Toronto Metropolitan University
Browse

File(s) not publicly available

Contextualizing a Human Rights Perspective for Water Ethics: From Exploitation to Empowerment and Beyond

chapter
posted on 2024-11-21, 02:03 authored by Alex WellingtonAlex Wellington

Throughout policy discussions about water management, two familiar solutions to achieve security and sustainability are proposed: markets and states. Advocates of market environmentalism champion the use of market pricing and significant involvement of the private sector in water systems to achieve water conservation and efficiency. That perspective aligns with the Dublin Statement principles affirming the finitude and vulnerability of water, and emphasizing that water should be recognized as an economic good. Critics warn that markets suffer from numerous and serious flaws. Left unregulated, markets generate externalities such as pollution and fail to protect the interests of the most marginal and vulnerable. The decision-making processes that are typical of markets neglect to ensure opportunities for participation in decision-making by those most affected: communities and consumers. 


It is recommended here that the focus of water policy should not be on a simple binary, market or state, in isolation. Instead, from a human rights perspective, the crucial consideration is where, when, and how the market and state should each play their respective roles in the pursuit of sustainability and water security. A human rights perspective offers us a shift in priorities—a way to reaffirm values and priorities that are obscured at best and disregarded at worst by market environmentalism. Core elements of human rights are reflected in other Dublin Statement principles advocating for a participatory approach to water management and incorporating a concern for equity and non-discrimination in access to water. This chapter suggests that we need human rights, and specifically the human rights to water and sanitation, because we do not yet live in a socially just, ecologically sustainable world.

History

Language

English

Usage metrics

    Philosophy

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC