CIAO DATE: 06/2008
January 2006
Institute for Development and Peace
Water is an essential factor for human development and health, but also
for agricultural production, the development of the tourism sector and
industrial growth. The increasing scarcity of the resource contributes
to high competition between these user groups. Growing tension and
conflict over water allocation urge for new approaches in demand
management.
The provision of safe drinking water constitutes one of the Millennium
Development Goals, but is still far from being achieved. While the
public sector has often been blamed for bad water service and
corruption, the subsequent involvement of the private sector has
frequently resulted in a lack of supply to poor population groups and
has not kept the promise of large investments in infrastructure. The
currently heated debates over the pros and cons of a privatisation of
water services have led to sometimes violent conflict.
The report explores the global trends, which have led to the promotion
of privatisation as a solution for deficits in development.
Furthermore, it investigates the cooperation of international financial
institutions and the private sector. It provides an insight into the
underlying interests, norms and values of the different actors
involved, be they public, private, or from the civil society.
Based on this analysis, the authors propose a concept of socially,
economically and ecologically sustainable water governance and point to
two essential options for development cooperation: the implementation
of political regulation and the equilibration of power relations at the
institutional level.
Resource link: Privatisation in Deep Water? Water Governance and Options for Development Cooperation, INEF-Report 84 [PDF] - 1.2M