Is Water Part of the Tibet/China Conflict?
Posted by Michael E. Campana, WaterWired on May 12, 2008 at 4:24 PM.

The Tibetan Plateau, source to great rivers (Brahmaputra, Ganges, Yellow, Yangtze, Indus, Irrawaddy, Mekong) in whose basins live well over 2 billion people, may be at the heart of the China-Tibet "debate."

Why? Water, that's why.

The region, at 2.5 million square kilometers about four times the size of Texas, covers almost 2% of the Earth's land surface. It is the world's biggest plateau, and has an average elevation of almost 15,000 feet (4500 meters). It plays a significant role in the climate of the planet. Its glaciers nourish the aforementioned rivers and others. And it is those glaciers that may be at the heart of China's "interest" in keeping Tibet on a tight leash.

Circle of Blue has an excellent about the strategic power of water in the China-Tibet debate (thanks to Eric Daigh).

Like many other resources, water is of great concern to China. I've previously posted on China's water issues: Three Gorges Dam; the Great South-to-North water transfer; Lake Balkhash.

The take-away: what with Tibtean Plateau glaciers shrinking because of climate change and China's water development plans, the Indians, Vietnamese, Laotians, Cambodians, Bangladeshis, Burmese, et al. might have cause for concern.

And perhaps the rest of us, too.

"In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong, there is nothing that can surpass it." -- Lao-tze, 6th century BCE

South African High Court Rules: A Human Right to Water
Posted by Michael E. Campana, WaterWired on May 8, 2008 at 1:14 PM.

Colleague Kate Ely clued me in that the South African High Court in Johannesburg recently ruled that people have a human right to water. The Court ruled that the poor have a constitutional right to water, and it's believed to be the first time this constitutional right has explicitly been raised anywhere.

Judge MP Toska ruled that the City of Johannesburg had to provide free basic water in the amount of 50 liters per person per day to the residents of Phiri, Soweto. The City had been cutting off water when residents exceeded a monthly household limit of 6000 liters (200 liters per day per household) of free water, unless pre-payment for more was made.

The judge found the aforementioned practice unconstitutional and wrote that denying the poor access to adequate water "is to deny them the rights to health and to lead a dignified lifestyle."

In specifying the 50 liter per person per day figure, Judge Toska referenced the research by Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute. Here is the press release.

Read more here.

This decision really struck a chord with me. I remember at the Third World Forum (3WWF) in Kyoto in 2003 during an open-mike session, a South African man from Soweto told the audience in trembling voice:

"When the whites ruled the South Africa, my water was free. Now that I live in a democracy and my people [the African National Congress (ANC)] are in charge, they turn off my water when I cannot pay."

I hope he's around to witness this historic decision.

Environmental Destruction Adds to Devastation in Myanmar
Posted by Tara Lohan on May 7, 2008 at 2:46 PM.

While the blogosphere is beating up Al Gore over alleged comments on NPR linking cyclones (and the increasing frequency and severity of storms) to global warming, one thing is certain: environmental factors did play a role in the devastation in Myanmar.

As the BBC reported:

Destruction of mangrove forests in Burma left coastal areas exposed to the devastating force of the weekend's cyclone, a top politician suggests. ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said coastal developments had resulted in mangroves, which act as a natural defence against storms, being lost. A study of the 2004 Asian tsunami found that areas near healthy mangroves suffered less damage and fewer deaths. Mr Surin, speaking at a high-level meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Singapore, said the combination of more people living in coastal areas and the loss of mangroves had exacerbated the tragedy.

The story further explains that mangroves are "bio-guards" and were responsible for helping to protect Sri Lankan villagers during the December 2005 tsunami. "While two people died in the settlement with dense mangrove and scrub forest, up to 6,000 people lost their lives in a nearby village without similar vegetation," the article says.

It turns out, we are pretty good at getting rid of mangrove forests -- about 3.6 million hectares are gone since 1980. The cause? Apparently it is new development pressures from tourism and rising population as well as the shrimp and fish farming industry.

So what do we do now? Here's a way to help long-term community-led reconstruction.

In Iraq 70 Percent of People Lack Clean Water
Posted by Abigail Brown, Water For The Ages on May 1, 2008 at 12:00 PM.

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).

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.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Road Trip Around India Explores Water Challenges
Posted by Abigail Brown, Water For The Ages on April 23, 2008 at 9:33 PM.

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."

Webby Award for American Museum of Natural History's Water Exhibit?
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on April 23, 2008 at 1:46 PM.

Who knew that a museum exhibit could also spur also a Webby Award? The Web site for the amazing exhibit, Water: H2O=Life, that opened this fall at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, has now been nominated for the Webby People's Voice awards.

You can read all about the exhibit in our review of it here. But, in a nutshell, it is all about teaching people how precious a resource water really is, how to understand better how much we use and why it is so threatened, and of course, what we can do to protect it.

Even if you haven't seen the exhibit, which will be leaving New York at the end of May and traveling around North American (and overseas), you can check out the interactive Web site.

And then if you like it, give it a vote here. Winners will be announced May 6. Once on the site, click on "Website," "Society," "Science," and then "Water: H2O=Life."

Are Coke's Water Conservation Intentions for Real?
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on April 17, 2008 at 11:15 AM.

Coca-Cola just began their annual shareholders meeting yesterday and they were met with resistance from activists and some shareholders when it came to their environmental commitments.

"Coke is working very hard to avoid addressing reasonable questions about product quality testing and disclosure, all the while talking about its rigorous safety and quality requirements," said Gigi Kellett, national director of Corporate Accountability International's Think Outside the Bottle campaign. "People are wondering what exactly this corporation has to hide."

It seems Coke is trying to green (or blue) its image, but anyone with any real concern about the environment and our water crisis aren't buying it. Folks have been calling on the company to report on water quality, label their water sources, and stop pumping in regions that already have limited amounts of water.

One of the areas particularly hard hit has been India. As the India Resource Center reports:

A recent study funded by Coca-Cola confirmed that the company's bottling plants contribute to severe water shortages around some of its bottling plants in India. The report also recommended the closure of a bottling plant in Kala Dera in Rajasthan and cautioned Coca-Cola on the declining water tables in Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh.

"Coca-Cola's own report as well as government studies have confirmed what we have been saying all along -- that the company has worsened the water crisis for thousands of people," said Nandlal Master of Lok Samiti which coordinates the community campaign against Coca-Cola in Mehdiganj.

How has Coke responded? They've come up with some initiatives that don't hold much weight. Here's the rundown from Corporate Accountability International:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

More Bad Press for Nestlé in their Quest to Pilfer Spring Water
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on April 15, 2008 at 4:15 PM.

Rural communities beware. Although we've reported it before, Nestlé's attack on rural communities and the corporation's pilfering of spring water has made the news again -- this time in Business Week. In "A Town Torn Apart: How a deal for a bottled water plant set off neighbor against neighbor in struggling McCloud, Cailf.," Michelle Conlin explains how the small NorCal town is fighting to keep the world's largest food and beverage company from taking their spring water.

It is here that Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA), a subsidiary of the Swiss food and beverage giant, plans to operate one of the largest spring-water bottling plants in the U.S. The 1 million-square-foot facility -- picture five Wal-Mart supercenters strung together -- is to rise on the site of McCloud's defunct lumber mill, a 250-acre swath of land that bends around the base of the mountain. Nestlé aims to draw 1,250 gallons a minute of water from McCloud's glacier-fed springs. The company would then pack 300 semi-trailers a day full of Arrowhead brand water, truck it as far away as Los Angeles and Reno, and sell it at prices that are as much as 1,000 times more than the cost of tap water. In exchange, Nestlé has agreed to pay McCloud roughly $350,000 a year for the water and create up to 240 jobs in and around the town.

The plan was made with the company by district board members behind closed doors and with no public input. McCloud, a town on the economic mend, apparently was looking for someone to fill the shoes of the departed lumber industry. But it seems like the board members weren't all that sure what they were getting into with Nestlé, considering their track record in other towns in Michigan and Maine. And according to this article, they couldn't afford to hire a lawyer to look over the paperwork.

When the town found out about the deal, there was a great deal of concern, followed by anger and then action.

Nestlé Waters has run into a wall of opposition, prompting it to delay construction and resubmit its environmental permit application. Since learning about the bottling plant, nearly half of McCloud's 1,300 residents have mobilized into a well-armed resistance force. Furious that their elected representatives inked the deal without consulting them and worried about the potential impact the plant could have on Mount Shasta's delicate local hydrology, they have ordered up studies, signed up wealthy backers, and lobbied politicians.

The Business Week story lightly touches on the growing movement against bottled water -- the "tappening" movement and includes some info after the end of the article from Food and Water Watch's Wenonah Hauter dispelling myths about how some erroneously believe all bottled water is better than tap as well as figures about the environmental footprint of bottled water. It would have been good to see that info built into the story, but at least it was there ... somewhere. Overall it is good to see this information about water privatization making it to more mainstream media.

Are You Fooled By Bottled Water? [VIDEO]
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on April 4, 2008 at 7:50 PM.

There is a growing movement across the country, driven by groups like Food & Water Watch and Corporate Accountability International, to get Americans to quit the bottled water habit. And they've been met with success -- from city halls to restaurants to campuses.

On April Fool's Day, folks from Food & Water Watch set out to prove that people will believe just about anything about water as long as it's in a bottle (even that water bottled when music is playing will make it healthier). Check out the hilarious video on the right.

Where the joke ends, is the truth about bottled water -- most of it is not any safer or cleaner than what we get out of the tap. And in the long run, the environmental costs of bottled water far outweigh anything else.

Recently Food & Water Watch kicked off a new "Take Back the Tap" restaurant campaign in San Francisco, a city which has taken a leading role in ending bottled water consumption. F&WW is working with cities across the nation to urge local restaurants and chefs to sign a pledge to switch to serving only municipal tap water, help educate customers about the benefits of tap over bottled water, and whenever possible, install a carbonation machine to make sparkling water from the tap.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Ecuador Embraces Natural Water Treatment
Posted by Abigail Brown, Water For The Ages on March 31, 2008 at 5:16 PM.

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 percent 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.

The Water Front: What Happens When Water Is for Profit? [Video]
Posted by Zoe Maggio, Polaris Institute on March 25, 2008 at 1:25 PM.

"What if you lived by the largest body of fresh water in the world but could no longer afford to use it?" The Water Front, a documentary film by Liz Miller, is the story of one community's determined resistance to water privatization.

Highland Park, Michigan, was once the center of the early 20th century's booming automobile industry -- the location of the first assembly line implemented by the Ford Motor Company, enabling mass production. Now, the post-industrial city is in financial crisis and the state of Michigan has appointed an Emergency Financial Manager, with the same power as an elected mayor, to sort it out. Seeing the municipal water plant as a potential source of revenue, the manager raises the water rates to impossible levels, with some residents receiving water bills as high as $10,000. If they are unable to pay, the water is shut off. Highland Park's residents, who are mostly poor or low-income and people of color, have organized a campaign to prevent the water plant from impending privatization, and to assert water, an essential life resource, as a human right.

The fight for water in Highland Park mirrors water justice struggles around the world. As activist and resident Marian Kramer notes in the film, "The fight in Highland Park is the fight in ... Detroit, in Flint, in Johannesburg, South Africa, in China -- in all the places when it comes to the question of water -- it becomes a global problem."

The Water Front also touches upon the growing bottled water industry and its critical connection with water privatization including that of municipal water systems, like the water plant in Highland Park. The marketing of bottled water, which the industry claims is a healthier, purer, and more convenient product, has lead to a distrust of public tap water systems. This is despite the fact that tap water is subject to more stringent regulations, is far cheaper, more widely available and environmentally sustainable, particularly when considering the pollution caused by plastic bottles and the manufacturing, transportation and disposal of bottled water.

In addition, the shift towards bottled water helps deflect from the need to call for increased funding and prioritization of safe public water services, leaving the door open for neglectful governments keen on transferring public service costs over to the private sector. Therefore, bottled water sets the stage for water privatization -- a trend that communities, students, labour and environmental groups, continue to resist!

Turkey, Iraq and Syria to Form Collaborative Water Institute
Posted by Abigail Brown, Water For The Ages on March 16, 2008 at 6:04 PM.

The Middle East is an area rich in oil reserves but without ample water supplies to sustain a growing populace.

Over 21 politically distinct countries and jurisdictions maintain 5% of the world's total inhabitants with less than 1% of the world's water reserves. At times, coming to an agreement on how to share the three river systems (the Jordan, Nile, and Tigris-Euphrates) that traverse the region make water policy a virtual nightmare.

Now three countries are coming forward to resolve past arguments on transboundary water issues. Turkey, Iraq, and Syria will soon form an institute to study water in the Middle East, as detailed in The Zaman (a major Turkish newspaper).

Experts, scholars, and professionals from each country will begin meetings at Turkey's Atatürk Dam to share information and work on resolving past water-allocation problems.

Goals of the institute include:

• Develop and share information on irrigation and potable water technology.

• Map water resources in the Middle East.
• Release a report on effective water management in each country (for release on April 15th).

Management of water storage and dams in the region will be an aspect of the institute's endeavors. Turkey and Syria will attempt joint construction of a dam on the Asi River.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

The Rivers Need You
Posted by Tara Lohan, AlterNet on March 12, 2008 at 2:13 PM.

Have a special place in your heart for a river in your hometown or somewhere in the world? If you do, get on board with the International Day of Action for Rivers, which is officially March 14 (although it kicks off with a great Bay Area event on March 13).

And if the state of our rivers hasn't crossed you mind lately -- it should. Because our water and food supplies, and the biodiversity and many of the recreational opportunities that we've come to appreciated, rely on rivers.

Our rivers are being dammed, drained, and reconfigured at the whim of governments, power companies, and developer -- threatening priceless ecosystems.

So, let's do something about it. Join International Rivers this week and the hundreds of world-wide actions that will be taking place.

Here's what IR says about the event:

The International Day of Action Against Dams: For Rivers, Water, and Life is the next step in strengthening the international movement. Our aim is to raise our voices in unison against destructive water development projects, reclaim the health of our rivers and watersheds, and demand the equitable and sustainable management of our waterways. By acting together, we will demonstrate that these issues are not merely local, but global in scope.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »