Water must be managed as a common good and made accessible to all: UN expert

GENEVA — Aquatic ecosystems and the water we extract from them must be considered and managed in the public domain, as commons, accessible to all but not appropriable by anyone, an independent UN expert said today.

In his report to the 57th UN Human Rights Council session, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation, argued for differentiating the water necessary to sustain life from water used for economic purposes, setting priorities, and establishing specific management criteria.

“What is the monetary value of the water needed to ensure the health of your families? Is the value of the water needed to grow avocados for export even comparable to the value needed to protect public health?” he asked.

The expert said considering water as a commodity that should be managed according to the logic of the market was wrong. “From this approach, access, use and benefit from water depend on the ability to pay according to supply and demand, and access to information and management are left in the hands of corporations. This is inconsistent with a human rights-based approach to water management. “

The Special Rapporteur said water on which populations depend and the aquatic ecosystems from which they draw must be managed with a common, human rights-based approach that guarantees non-discrimination, equal participation, transparency and accountability.

“These ecosystems are common natural heritage, and their sustainability should be ensured for the benefit of everyone, including future generations,” he said.

The Special Rapporteur urged governments to advance towards agreements and institutions that could articulate a shared responsibility at the global level to address the climate crisis and care for the water cycle as a global common good. “It is a democratic challenge that States must take up to realise the human rights to water and sanitation,” he said.