Monday, March 23, 2009

Water foul

There's been a lot of activity around the latest world water forum (WWF, not to be confused with the other WWF) taking place in Istanbul. I blogged an appeal from La Via Campesina (who are always right on these issues, let it be known) and here's a piece from AFP titled "Activists slam water forum". Marcy sent me a link to an opinion piece in the Independent by the president of Coca Cola Great Britain. Please read and then read the comments. If you ever need to illustrate "greenwashing" you know where to go. To put things in context (my context, of course) here's a link to a ite called water justice where one can find lots of resources about the role of multinationals in trying to control fresh water. Normal: fresh water is a very scarce resource, and we all need it. Check the latest Bond movie for more on the topic and my post on the subject. And for those who like things to be a bit more academic, check the site of the Transnational Institute wher you will find the Water Justice Turkey declaration, as well as good reference on effective public-public parterships in water.
"Confirming once again the illegitimacy of the World Water Forum, we denounce the Ministerial Statement because it does not recognize water as a universal human right nor exclude it from global trade agreements. In addition the draft resolution ignores the failure of privatization to guarantee the access to water for all, and does not take into account those positive recommendations proposed by the insufficient European Parliamentary Resolution."


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