During meetings in March 2008 of the UN Human Rights Council, Germany and Spain proposed a resolution to identify water as a global human right. Canada and the United States refused to pass this resolution because of wording that defined water as a human right.

The United States and Canada were concerned the inclusion of water as a ‘human right’ would interfere with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) according to Food and Water Watch. NAFTA “defines water as a good and an investment” as highlighted by Water Wired. The identification of water as a human right could possibly hinder future import/export of bulk water between the two nations.

So, to satisfy the United States and Canada, the UN Human Rights Council deleted all phrases in the document stating “right to water and sanitation,” and replaced the phrases with “Human Rights and access to safe drinking water and sanitation.” The Council also voted for an ‘Independent Expert’ to investigate the “issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation” over the next three years.

Water: Property or Human Right? - World Economic Forum 2006

National constitutions recognizing the right to water                (from the great Food and Water Watch)

• 1994, Panama: A constitutional amendment recognized the State’s responsibility to guarantee water for adequate development;
• 1995, Ethiopia: “[P]olicies shall aim to provide all Ethiopians access to [..] clean water;”
• 1995, Uganda: The State is obliged to fulfill fundamental rights to social justice and economic development including clean and safe water;
• 1996, Gambia: “The State shall endeavour to facilitate equal access to clean and safe water;”
• 1996, South Africa: “Everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water;”
• 2004, Uruguay: Uruguayans approved a constitutional amendment by popular vote guaranteeing the right to water.

Ashoka’s Changemakers and Global Water Challenge are asking for your opinion on the project proposals for their recent competition: Tapping Local Innovation: Unclogging the Water and Sanitation Crisis.

Three winners will be chosen to receive a 5,000 dollar grant for “innovative approaches to providing access to safe drinking water and sanitation”. Over 265 entries have been received from 54 countries, and now you may help to decide the winning projects.

Vote for your favorite three participants by May 11, 2008!

• Naandi Foundation, India
• WaterPartners, United States
• City Garbage Recyclers, Kenya
• Ecotact – Innovating Sanitation, Kenya
• Swayam Shikshan Prayog, India
• Himanshu Parikh Consulting Engineers, India
• The Clean Shop, South Africa
• Centre for Community Organisation and Development, Malawi
• Manna Energy Foundation, United States

Here are two of the projects, but don’t take my word for it… go to the web-site and vote!

Less than half of Iraq’s population of 29 million people have access to clean, drinkable water. And, according to a recent report by Oxfam, the number of civilians in Iraq without water has risen from 50 percent to 70 percent during 2003 to 2007 (the continued US occupation).

A child cries as a woman fills pans of water from a public water hose on open ground in Najaf, Iraq, in 2006. (Alla al-Marjani/Associated Press)

Recent History of Water in Iraq

In the recent past, Iraq had over 140 drinking water and treatment facilities in operation. Air attacks, in 1991, during the Persian Gulf War destroyed many of these water treatment plants. At the same time, UN imposed sanctions disallowed trade between Iraq and other countries. This made import of needed chemicals and supplies for upkeep of the water treatment facilities difficult.

By 2003, Iraq’s 140 major water treatment facilities were operating at about 35 percent of their design capacity. In March 2003, the US government launched a direct-attack on Iraq. This continued war, for over five-years now, has rendered useless the already deteriorating water infrastructure systems across the country.

Years of political upheaval, sanctions against Iraq, consistent mortar attacks, and unstable-transitional governing bodies have made maintenance of the water treatment systems almost impossible.

“Over 600 workers from the Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works have been killed attempting to repair these networks since 2005″

- UNICEF

Unsafe water is also taking its toll. Iraq saw the worst outbreak of Cholera in recorded history in 2007.

A man in a village in southern Iraq demonstrates how Bechtel left his village without access to clean water. Photo courtesy the BanglaPraxis blog.

While some measures are being taken to ensure water availability in Iraq…

UNICEF provides water on tanker trucks and distributes home-hygiene kits to civilians.
UNESCO has assessed water resources available in Iraq and evaluated possible management plans.
USAID has refurbished 10 water treatment plants and installed 70 small water treatment systems in rural communities.
The transitional Iraqi Government has been developing water policy.
The Iraq Water Project (Veterans for Peace in conjunction with LIFE) has sent small, sterilized water units for hospitals and schools and has been working to rebuild six water treatment plants in Iraq.

…really, though, these actions are not yet enough.

For it is true, if water conditions are to improve in this country, then current upheaval, war, and fighting in Iraq must come to an end.

“We have photos of the units we sent to several hospitals, including the city of Hit where there has been a recent outbreak of cholera, and we got a dandy little video of our Sterilight in action at al Mansour children’s hospital in Baghdad.” - The Iraq Water Project

One man’s dream will soon raise the world’s awareness about the complexity of water challenges occurring in India.

Beginning on Saturday, April 26th in Bangalore, CS Sharada Prasad will travel 19,000 km (11,807 m) on motorbike to document the meaning and encompassing challenges of water to people in India.

Crossing 15 major rivers, 28 states, and 7 territories, Mr. Prasad will document his journey on a blog called “K2K - In Search of Water“. His route will be mapped with a GPS unit attached to his motorbike and uploaded to Google Maps. Geotagged blog posts will be updated everyday and photos from his journey will be available on EveryTrail and Flickr.

The trip will take over two months to complete, visiting places such as the Khardung La Pass at 18,380 feet to Kanyakumari at the southernmost tip of mainland India. Mr. Prasad will meet with local citizens, organizations, and community leaders to bring light to their accomplishments and challenges regarding sustainable water supplies.

This event will be a great opportunity for students, classrooms, and people around the world to follow along with his adventure and become educated about water supplies in India.

Sharada Prasad is a project officer for the India Water Portal and Blog developed by Archyam, a nongovernmental organization. Archyam “seeks to support strategic and sustainable efforts in the water sector that address basic water needs for all citizens”.

Visit the cool interactive Google Map of the Journey across India here.

Into the local grocery store for my weekly accruals, I browse the aisles for items on my shopping list…

Milk - 65 gallons of water for production per serving
Cherries - 90 gallons of water for production per serving
Eggs - 136 gallons of water for production per serving

I diligently note the amount of water used for production of each product clearly labeled on the back of the container and then place them into my cart.

Sound a bit far-fetched? Well, not so much if you were in Australia this week attending an international water conference in Adelaide.

James Hazelton, a professor from Macquarie University, suggested this approach for labeling of food products in Australia and beyond, according to ABC News. He cited the success of labeling water efficient appliances such as low-flow toilets and washing machines.

Indeed, perhaps if we were more aware of the amount of water used for production of our food products, we might be inclined to conserve water and eat a ‘low-flow’ diet.

Great idea, sir!

Have you checked your Water Footprint lately?

“Shot on location in the West Bank over a period of almost a year, Drying up Palestine illustrates the stresses and strains imposed on Palestinian society by Israel’s almost total control over access to water and sewage facilities in the Occupied Territories. Told in the words of ordinary inhabitants, the film creates a compelling portrait of the impact of military occupation on everyday life.”

- Planet in Focus Film Festival

Purna Bahadur Vaidya is a Newar Poet from Nepal with a collection of “84 poems refracted through water” in the language of Nepal Bhasa called LA LA KHA (WATER IS WATER).

Wayne Amtzis (photographer and writer himself) sat down with the author to translate the poems into English. He has so graciously given permission for some of these translations to be featured on the Cultural Earth page on Water for the Ages. His translations have also appeared in The Drunken Boat, a web magazine of international works.

In addition, the Library of Congress has recorded Purna Vaidya reciting portions of LA LA KHA in his native language of Nepal Bhasa.

Photo above courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Mount Everest is the peak with the clouds to the left. Ama Dablam is the peak to the far right.

Several interviews on the ‘politics of oil and water’ are featured this week on Big Think, a website of ideas from people on everything including the environment. The following people and others were asked about “access to oil and water as a human right, sources of alternative energy and the future of global conflicts over resources”.

• Maude Barlow, founder of the Blue Planet Project.

• Michael Klare, professor and author of Blood and Oil.

• Robert Bryce, Fellow at the Energy Resource Institute and author of Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of ‘Energy Independence’.

A village in Ecuador was recently recognized on World Water Day 2008 for an innovative yet simple approach to water treatment using aquatic lentil and water lettuce.

The people of San Rafael de la Laguna, an indigenous community of 4,700, constructed a water treatment facility along the edge of Lake Imbakucha to offset polluted discharge from local tourist facilities and agricultural practices.

The water treatment facility removes up to 90% of the contamination, and the clean water is then used for irrigation of reeds. Local artisans create furniture, crafts, and paper from the reeds, and sell the products through the Totora Sisa Cooperative.

Photo above is Lake San Pablo (Imbakucha) in Ecuador.

In Africa, there is a young girl named Christina. She lives with her family in a small village in rural Ghana in West Africa. Ghana is close the equator with a tropical climate, but each year over eight months may pass without a drop of rain.

During these dry spells, the one watering hole in her village will slowly evaporate in the hot sun. Villagers are forced to seek water elsewhere. It is Christina’s job to fetch her family’s daily ration of water.

Each day, she will walk up to four hours to gather enough water. Christina is a hardworking girl, but because she walks so far for water means she has no time to attend school.

Christina is a real girl and this is a true story, as told in the short film below by Water Aid. Water Aid is an international organization with a vision of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation.

Africa Water Facts 

Desert, rainforest, and savanna… over 900 million people live in Africa, the second largest continent in the world. Of all who live in Africa, 340 million people (38%) lack access to clean water and 500 million people (56 %) lack access to sanitation facilities.

If you lived in Africa, you would have to walk an average of six kilometers (3.72 miles) to carry often dirty or murky water home to your family for use. The burden of this chore falls on the women and children of a household.

The Nile, Niger, Volta and Zambezi River Basins cross multiple political borders making water policy difficult and even volatile, according to research conducted by the UN as featured on the BBC.

Water availability in Africa.  Source:  UNEP/GRID-Arendal Maps and Graphics Library