The Global Issues Facing Fresh Water Access
~ Whitney Snell's presentation for HSP 406 Spring 2014 ~
There are two sides to the water debate: privatization (selling like a commodity) and human rights (a right and everyone needs access).
The major international institutions that are currently behind the decision making on fresh water are: The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, The World Trade Organization, the World Water Council and some part of the United Nations. "For these forces, water is a commodity to be sold and traded on the open market" (Barlow, 2007).
The other side of the issue is made up of “environmentalists, human rights activists, indigenous and women’s groups, small farmers and peasants and thousands of grassroots communities” (Barlow, 2007). These are people fighting for the human right to water and making a point to show how corporations are stripping this natural resource from our environment for their own profit.
*Please navigate through this website using the tabs to the left. They will point you to the basic facts and issues about the consumption, distribution, rights and future of the earth's fresh water resource. *
The major international institutions that are currently behind the decision making on fresh water are: The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, The World Trade Organization, the World Water Council and some part of the United Nations. "For these forces, water is a commodity to be sold and traded on the open market" (Barlow, 2007).
The other side of the issue is made up of “environmentalists, human rights activists, indigenous and women’s groups, small farmers and peasants and thousands of grassroots communities” (Barlow, 2007). These are people fighting for the human right to water and making a point to show how corporations are stripping this natural resource from our environment for their own profit.
*Please navigate through this website using the tabs to the left. They will point you to the basic facts and issues about the consumption, distribution, rights and future of the earth's fresh water resource. *