Faced With Water Shortages, The World Bank insist upon Privatisation Of Water

[loki]

Ernesto Tamara
(Barometer International) .- No one has doubts that access to drinking water is essential to human life, however the international press has almost completely ignored the meeting held on Stockholm from 18 to 22 August in the "World Week Water "which convened 2,500 experts from around the world to discuss the future of this fundamental resource policies and sanitation, very linked to access to water. The meeting, the World Bank insisted on the privatization of water resources for, he argued, meet the growing demand.

The event began with a protest of social organizations and left for participation in the organization and sponsorship of the event from multinational companies involved precisely the bottling and selling water.

Some preliminary estimates holds water as business moves about 300,000 million dollars in the world and growing. Perhaps this explains the silence surrounding the issue. Perhaps this explains the silence surrounding the issue.

In recent years technicians have been warning about the importance of ensuring access to water for all inhabitants and the possibility that future wars will also be promoted for its control, as happens today with oil and other essential resources for industry and human survival.

This is not just calm the thirst, but also a health problem and development of agriculture and food production.

The consumption of contaminated water or not drinking causes 88 percent of diseases in the world. The consumption of contaminated water or not drinking causes 88 percent of diseases in the world. Ensuring access to all its inhabitants, could save the lives of 1.4 million children each year.

A total of 2 500 million people worldwide lack access to water and sanitation, and, according to the International Water Institute in Stockholm, could more than double by the year 2075, if the trend continues as well.

In opening the meeting, the British professor John Anthony Allan, winner of the Stockholm Water Prize 2008, said "over the past 25 years we had a very luxurious way of life, without worrying about anything for the environment. Now we must change the way in which we consume, buy and eat. "

Along with him, many experts predict a shortage of water for human consumption and agriculture in the future.
According to UN estimates, some 1,000 million people worldwide still lack access to safe water, while around 2,600 million people lack adequate sanitation.

The meeting in Stockholm, held under the title "Progress and prospects in the field of water: a world cleaner and healthier" brought together scientists, business representatives and governments, and members of NGOs and the UN .
"It is not very popular to talk about health, excrement and menstruation, but key issues are closely linked to development," said Stephanie Blenckner, spokesman for the International Water Institute (SIWI), organizer of the event, opened the conference.

"Five thousand children die every day from diarrhea caused by poor hygiene and sanitary decent," he added, noting that education on these issues is paramount.

The poorest nations are timid advances in its treatment of water, but there has been little or no tangible improvement in relation to sanitation, two basic needs for life, for his part warned the executive director of SIWI, Anders Berntell.

The lack of water sanitation "is one of the biggest scandals in the world," he said. The lack of water sanitation "is one of the biggest scandals in the world," he said. According to one report, the number of people without access to drinking water fell below one billion, against 400 thousand million last year. However, in terms of sanitation, the situation is completely different although there were some progress in americas America and Asia.

In Africa, the number of people with access to water is growing steadily, but this increase did not accompany the population increase. More people mean more waste. More people mean more waste.

However, according to joint study by WHO and Unicef, the disturbing conclusion is that at this rate the world will not achieve the goal related to sanitation by more than 700 million people.

The development objectives of the UN for the Millennium, which seek to reduce 50 percent extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 over 1990 levels, also had a goal down to half the number of people without access to basic sanitation.

But this goal will never be reached, warned the SIWI, if not invest at least 10 billion dollars every year until 2015, to improve health services.

According to experts attending, 1.4 million children die each year from diarrhoea-related diseases and poor hygienic conditions, thus the overall situation of health is "the biggest environmental problem in the world."
Among the participants were also called to improve transparency in the chain of distribution of water.

Up to 45% of the costs to supply drinking water in the world moving towards corruption, "said the director of global programmes of Transparency International, Christiaan Poorter.

Roberto Lenton, chairman of the Advisory Council on Drinking Water and Sanitation, estimated that 2,000 million people lack basic sanitary facilities. This has extremely serious consequences on the health of the population and its economic impact.

"It is a silent crisis because it is an issue that is not spoken. It's a taboo subject. This is an issue that people feel bothered talking about the issue of sanitation and then it is not disputed, not spoken," Lenton clarified.

The expert added that in America americas the main problem of sanitation crisis is related to inequality, especially between rural and urban areas.

Water scarcity and conflicts Water scarcity and conflicts

The director general of the International Institute of Water Management, Colin Chartres, argued that the causes of water shortages are essentially the same food crisis.

"There are serious and extremely worrying factors which indicate that the sources of water supply is almost exhausted in some countries," he said.

Chartres stressed that according to current estimates, the world will not have sufficient water supplies for 40 years, "for when the current food crisis could become perpetual.

"If we want to avoid dire consequences" he stressed, will require significant investments in research and development of water infrastructure.
Although the talk of adverse consequences related primarily to health problems and mortality due to the scarcity of the resource, other experts warn that the wars of the future may also be a water control.

A document presented to the Pentagon warned in 2003 about the possibility of cataclysmic environmental events and the emergence of military confrontations because of the imperative of natural resources such as energy, food and water, rather than by ideological conflicts, religious or national honor.

That same year, the paper of Santa Fe IV (document containing proposals for international policy for the Republican Party and put into practice many times), was raised that "natural resources of the hemisphere are available to meet our national priorities."
Shortly thereafter, the Pentagon adviser, Andrew Marshall developed another report which warned President George W. Bush on the effects of global warming in the short term, and lack of potable water, among them.

The study suggested that Washington should be prepared to be able to take over this strategic resource "... there where you are and whenever necessary".

In 2006, the then British Defence Minister John Reid warned that the combined effects of global climate change and diminished natural resources, increases the possibility of violent conflicts over land, water and energy and sanctified and the possibility of undertaking military action for its control.

World Bank promotes privatization of water

The problem is that some nations, and the Bank concideran that resources for research must come from private investment. The World Bank conditioned their loans for the development of water infrastructure to privatization of the sector.

In some countries that experience has been developed, and its consequences have been negative for the population. A natural resource vital for life, can not become a commodity.

Some people have reacted and succeeded in their struggle with that access to water is considered a fundamental human right included in the Constitution of their country and preventing privatizations in the water and sanitation. In other countries succeeded in reversing privatizations, such as Bolivia, Uruguay, and in some regions of Argentina and France.

The meeting in Stockholm, Lars Thunell, executive vice president of the International Finance Corporation, affiliated to the World Bank, promoted the business of "providing clean water and sanitation" as a business opportunity.

He added that investors see an opportunity in the water sector worldwide, 450,000 million, where actions have a strong performance throughout the world. He noted that some private firms also look at water supply as a business risk and we face as an integral part of its strategy of risk management.

"I think the time is right. We can avoid a crisis as partners, working together," said Thunell to invite that governments grant the water and sanitation services to private companies wholly or partly.

He added that the Corporation will do yours by investing in companies that seek opportunities in conservation and water quality, and promoting public-private partnerships in the water sector.

By insisting on its call for privatizations, Thunell recalled that "the spectre of a crisis involving the food, fuel and water" lay siege to most developing nations, which in his view prevents them from addressing investment necessary.

"Water scarcity poses a threat to the food supply just when the agricultural sector intensifies production in response to the riots by costly for food and increasing hunger and malnutrition" he stressed.

He explained that the increasing demand for water is exceeding the supply. He explained that the increasing demand for water is exceeding the supply. It is expected that the world's population, some 6,000 million, increasing to about 9,000 million for 2050, with over 60 percent live in megacities.

"As water consumption increases where there is development and improved lifestyles, we can expect even greater demands for fresh water," said Thunell. The agriculture sector which makes intensive use of the liquid, is expanding, and industrialization and energy production are leading demand, he added.

ernestotamara@gmail.com

http://translate.google.com/translat...-8&sl=es&tl=en

*woosh* that was a fast take down ..

I actually clicked one of the OP's sig URL's out of curiousity .. and for those unfamiliar and also curious this is the garbled nonsense >>

[Business Name] *deleted* Co., Ltd Been devoted to the research and development of the computer peripheral products all the time , has produced and sold and popularized . It is specialized pc camera manufacturer, computer mouse manufacturer, keyboard manufacturer, speaker manufacturer. The company has accumulated abundant practical experience in engineering and scientific management respect, the quality of becoming reconciled according to the new design, the products are sold well all over the world.

Sounds like my first CV .. full of incoherent sh*te

Back OT .. Water is a basic human right. The have must ensure the don't have get some and not by pissing on them. Zimbabwe anyone!

[Nostalgia]

Back OT .. Water is a basic human right. The have must ensure the don't have get some and not by pissing on them. Zimbabwe anyone!

Zimbabwe indeed, and I don't see the Americans or the Brits rushing in there anytime soon to help out the population.
I wonder how many body doubles Mugabe has?

[loki]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

*woosh* that was a fast take down ..

I actually clicked one of the OP's sig URL's out of curiousity .. and for those unfamiliar and also curious this is the garbled nonsense >>



Sounds like my first CV .. full of incoherent sh*te

I dont have a signature URL, so what one are you talking about?

[Nostalgia]

Originally Posted by loki

I dont have a signature URL, so what one are you talking about?

Unregistered is referring to someone that was spamming your thread which I removed yesterday Loki, it's not you.

[loki]

Thanks for clearing that up Nost, I wondered what unregistered was talking about.