12% of population uses 85% of water12% of population uses 85% of water

MajorityMinority

BymajorityByminority

WATER WARSWATER WARS

Zoltan GrossmanZoltan GrossmanThe Evergreen State CollegeThe Evergreen State College

http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz

Sources of waterSources of water

Surface fresh water: 3% of liquid water,

which is 13% of fresh water,which is 2.4% of water

Precipitation Patterns

U.S. Water Policy

• Through most of US history, water policies have generally worked against conservation. In well-watered eastern states, water

policy was based on riparian use rights. In drier western regions where water is

often a limiting resource, water law is based primarily on prior appropriation rights.

- Fosters “Use it or Lose it” policies.

Ogallala Aquifer

High-capacitywellwithdrawals

Dried-up reservoirDried-up reservoir

Western U.S. water conflictsWestern U.S. water conflicts

Klamath Basin, OregonKlamath Basin, Oregon

vs.vs.Farmers.Farmers.

Ranchers.Ranchers.““Wise Wise Users”Users”

Commercial fishers,Commercial fishers,Sport fishers,Sport fishers,Tribes,Tribes,EnvironmentalistsEnvironmentalists

Climate change affecting freshwater Climate change affecting freshwater

Nisqually Glacier, Mt. Rainier Nisqually Glacier, Mt. Rainier

Bulk water transfers

River system diversions(Canada-to-U.S.)

Water pipelines(Canada/Great Lakes-to-Southwest)

Supertankers(North America-to-Asia)

Canadian government banned bulk transfers in 1999.

WATER AVAILABILITY AND USE

• Renewable Water Supplies Made up of surface runoff and infiltration

into accessible freshwater aquifers.

Readily accessible, renewable supplies are 400,000 gal /person/year.

Depleting Groundwater

• Groundwater is the source of nearly 40% of fresh water in the U.S. On a local level, withdrawing water faster

than it can be replenished leads to a cone of depression in the water table,

- On a broader scale, heavy pumping can deplete an aquifer.

Mining non-renewable resource.

Depleting Groundwater

FRESHWATER SHORTAGES

• Estimated 1.5 billion people lack access to an adequate supply of drinking water. Nearly 3 billion lack acceptable sanitation. Freshwater withdrawals doubled in 50 yrs.

• A country where consumption exceeds more than 20% of available, renewable supply is considered vulnerable to water stress.

Global Water Use Growth

A Precious Resource

• 45 countries have serious water stress, and cannot meet the minimum essential water requirements of their citizens.

More than two-thirds of

world’s households have

to retrieve water from

outside the home.

Water use and commodification

Agriculture

Industry

Household/municipal

PRIVATIZATION

• Price mechanisms charging a higher proportion of real costs to users of public water projects has helped encourage conservation.

Yet discriminates against poor.

Global water Industry Over $140 Billion a year

The World Water and Wastewater Utilities Market is estimated at $142 billion US in 2000…

(2000, $US)

Water multinationals

Public/private water in EU countries

95 100

82

63

25

100 100 96

100 100 100 99

90

98

12

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Belgium

Denmark Ge

rmany

Spain

France

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Lux

Neth

s

Austria

Portugal

Finland

Sweden

UK

Public Private

1,489

1,6211,716

1,8031,848 1,841

1,784

1,9081,993

2,0502,100 2,100

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

average annual price (FF) for yearly consumption of 120m3, water & sanitationSource: DGCCRF

Municipal/RégiesDelegated/Private

Public and private prices in France

““Water War” in BoliviaWater War” in Bolivia

Cochabamba residents protestingBechtel privatization of

municipal water system, 1999

Private and public: subsidies to and from water

Private

Loss leaders

Subsidies from taxation

Public

Financing other MNC operations

Financing other public services

Water

services

Alternative: Porto Alegre, Brazil

Autonomous department- Efficiency and public accountability

‘Participatory budgeting’- Decentralised democratic prioritizing

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Alternative: Debrecen, Hungary

• Preferred public to private

• Cheaper

• Financial comparison

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Safety of municipal Safety of municipal water supplieswater supplies

Wisconsin, 1993Wisconsin, 1993

Australia, 1998Australia, 1998

(privatized system)(privatized system)

Ontario, 2000Ontario, 2000(gov’t had dropped(gov’t had dropped

e-coli testing)e-coli testing)

BOTTLED WATER BOTTLED WATER costs more than oilcosts more than oil

Bottled water quality in questionBottled water quality in question

Bottled water growthBottled water growth

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1970 1980 2000

Billions of gallons

WaterWaterPrivatizationPrivatization

WoodstockRiot 1999Fewer

bubblers inpublic

buildings?

Perrier/Nestle in the U.S.Perrier/Nestle in the U.S.

TexasTexas FloridaFlorida

Perrier/Nestle in the MidwestPerrier/Nestle in the Midwest

WisconsinWisconsin MichiganMichigan

Alliance of farmers, Alliance of farmers, sportfishers, tribe, sportfishers, tribe, environmentalistsenvironmentalists

prevents Perrier fromprevents Perrier frompumping springs,pumping springs,

1999-2002 1999-2002

Protection ofProtection ofrural suppliesrural supplies

from high-from high-capacity wellscapacity wells

“NEW GEOGRAPHY OF CONFLICT”

“Possible flashpoint for resource conflict”Water systems & aquifers• Jordan• Nile• Tigris – Euphrates• Amu Darya• Indus• Mountain Aquifer (West Bank/Israel)”

Water diversions from riversWater diversions from rivers

Yellow River (Huang He)In northern China

Colorado River Deltain U.S./Mexico

Soviet diversion of rivers to the Aral Sea

• Once the 4th largest inland body of water in the world

A series of dams was built to irrigate cotton.

• Aral Sea reduced to about 25% of its 1960 volume, quadrupled the salinity of the lake and wiped out the fishery. Pollutants became airborne as dust, causing significant local health problems.

• The environmental damage caused has been estimated at $1.25 -$2.5 billion a year.

Middle East Water Conflicts

Israeli-Palestinian Water Conflict

Israel uses 82%Of West Bankgroundwater;charges Arabs 3x

Israel’sboundarywith Egypt and Gaza(Palestine)

Dead SeaShrinkage

Tigris and Euphrates riversTigris and Euphrates rivers

TurkeyTurkey

IraqIraq

International cooperation on water useInternational cooperation on water use

DAMSDAMS

Major investments …

• 45,000 large dams

• 2 dams commissioned per day in1970s

• Total investment exceeds $2 trillion

• flow in 60% of world’s rivers affected

• 19% of world’s electricity from hydropower

• Other dams for irrigation, flood control, water supply

2 000

0

4 000

6 000

NUMBER OF DAMS

1900 1990s

Dam projects increasingly questioned

• Affected populations strongly oppose dams

• Proponents point to development demands

• Opponents point to adverse impacts

• Uprisings against globalization

• Examples: Narmada (India), Three Gorges (China), Gabcikovo (Slovakia/Hungary)

Significant impacts on riverine & downstream ecosystems…

• Sediment, salinity, and

herbicide concentrations

• Biodiversity losses

• Fish migration, nutrient flows blocked

• Evaporation in reservoirs

• Reservoirs emit greenhouse gases

• Flooding if dam fails

• 67% of ecosystem changes in survey are negative

Heavy toll on human communities…

• Estimated 40-80 million physically displaced; many others affected by social disruption

• Flooding of Cultural Sites (Archeological and Modern)

• Project cost overruns/debt

• Socio-economic centralization

• Negative impacts fall disproportionately on disadvantaged populations

Water resourceswww.worldwater.org/ www.groundwater.com/Privatization of waterwww.citizen.org/cmep/Water/www.blueplanetproject.org www.ratical.org/co-globalize/BlueGold.pdf Bottled waterwww.knowbottledwater.org Damswww.dams.orgwww.irn.org Water Wars (books)www.southendpress.org/books/waterwars.shtmlwww.mapcruzin.com/rev_resource_wars.htm

Strategies to protect natural resources

• DESTABILIZE: Make investment “risky for companies. Make the cost of delays and poor Public Relations too high

• Divide and conquer the capitalists Pit Banks vs. TNC, Subsidiary vs HQ, Shareholders vs. CEOs

• Protect movement from “divide & conquer” Solidarity of Core and Periphery grassroots Not In Anyone’s Back Yard (NIABY) A mine in U.S. won’t prevent a mine in Latin America, and vice versa

• Take power Local (Nashville WI, Chaltenango, El Salvador) National (Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, etc.)

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Grassroots organizing to protect resources

• Internet for research, education, networking, mobilizing

• Popular education Speaking tours, Translate technical/legal info

• Sectoral organizing Local grassroots groups Form around interest (students, tribal, health care,

women, fishers, farmers, labor)

• Alliance-building Umbrealla for sectoral groups Regional, national networks Exchange Core, Periphery activists

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

WISCONSINWISCONSIN

COLOMBIACOLOMBIA

Tactics to protect natural resources

• Global media campaigns Make their Public Relations scream

• Jump scales (scope of conflict) Internationalize local issues Localize international issues

• Legal action Shareholder resolutions Local government resolutions Lobbying/legislation (state/national) Lawsuits in courts of HQ country

• Direct action Site occupations, road/rail blockades Sabotage, rebellion

NIGERIANIGERIA

ECUADORECUADOR