by Sangeeta Deogawanka

Created on: November 12, 2008   Last Updated: May 15, 2011

Water is the naturally-occurring common resource, to be shared by all. Yet, not everyone has access to safe drinking water, let alone their daily needs. Only one percent of the total water on earth is available for human use, and these water reserves need to be used with prudence. As the world witnesses a water crisis of an unprecedented nature, it has become imperative to decide whether corporate involvement in water issues would be good for society.

While women travel long distances for their daily requirements of water, wars are also erupting. Why has this water crisis flared up within the past few decades? Has population explosion, coupled with unplanned growth, contributed to this disparity in the access to water? Perhaps, yes. But more accountable is the rapid industrialization that has encroached upon water resources in a reckless fashion.

Misuse of water by water-intensive industries and pollution of rivers and lakes with industrial effluents are examples of the unquenchable corporate thirst for water and its irresponsible attitude toward society. Where the corporate mind-set of a reckless water-grab has already proved disastrous, the very idea of corporate intervention in the world water crisis is disturbing.

This is best exemplified by corporations like Coke, Nestle and Pepsi, who tap a common natural resource, bottle it and sell it back at exorbitant prices. In India, Coke has already drained water reserves in Kerala and elsewhere, leaving the people without water for themselves, their cattle and crops. Bottled water, now a $100 billion market, has proved to be the most pervasive commercial attempt at control of water. This commoditization of water has kick-started a race for corporate control of drinking water, with the support of global institutions like the World Bank offering incentives of loans.

We are now at a crossroads where we have to exercise our choice. Do we manage our water systems democratically to ensure access to safe drinking water through community participation, as has happened with success in many places the world over? Or do we allow corporate interests to control our public water systems? Then again, if corporate interests are involved, in which arena can they best justify their role?

The precedents set by bottled water corporations are disastrous for world water reserves. Corporate success in provision of safe drinking water at nominal costs has been minimal. So there is no way that corporate involvement can augur well for the society at large.

As I perceive, it is only in the field of sewage treatment that corporate participation can help resolve the water crisis in a proactive fashion.

http://www.stopcorporateabuse.org/

http://www.thinkoutsidethebottle.org/

(a campaign of Corporate Accountability International)

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