to the Syrian civil war, this water war, particularly between Turkey and Syria, is worrying the international community.  In fact, NATO has already drawn up conflict scenarios in which Syria and Iraq, in a joint effort, invade Turkey for water (Jongerden 2010).  This is one of many scenarios that seem more likely to occur as this situation develops and worsens.  Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned geopolitical figure, states that Turkey claims that the nation holds absolute sovereignty over the waters since they originate within its borders.  In addition, she believes that:

“The conflict between Iraq and Turkey is expected to intensify as Turkey attempts to move with its $32 billion plan to build 22 dams on the Euphrates for the irrigation of 1.7 million hectares of land. When the two dams operate along with the Ataturk Dam, Iraq would lose 80 to 90 percent of its allotment of Euphrates water” (Shiva 2002). 

However, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel as Turkey has recently stated that they intend to allow for more water to flow to the lower nations due to their over estimating of how much water that they needed for this project (Fraser 2009). 

Asia

            The Mekong River is now a source of concern in Southeast Asia.  China has already constructed five massive dams along the Mekong for hydropower generation, as well as to feed the surrounding agricultural regions.  The Mekong is the main artery for Southeast Asia as it feeds Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia with essential water that supports their agricultural industry as well as providing the nations with drinking water (Ponnudurai 2012).  Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang believes that if this issue continues, it will not only result in a threat to the economic growth of many nations, but also a political conflict.  The dams have significantly raised water levels in China while significantly lowering them in the lower nations.  In response to the threat of water scarcity, Cambodia and Laos are proposing to build dams of their own to secure water for their people and industries (Ponnudurai 2012).  This is an example of the domino effect stated above.  There is certainty among experts that these dams will result in long-term changes in the amount of downstream nutrient-rich sediment that the Mekong transports.  The World Wildlife Foundation recently conducted a study that shows that after 5,000 years of expansion in the Mekong Delta, there is now receding occurring that is putting millions of people at risk for decreasing drinking water availability and the failure of rice production in Vietnam, which is essential to global agricultural markets (Ponnudurai 2012). 

            In conclusion, water scarcity affects almost every region of the world.  Emphasis was only placed on Latin America, Africa and Asia because these are the three regions of the world where population is expected to grow the most by the end of the century (Rose 1998).  Water has no longer become a right to everyone, as it was during Plautus’ time 2,300 years ago – it is a global market good.  As with any market good, some benefit from consumption and production while others are adversely impacted.  This cannot and should not be the case with water.  In Vandana Shiva’s Water Wars, her fourth point underpinning water democracy states, “Water must be free for sustenance needs. Since nature gives water to us free of cost, buying and selling it for profit violates our inherent right to nature's gift and denies the poor of their human rights” (VanOverbeke 2004).  Our growing global population will only result in a higher demand of water for consumption and food production.  The international community cannot allow certain nations to deprive others of water.  Laws must be established and enforced to prevent dehydration of people, land, and economies.  Lester Brown, an international environmental analyst believes:

“There will be scarcely one fourth as much fresh water per person in 2050 as there was in 1950.  With water availability per person projected to decline dramatically in many countries already facing shortages, the full social effects of future water scarcity may be the most underrated resource in the world today” (Brown et al. 1999). 

Nothing can be done to create more water for our society; we are forced to play the hand that we are dealt, as the saying goes.  It seems almost inevitable that there will be international water wars if no action is taken to allocate water to nations more equally.  Sustainable practices need to be implemented to reduce the amount of water that is needed in agriculture or manufacturing processes.  Our culture has established the idea that humans can own and manipulate the natural process.  While it may be true to an extent, we mustn’t forget that water drives all life, and it can therefore take it away.  If there is one thing that cannot be owned, it is water; for owning water results in the degradation of nature and humanity.  It is not moral, nor ethical, to deprive others of this essential element.  It will take a disaster, perhaps a famine or a war, to force the international community to take action on water policy.  For now, observance takes hold and many are suffering while others are abusing a commodity.  Water is a human right - we just don’t know it yet. 

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