Introduction:
In the last few decades there has been a growing trend with regards to the privatization of water supply. This signifies that taking the water-management responsibility from the government and placing it into the hands of private sector. This pattern has created objection from a lot of environmental and human rights organizations that worry that passing water distribution to the private sector will result in nothing, but trouble for everyone concerned (aside from those earning the benefits). Even though there happen to be a couple of challenges within the development of water privatization, the enhancements in quality, supply, and distribution strategies cannot go unseen.
The objective of setting water distribution directly into the private industry would be to significantly minimize the number of individuals on the planet who don't have access to good-quality drinking water while keeping the standard of the planet’s ecosystems. While government authorities (particularly those in developing and underdeveloped countries) have failed to accomplish this, the increasing expansion of privatized water distribution signifies that this is feasible solution for the growing issue of water supply and distribution, which needs to be widened.
Background of the Issue:
The involvement of the privatization in water supply has a long history that started in the 1800 where municipal services were presented by private organizations. In 2000, there were 93 countries that had privatized water services. Britain under the leadership of Winston Churchill in 1950 privatized the British steel industry; however, in the 1980’s privatization gained worldwide momentum. Privatization is a process of transferring any public property to the private sector it happens when the new private company is listed in the stock market. Furthermore, the privatization of a water sector means transferring of all assets of public water systems into private hands such as the transfer of a water-treatment system or the sale of public owned water to a private company.
Views on Water Privatization:
There are a lot of organizations, which believe that free and safe water is the basic necessity of life. For instance, "The General Assembly of United Nations" "acknowledges the clean and safe drinking water and sanitization as a basic human right. (United Nations) Even though it is quite easy to declare the clean drinking water as a basic necessity of life and a basic right of human, but the main issue is related to the implementation of this basic rights.
According to one article “Transferring Water from Agricultural to Urban Use is Beneficial” the author “Robert Glennon” discussed that the water privatization is having a lot of benefits. The author mentioned that with the privatization of water, it is possible to relocate the water for economic development and to facilitate the growing population. Furthermore, he mentioned that the water privatization can further leads to the water conservation. The author viewpoint regarding giving rights to the farmer is great as he mentioned that if the farmers are going to spend less water by building lining with concrete can increase their profits. Not only this, it will create profit, but it will stimulate the whole investment in conservation practices, and it will be quite easy to save water for other users.
The environmental group has also come to acknowledge the possible advantages of water market and privatization. It is true that the transfer of water from farms to towns will ultimately lessen the pressure to create new water dams, and also to pump far more groundwater. Moreover, it will also allow a few environmental organizations to get water rights through farmers that then they allocate to in-stream flow rights, hence guaranteeing minimal flow levels in delicate streams and rivers and streams. The author also suggested that if the water privatization and marketing are going to be flourishing, then there will be a process of quantified legal water rights that are transferrable. (Robert)
The researchers further declared that the world is already having 6.9 billion people, and almost 1.1 billion people don’t have access to fresh and clean water, and other 1.8 billion people even don’t have excess to fresh water in their homes, and they always need to travel to get fresh water. This paper further suggested that if the water resources were not conserved, then by the end of 2050, there will be 2.4billion people, who will not have access to the fresh drinking water. (Charles)
The people who are not in favor of water privatization provide a lot of reasons. For instance; wenonan Hauter from Food and Watch stated that privatization of the water is not the remedy, because the general public is already overwhelmed by the local and the federal funds, and they just can’t bear anymore the high cost of clean and safe water. Moreover, she mentioned that the private companies were more concerned with the privatization of the water as they are interested to have more profit margins and for that reason, they are investing money to have water sanitation plants and to incorporate desalination. The primary objective behind these activities is to impose a high cost on the people for their larger profit margins. She also mentioned that the private companies that are mainly operating the water systems have bad records of system maintenance with faulty building practices that is posing great threats to the health and safety of local residents. ("The Wall Street Journal")
However, this is just only the one aspect of water privatization and how an individual see the whole issue. For this reason, we just can’t accept that water privatization has negative consequences, but the actual reality is somewhat different. It is found that in 1990s, almost 30 of the Argentina’s municipalities, accounting almost 60% of the national population, made a decision to privatize their water distribution. The author mentioned that this privatization of the water resulted in far better results on the lives of people as they could access the cheaper and better water with high quality, also they had extra secondary effects, and most important was the reduction in child mortality. (Fredrik)
It was also found that the death of large portion of children in Argentina and including in other developing countries is mainly because of the water-related diseases or because of lack of hygienic water. The author also mentioned that Septicemia, diarrhea and gastrointestinal infections were some of the main life-threatening diseases observed, in areas where the water privatization is overlooked or not adopted. Also, these three major diseases are the main ones among the 10 common ones resulting in death of children in Argentina. The author also mentioned that with the privatization, the child mortality dropped by a massive 24%. In a nutshell, the water privatization has saved numerous lives of the people and thousands of children in Argentina. (Fredrik)
Outcomes of Privatization:
Conclusion
In a nutshell, we can say that the water is an integral part of our lives, and is necessary for the growth and production of country’s economic and social development. A lot of researchers have found that the privatization of the water supply is a controversial topic and there is a further need to investigate this region. However, it is also seen that through privatization, a lot of countries have already gained huge benefits in terms of more clean and safe drinking water. Therefore, the need of the hour is that the government and high authorities should have a proper legislation and plans with the help of NGOs in order to secure the water reserves and to offer the clean and safe drinking water to the people through privatization of the water. Also, there is a need of persistency, creativity and strong monetary incentives to open up the doors for advantageous change in the water rights system.
Works Cited
J.Hayes, David . "Privatization and Control of US Water Supplies." Natural Resources & Environment. 18.2 (2003): 19-24. Print.
Glennon, Robert. "Transferring Water from Agricultural to Urban Use Is Beneficial."Water.Ed. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints.Rpt. from "Water Scarcity, Marketing, and Privatization." Texas Law Review 83 (June 2005): 1873-1902. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.Web. 8 Jun. 2014
Segerfeldt, Fredrik. “Water for Sale: How Business and the Market Can Resolve the World’s Water Crisis.” The Amigo Society, Brussels., 30 May 2006. Brussels: Web. Lecture. 8 Jun. 2014
Fishman, Charles. "People Must Learn Not to Take Water for Granted." Will the World Run Out of Fresh Water? Ed. David M. Haugen and Susan Musser. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue.Rpt. from "What Happens When We Run out of Water?" Salon.com. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.Web. 8 June. 2014
"The Wall Street Journal",. "Are We Better Off Privatizing Water?." The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal, 08 Oct 2012. Web. 8 Jun 2014.
United Nations. General Assembly.64/292.The Human Right to Water and Sanitation. Human Right to Water and Sanitation. United Nations 2013, July 2010. Web. 8 Jun. 2014
