The human right to water

Nandita Singh Editor The Human Right to Water From Concept to Reality The Human Right to Water Nandita Singh Editor The Human Right to Water From Concept to Reality Editor Nandita Singh Department of Sustainable Development Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED) Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm, Sweden ISBN 978-3-319-40285-7 ISBN 978-3-319-40286-4 DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40286-4 (eBook) Library of Congress Control Number: 2016954923 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland Dedicated to my parents and parents-in-law Preface The origin of this book lies in two of my research projects that were funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), which is a government agency working on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, with the mission to reduce poverty in the world The research projects focused on the human right to water at the level of local communities One of them looked at realization of the right from the gender perspective, while the other one considered the right of children The novelty in both the projects lay in the argument that human right to water cannot be realized by the right holders in local communities just because rosy legal frameworks have been created Based on an interdisciplinary research hypothesis arguing that implementation of legal frameworks is deeply embedded in the societal context where they are implemented, the projects on the whole concluded that realization of the human right to water by women and children of both genders in local communities depends on the norms prevailing in the context existing on both sides of the implementation process This coincided with my experiences from an international evaluation of the India Country Programme of WaterAid International This organization regarded its role in supporting domestic water provision to be unconnected to the human right to water and integrated water resources management questions Human right to water question was seen as “legal matters” (essentially outside their purview), while the importance of integrated water resources management for sustainable domestic water provision just could not be realized Two obvious recommendations of the evaluation were, first, to adopt a human rights-based approach to their water provisioning role so that equitable access to safe water can be ensured and, second, to incorporate integrated water resources management approach so that sustainable water access could be ensured particularly in the semiarid areas where they were mostly active These experiences led me to start considering the question of realization of the human right to water in a broader perspective, paving the way for scaling up the issue from local community to national, regional, and even global scales It became a question worth examining that if realization of the human right to water can pose challenge at the small scale of local community, then how is the situation at larger vii viii Preface scales? What other kinds of contexts and factors can make an impact upon realization of the right? My long association with research and education in fields of water resources management and water governance paved the way to frame questions that were rooted in the possible interconnections between human right to water and water resources management/water governance After the book idea was initially conceived, further conceptual clarity about the question raised and the need of the book came from a subsequent research project on climate adaptation and water stress funded first by SIDA and later by the Swedish Research Council This project enabled close investigation on the nature of adaptation planning required that could enable realization of the human right to water All this while new literature had been appearing on the diverse subjects mentioned in this preface, however there was a clear lacuna of thoughtful writing examining their cross-connections These were written by either “legal” experts elaborating on the rationale, content, and processes of implementation of the right or else by experts and practitioners in the fields of water resources management/ water governance who had virtually no concern for the human right to water The hiatus between the two fields was wide, while the interconnections were obvious As a result, while guidelines for implementing the right were expanding, the outcomes could not be ensured despite the will and best efforts The need of a book closing this gap was further reinforced through my experiences from coordinating a long academic exchange with one of the premier law institutes in India – the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) This exchange was supported by SIDA again The law students at this institution undoubtedly received legal education of the highest order but isolated from the environmental and water contexts in which the laws operate All this necessitated the compilation of this book It is intended toward benefiting a number of groups First are academics who teach in the fields of human right to water, water law, water management, water governance, and sustainable development Second are the researchers and students in these fields The third group comprises policy makers and administrative staff in government agencies who design as well as implement action concerning the right Fourth are the policy-making and implementing staff in international-, national-, and/or local-level intergovernmental as well as nongovernmental agencies that work in the related field Finally, it is also intended to benefit practitioners in the field of law in general and environmental/ water law in particular who deal with legal cases connected to realization of the right A number of people have contributed directly or indirectly to the process that has enabled the completion of this book The project partners in the human right to water projects, Karsten Åström, Per Wickenberg, and Håkan Hydén; those in the climate adaptation project, Ulf Johansson Dahre and Anna Jonsson; and teachers from the NLSIU, particularly Sarasu Esther Thomas, M.K Ramesh, Chengappa M.P., Manjeri Subin Sunder Raj, Kumar Abhijeet, and Sairam Bhat, as well as the students at this institution, are all gratefully acknowledged for their respective contributions to the ideas and arguments contained in this book Special thanks remain for the women, men, and children of the local communities where research Preface ix connected to this book were carried out A word of acknowledgment is extended to all the contributors of this book who wholeheartedly agreed to the novel thinking of the book and faithfully wrote their chapters in a way that effectively fulfilled its objectives The critical comments received from the anonymous reviewers of the book project are also gratefully acknowledged, particularly because these greatly helped clarify the purpose, objectives, and contents of the book My heartfelt gratitude is owed to my husband Om Prakash Singh who as a friend, mentor, and guide initiated the writing of this book, helped clarify the ideas at every stage, supported building the arguments through his constructive and thoughtful insights, and extended practical support in carrying out some of the field studies included in this book Last but not the least, I must appreciate the cooperation of our son Nilay who is only 14 years old but has patiently participated in many of the field visits and quietly listened to discussions regarding water and the human right to water through the years Stockholm, Sweden September 2016 Nandita Singh Contents Introduction Nandita Singh Realizing the Human Right to Water in Local Communities: An Actor-Oriented Analysis Nandita Singh Monitoring and Evaluation of Rural Water Supply in Uganda: Implications for Achieving the Human Right to Water Andrew Quin, Berit Balfors, and Marianne Kjellén 17 33 Arsenic in Drinking Water: An Emerging Human Right Challenge in India Arun Kumar, Ashok Ghosh, and Nandita Singh 55 Climate Change and Human Right to Water: Problems and Prospects Nandita Singh 83 Policy Paradoxes and Women’s Right to Water in Mining Areas of Ghana 105 Nandita Singh, Berit Balfors, and John E Koku Human Right to Water in a Bottled Water Regime 125 Ravi Shankar Shukla and Nandita Singh Groundwater Management and the Human Right to Water in India: The Need for a Decentralised Approach 141 Mahesh Menon Achieving Clean Water to All Is a Question of Politics 159 Jan-Erik Gustafsson xi xii Contents 10 Human Right to Water Obligations, Corporate Entities, and Accountability Mechanisms 167 Amrita Paul 11 A Rights-based Policy Framework for Governing Municipal Water Services 185 Lina Suleiman 12 Human Right to Water in Transboundary Water Regimes 205 Nandita Singh 13 Translating the Human Right to Water into Reality: Concluding Remarks 223 Nandita Singh Index 235 224 N Singh cross-cutting context-based themes The discussion in this chapter will be primarily presented under these themes Theme 1: Water Resources Water is the basic resource essential for realization of the human right to water Its availability in adequate quantity and appropriate quality is quintessential for turning the right from a mere concept to reality No good policy, law, or program can help people realize their right unless safe water as a resource is available in adequate quantity The quantity of water available for drinking and domestic consumption can get affected by natural as well as anthropogenic factors Populations living in areas with low rainfall and limited water resources already face hardships People living in the Thar Desert of India, as explained in Chap (as a part of the study on climate change in Rajasthan), are already adapted to living in a context of water scarcity The phenomenon of climate change introduces a new context which can bring even greater hardships on this population, through greater water scarcity that will impinge not only upon the attributes of sufficiency, continuity, and accessibility but even safety, acceptability, and affordability may get affected The rainwater harvesting traditions in Rajasthan provide a viable option for future adaptation The drier regions in Africa face a similar threat, and there too the traditional water harvesting practices are being researched now, in an effort to define sustainable adaptation approaches Reduced rainfall is also being experienced in hitherto high rainfall areas of India due to climate change As also discussed in Chap 5, the hills of Northeast India are a classic example where large-scale deforestation has led to substantial microclimatic change, leading to rise in summer temperature and change in the precipitation pattern as well as amount As of now, sustainable adaptation measures are few, and the human right to water of the resident populations is greatly thwarted Among other anthropogenic factors affecting water quantity, pumping out groundwater by the bottled water companies and for irrigation is emerging as significant threats Many areas in India are already declared as “dark zones,” where exploitation has surpassed the natural recharge rate Chapter throws light on how Coca Cola has played havoc with groundwater reserves in the southern state of Kerala and many other parts of the country In general bottled water companies pose this continuous threat in many parts of the globe, ranging from developing to the developed world, as outlined also in Chap The quality of water can be degraded by the presence of natural contaminants or by external pollutants coming from sewage, human and animal waste, agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, as well as industrial wastewater Chapter presents an example of how the degraded quality of groundwater – a resource upon which millions in the world depend for drinking and other domestic purposes – can affect people’s realization of human rights The chapter focuses upon the context of arsenic in groundwater which occurs naturally in the aquifers in many areas, putting masses at 13 Translating the Human Right to Water into Reality: Concluding Remarks 225 large increasingly at risk It also exemplifies how difficult it is to mitigate the presence of arsenic in drinking water, even when several technology options exist Bangladesh, one of the worst arsenic-affected countries in the world, has an arsenic mitigation policy, supported by implementation of programs and projects to mitigate it Similarly, West Bengal in India, besides Bihar and other affected states, have implemented technology-based programs and projects, but sustainable availability of arsenic-safe water for local communities has not yet become a reality The nature of the problem is so complex that mere implementation of action does not lead to availability of arsenic-safe water, thereby thwarting realization of the human right to water Even other related human rights in the arsenic-affected areas get thwarted There is need to understand the contextual realities and address them appropriately Fluoride, iron, and nitrate are some other common contaminants that affect the quality of groundwater and thus thwart enjoyment of human rights to water, health, and development Mining is an industrial activity that has great potential to threaten water quality and in some cases also quantity due to large-scale dewatering Chapter discusses the context of gold mining in Ghana and its impact on water quality, in turn threatening especially women’ s right to water, who as domestic water managers are responsible for good health of particularly the children and other dependents, besides their own well-being It is also noteworthy that with degradation of water quality, even when available water resources may fulfill the criteria of sufficiency, continuity, accessibility, and acceptability, failure on the criterion of safety can nullify these achievements Another context with a potential to affect water quantity as well as quality is the transboundary location of water sources In such situations, the upstream country enjoys the privilege of first use, and if transboundary relations are not good, or management of such water bodies is not planned toward mutual benefit, the downstream country/countries can suffer from water shortages as well as quality degradation Some such cases are discussed in Chap 12 Theme 2: Policy Environment The policy environment is an important aspect to consider since policies guide action and therefore can determine laws, regulations, and interventions in water and related sectors, which in turn can influence the process of translation of the human right to water from concept to reality The policy environment offers two kinds of contexts: first, the policies related to water sector per se and, second, those related to the multiple sectors that use water as a resource and leave their impact upon it Examples of the latter include water supply and sanitation, industry, and agriculture Regarding the first context, this book has examined a number of water-related policies Water privatization as a global policy has been examined in more than one chapter Chapter elucidates that since the 1980s, public water supply systems have increasingly come under the wave of globalization and thus privatization, which 226 N Singh threatens enjoyment of the human right to water by many In Chap 11 the vices of the privatization policy in countries such as Britain have been contrasted with the benefits of municipally owned water supply systems as in the United States, Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, and Western European countries like Germany and Netherlands Since business interests dominate any privatization attempt, a policy supporting privatization of water utilities is condemned as nonsupportive of even the concept of human right to water, let alone the question of its realization Another extreme form of water privatization is promoted by the global policy driving the bottled water industry which has been examined in Chaps and This policy is again quite contrary to the concept of the human right to water, simply by virtue of the underlying business interests and profit-making priorities This poses challenges to the right of not only the consumers but also those living in areas where bottling units are located Another policy level context concerning the water sector concerns the sharing of transboundary waters Chapter 12 elucidates how the absence of good transboundary water management policies can thwart the human right to water of citizens belonging to particularly downstream countries in a shared basin Regarding the multi-sectoral policy environment, it is important to realize that the resource is not only affected by the existing water policy but also by policies guiding the other sectors related to water What is critical is that a policy aimed at development in the given sector may not actually have any interest in upkeep of the water resources being used or impacted upon, at least as the top priority To take an example, an agricultural development policy may aim to enhance agricultural production using fertilizers, pesticides, and newer water-intensive crop varieties, all of which would be contrary to the interests of the water sector, damaging the resource in terms of quality and/or quantity Reduced quality or quantity will hamper people’s right to water Similarly, a policy aimed at industrial development would aim at higher production using more water or dangerous chemicals, leading to wastewater release, the cost of treatment of which may not be an attractive option for the sector This can lead to adverse impact on the right to water of the local residents Another example is a policy on urban development which can lead to diversion of vital water resources from the rural hinterlands to newly developing urban conglomerations through large-scale damming As a result, the right to water of the rural residents may be thwarted Thus, policies in other sectors can have detrimental implications for realization of the human right to water even when the right may be prioritized in the water policy Elaborating such a context, Chap shows that even when the policies on gender and rural water supply are mutually supportive and aim at facilitating women’s right to water, the mining policy contradicts these interests, leading to violation of their right in the mining areas 13 Translating the Human Right to Water into Reality: Concluding Remarks 227 Theme 3: Legal Landscape The purpose of law in society is to lay down norms so that order is maintained In contemporary society, legal frameworks generally help translate policies into action, and these are enforceable and justiciable Laws relating to the human right to water can be categorized into two: first, the laws related to water sector per se and, second, those related to the other sectors/areas that may directly or indirectly concern water These frameworks may be international in nature or be country specific The latter may be constitutional in nature or be inserted in the domestic law The laws related to the water sector may be of various kinds For example, these may deal with improving water access for the people or be concerned with control of the state over water resources and therefore also deal with distribution of water use permits to private persons or bodies Laws may also concern the incorporation of users and civil society to water management and water services provision Finally, legal frameworks may aim to regulate the participation of private companies in water services delivery It can be argued that while laws concerning water may provide a positive context by directly supporting the criteria of accessibility, affordability, continuity, and sufficiency, the coordination between these laws and those concerning other sectors is essential to enable realization of the human right to water An example of problems with the domestic law scenario has been discussed in Chap where the legal framework for ensuring women’s access to water is strong with Water Resources Commission Act, 1996, and Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act, 1998, but simultaneous implementation of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, and Small Scale Gold Mining Law, 1989, causes hurdles in reaching the goal of ensuring women’s right to water Chapter 10 discusses the problem of regulation of TNCs that have emerged as important players in water supply services TNCs need to be regulated in order to ensure that human right to water of the consumers is not jeopardized since as private companies, these are primarily driven by the profit motive The chapter explores the international legal frameworks that can help govern the TNCs in general and those in the water sector in particular With respect to legal landscape, it is also important to realize that law per se is not an end in itself; effective implementation of the law is equally important For example, legal provisions govern wastewater treatment by industries or municipalities in a host of countries, but the level of pollution in the natural water bodies that receive these wastewaters bears testimony to the effectiveness of implementation of these laws The cases of mining communities presented in Chap exemplify this situation Unless the factors influencing implementation of law would be identified and addressed, making of new laws alone cannot help solve the problem Another important aspect emerging from the book is that water-related laws need to be dynamic and responsive to contemporary contexts Chapter shows that the colonial legacy of groundwater law in India, which regarded the land owner to be also the owner of all water beneath it, is no longer valid in contemporary India 228 N Singh While it made sense when groundwater was harvested from wells, in current times, modern technologies available for extracting groundwater enables stealing of water from underneath other people’s lands This possibility promotes overexploitation of groundwater by corporate interests such as the bottled water industry This chapter also brings up the need of rethinking upon the legal status of ownership of water as a mobile community resource The chapter presents a legal framework based on community ownership of groundwater and decentralized management as an alternative to enable more efficient and effective management of groundwater in India An additional component in the legal landscape concerning water can be seen in the transboundary situation where hard laws may be replaced by softer agreements which are nevertheless binding on the parties and intend to be enforceable Provisions may be included in these agreements to peacefully resolve any emergent differences or disputes However, as Chap 12 exemplifies, even transboundary agreements may be manipulated by the stronger parties to maximize benefits, unless their implementation is guided by appropriate legal principles Theme 4: Program and Project Interventions Water programs and projects can have the most direct impact upon enjoyment of the human right to water The programs/projects represent the direct means through which the duty bearers (primarily the state) can undertake the basic obligation to “fulfill” the human right to water Their direct impact is generally upon the criteria of accessibility, sufficiency, and safety and also continuity, acceptability, and affordability As emerging from Chaps 2, and 6, rural water supply programs/projects have physical accessibility and quantity as the foremost criteria Since these rely upon the “improved” water sources,1 safety is an intrinsic component In quality affected habitations, as in arsenic- and fluoride-affected areas in India (Chaps and 4) or in the mining areas in Ghana (Chap 6), additional stipulations/interventions may be included Social accessibility and information dissemination is increasingly being incorporated in water supply programs especially through the participatory approach which is generally gender-based Affordability as a criterion can also be addressed through the participatory approach since the users can themselves decide about water usage rates and exemptions (if needed) through community-based decisions However, as Chap elaborates, the implementation of programs and projects does not automatically deliver the goods For realization of the human right to water, According to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program, an “improved” drinking-water source is one that, by the nature of its construction and when properly used, adequately protects the source from outside contamination, particularly fecal matter “Improved” sources of drinking water include piped water into dwelling, yard/plot, public tap or standpipe, tubewell or borehole, protected dug well, protected spring, and rainwater (URL: http://www.wssinfo.org/definitions-methods/watsan-categories/) 13 Translating the Human Right to Water into Reality: Concluding Remarks 229 it is essential that these be effectively implemented Water supply programs/projects are implemented not in vacuum but are affected by factors rooted in the local context In local communities, the users as right holders are active choice makers, and their sociocultural and economic settings play a decisive role On the side of the implementing agencies too, the implementation context can have a significant bearing upon the manner in which the program is actually delivered to the end users These locally rooted factors may be seen as “norm triads” on the side of the implementing agencies (duty bearers) as well as local community (right holders) For ensuring effective delivery of the programs/projects, the chapter suggests that the norm triads in the implementation context at the local scale be identified and addressed appropriately Otherwise, lip service will continue to be paid to human right to water tenets, and new programs/projects will continue to be framed and implemented without any substantial change in their impact A number of challenges are pointed out with regard to water supply program and project interventions in this book In recent years, participation has been increasingly promoted in water supply programs and projects as a panacea for efficiency and effectiveness However, as emerging from Chaps and 4, community participation which is not planned and executed “together” with the community, building upon a true “bottom-up” approach, is bound to fail Similarly, the IEC components in water supply programs that not address real attitudinal barriers of the users but merely focus on information dissemination, and education make little or no impact, in turn affecting realization of the human right to water Considering the upcoming challenge of climate change, Chap adequately points out that water supply programs/projects can face several challenges, which would seriously thwart the various dimensions of human right to water Also, M&E is an important component of water supply programs, the effectiveness of which presents several challenges These challenges are elucidated in the case of Uganda in Chap Without M&E, long-term realization of the human right to water may be difficult since the criteria of accessibility, sufficiency, continuity, and safety may be affected in the long term by factors like technology failures, declining water quantity, degraded water quality, population growth, climate change, etc Even the criterion of acceptability can undergo change over time Finally, interventions for urban water provision present a different set of challenges The eleventh chapter identifies the “real” problems that can lead to failure of efficient and equitable water delivery to citizens as: lack of capital for investment, lack of political will and commitment, corruption, and lack of households’ affordability Sometimes availability of water resources itself can become a major hurdle as in many of the fast expanding megacities in the developing world When urban water utilities fail to deliver water efficiently and equitably, realization of the human right to water is thwarted The most important criteria to be affected would be sufficiency and continuity of water, accessibility, and affordability For example, the empirical evidence shows that in Accra, Ghana, only about half the urban dwellers are served, but even they have to face interruptions for at least two days per week In the unserved areas, the cost of water provided by tankers is as high as ten times that of the piped water supply Privatization of urban water services is often 230 N Singh promoted as a viable solution to address the challenges but as will be dealt later; privatized projects too is full of pitfalls Theme 5: Institutional Setting Implementation of the right is not possible without an appropriate institutional framework There is need for identifying or creating appropriate institutions that should be allocated responsibilities with regard to respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right The primary obligation for implementing the human right to water lies with the State, which holds the overall responsibility toward this end for all its citizens The obligation to respect requires that State parties should refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with enjoyment of the right The obligation to protect requires State parties to prevent third parties from interfering in any way with the enjoyment of the right to water Third parties include individuals, groups, corporations, and other entities as well as agents acting under their authority The obligation to fulfill requires State parties to adopt the necessary measures directed toward the full realization of the right to water, including facilitating improved and sustainable access to water However, despite this overarching obligation, the chapters in this book exemplify how the State parties or governments have acted to the contrary, directly or indirectly, through policies, laws, and other actions For example, considering the context of climate change (Chap 5), according to IPCC, an alteration in the microclimate can lead to problems of water security at the local scale However, factors leading to microclimatic change may be actually initiated by the government, such as through industrial development, agricultural expansion, urbanization, dam construction, etc., thereby violating the obligation to respect the right and thwarting the realization of the right by the local residents With respect to the obligation to protect, the various public and private agencies supporting/undertaking the above activities are third party under this category, whose promotion by the government can amount to violation of this obligation Designing and implementing effective and sustainable adaptation and mitigation plans constitute a further obligation to fulfill the right in this context Failure to undertake appropriate actions to protect the right holders from the negative impact of climate change on human right to water would lead to violation of this obligation Similarly, Chap reveals that through formulation of paradoxical policy frameworks and promotion of the mining policy, the government in Ghana has displayed its inability to respect the human right to water of the women in mining areas, thereby violating this vital obligation The mining companies are a third party under the State’s obligation to protect, and by promoting their mining activities, the government is violating the obligation of protecting women’s right to water With regard to the obligation to fulfill the right, promotion of the mining industry again thwarts measures directed toward the full realization of the right to water, including facilitating improved and sustainable access to water 13 Translating the Human Right to Water into Reality: Concluding Remarks 231 With respect to the bottled water context, as illustrated in Chap 7, the government in most cases fails to respect the human right to water of its citizens by allowing the bottled water industry to proliferate in the country Regarding the obligation to protect, governmental failures to regulate the industry are evident, leading to violation of the human right to water of the buyers as well the residents in the bottled water industry areas This failure in turn largely results from the absence of appropriate legal frameworks and the inability to implement the existing control mechanisms regarding water quality and quantity Further, on both the above grounds, the government is also unable to undertake the obligation to fulfill the right of many of its citizens In some cases, it can further fail to fulfill the right by promoting bottled water as an option to supplement failing public water supply Chapter further illustrates how governments interfere with the enjoyment of the human right to water in local communities by supporting the proliferation of multinationals in the soft drink and bottled water industry In India it has further interfered indirectly by being unable to effectively deal with the question of sustainable governance and management of groundwater resources in the country The obligation to protect has been violated since the government has failed to prevent the soft drink and bottled water companies from interfering with the enjoyment of community’s right to water In the wake of depletion of the groundwater reserves in the above circumstances, the government has little possibilities to undertake the obligation to fulfill the right In the international context, as illustrated in Chap 12, dominance of one government can lead to violation of the human right to water of citizens in another country As evident from the examples in this chapter, countries like Ethiopia, Israel, and India have dominated in the transboundary water-sharing question, thereby thwarting the right of the citizens in the other riparian countries Government alone cannot ensure enjoyment of the human right to water of its citizens Several other actors share the obligation but may also pose challenges The tenth chapter presents the case of transnational corporations (TNCs) and international financial institutions (IFIs) that claim to support access to water through privatized water services may actually end up thwarting the right of many citizens due to high tariffs or reduced supply The dominance of the these institutions, supported by the economically powerful nations, often leaves little room for the developing country governments to live up to their human right to water obligations, with the result that neither are they able to respect the right nor protect or fulfill the right in locations where privatization of water services occurs Finally, there may be need to create relevant institutions to help the government undertake the obligations The lack of appropriate institutional setup may directly thwart people’s human right to water As Chap 12 exemplifies, the absence of transboundary institutions to mutually develop and manage the waters of Juba and Shabelle rivers in the Horn of Africa will seriously affect the right of Somalian citizens Chapter 11 underlies the need to create participatory institutions in order to include citizens in the management of public water utilities It is also further true that creation of appropriate institutions is only the first step – if these not function effectively, human right to water cannot still be realized For example, participatory institutions – often created by governments in 232 N Singh community water supply programs to overcome problems of inefficiency – may actually fail to deliver the goods due to their own ineffectiveness Reasons may be several, but as illustrated in examples from India in Chaps and 4, a “top-down” approach from the government and the lack of interest and motivation on part of the community may downplay the effort Another example is provided by institutions created by government(s) to monitor and control water resources and/or water programs Cases of water pollution in mining areas of Ghana (Chap 4), substandard quality of bottled water in India (Chap 7), over-extraction of groundwater by bottling companies in India (Chap 8), and weaknesses in the M&E of rural water supply in Uganda (Chap 3) are all illustrations of ineffective operations of such institutional frameworks The Ganges water-sharing dispute between India and Bangladesh also illustrates malfunctioning of the transboundary river institutions Realization of Human Right to Water: A Conceptual Framework From the previous chapters and the foregoing discussion in this chapter, it is more than evident that for transforming the human right to water from concept to reality, it is quintessential to engage in the question of realization of the right rather than mere implementation Toward this end it is further necessary that the process of implementation of the right be seen as linked to the context in which it unfolds Based on the findings of the book, the “context,” defined at the outset as “the circumstances that form the setting for an event or situation in terms of which it can be fully understood,” can be further classified into two First is the “objective” context which denotes the concrete practical situation related to water per se in which implementation of the right is attempted Taking examples from this book, objective contexts are provided by the quantity and quality of water resources, attempts at water privatization, bottled water industry, climate change impacts, industrial development, sociocultural system in the local community, transboundary water conflicts, etc Second is the “subjective” context which relates to the spheres under which actions for addressing problems and concerns related to the objective contexts can be designed and implemented Thus, the policy environment, legal landscape, program/project intervention, and institutional setting all provide frameworks within which the realities of an objective context can be analyzed and assessed and the problems addressed The conceptual framework is presented in Fig 13.1 where the upward arrow denotes the process of implementation of the human right to water which begins as a concept, passes through the implementation context consisting of an objective context together with its associated subjective contexts, and finally gets to the stage of reality The most important component in the entire process is the implementation context where the issues and challenges in the objective context must be 13 Translating the Human Right to Water into Reality: Concluding Remarks 233 THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AS ‘REALITY’ IMPLEMENTATION CONTEXT Policy environment Institutional setting OBJECTIVE CONTEXT e.g., water resource, water privatization, climate change, etc Water program & project interventions Legal landscape THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER AS ‘CONCEPT’ Fig 13.1 Conceptual framework for transforming human right to water from concept to reality addressed adequately within one or more relevant subjective contexts in order to facilitate realization of the right Making the Human Right to Water a Reality: The Way Forward Under the current approach to human right to water, the dominant trend is to undertake actions in relation to what have been identified as subjective contextual parameters in this book There is generally little or no reference to the objective realities against which these actions are laid down It is assumed that action for implementing the human right to water through policy, law, programs, and projects, and making institutions responsible will automatically enable the right holders to enjoy the right Guidelines for implementing the right are thus put forward based on these parameters without considering the specificities of the objective context in which the actions will unfold In reality, as is amply evident from the foregoing discussion 234 Non-realizers N Singh Provisional-realizers Full realizers Fig 13.2 The right-realization continuum in this book, the issues and problems inherent in each of the objective contexts could be unique and require specific solutions that may not be addressed by the general subjective measures For facilitating the transformation of the human right to water from concept to reality, there is an urgent need to bring about a change in the perspective on the right itself, moving beyond its “implementation” to “realization.” There is need to further conceive of “realization” as a product of implementation processes within specific implementation contexts, the latter consisting of objective and subjective components There is also a need to redefine the implementation processes, changing from defining them in blanket subjective terms with regard to policy, law, programs and projects, and institutions, to identifying specific actions in specific objective contextual settings Further, it also emerges from the discussions in this book that in a given geographical/country setting, more than one objective context may simultaneously play a role in the process of realization of the right Therefore, each of these contexts needs to be identified and addressed appropriately through appropriate measures relating to the subjective contexts The individual right holders can be said to exhibit a continuum with respect to realization of the human right to water (Fig 13.2) At one end of the continuum are the “non-realizers,” while at the other end are the “full realizers.” The “non-realizers” are unable to enjoy the right because of one or more flaws in the implementation process as narrated above, while “full realizers” are the fortunate ones who are able to sustainably enjoy the right because actions implemented by the duty bearers adequately address the concerns inherent in the implementation context In between are the “provisional realizers” who may at times be able to enjoy the right because of certain positive actions by the duty bearers which are nevertheless unable to sustain over time due to various contextual factors The goal should be to transform the status of all right holders to “full realizers” which requires adoption of the proposed approach Index A Arsenic and cancer, 69–70 contamination case, 62 Simri village, xxi, 61–64, 66 Tilak Rai ka Hatta village, xxi, 61, 63, 69 in groundwater Bihar, 56 health impact, 66–72 India, 56 world scenario, 56, 86, 224 and infertility, 70, 76 mitigation, 27, 61, 72–75, 225 IEC campaign, 24, 75 mitigation strategies arsenic removal plants, 73 rainwater harvesting, 41, 72, 73, 75, 92, 99, 101, 224 sanitary wells, 73, 74 water supply from deep aquifers, 73 water supply from surface water, 72 Arsenicosis, xxi, xxiii, 58, 66, 68, 69, 75–77, 86 B Bangladesh, 56, 57, 164, 212–217, 225, 232 Bottled water forms, 126, 127 industry regulation in India, 13 users’ perspectives, 132–133 Bureau of Indian Standards, India, 127, 133 C CEO Water Mandate, 163 China, 56, 86, 162, 212 Climate change adaptation for human right to water, 12, 15, 83–89, 91–101, 206, 224, 229, 230 and human right to water, 12, 15, 84–88, 229 impact on water acceptability, 12, 83–85, 90 accessibility, 99, 229 affordability, 90 availability, 11, 12, 85, 87, 96, 208, 215, 217, 218 quality, 12, 15, 84, 86, 206, 229 and water, 12 Climate implications for water in Nagaland, India, 12, 94–96, 101 Climate implications for water in Rajasthan, India, 12, 89–94, 100 Coca-Cola Company’s operation in India, 131, 135, 143–146, 224 Community participation, 27, 112, 229 Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Ghana, 108, 109, 227 Community Water and Sanitation Program (CWSP), Ghana, 108, 110 Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979, 2, 106 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), 1989, 2, 106 Corporate social responsibility in mining sector, Ghana, 111, 170 Corporate social responsibility of Transnational Corporations, 176 © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 N Singh (ed.), The Human Right to Water, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40286-4 235 Index 236 D Dermatological signs of arsenicosis dorsal keratosis, 68 leucomelanosis, 68 melano-keratosis, 66 melanosis, 66, 68, 69 spotted and diffuse keratosis, 66 spotted melanosis, 66, 68 District Water Officers, Uganda, 38 Duty-bearers, 7, 9, 18, 22–24, 26–28, 228, 234 E Ecosystem degradation and human right to water, 15, 101 Environmental Protection Agency, Ghana, 109 Extension workers, Uganda, 38, 43–44, 52 F Farakka Barrage benefits to India, 22, 110, 137, 228 disadvantages for Bangladesh, 214, 215, 217 equitable water allocation, 152, 216 history and purpose, 217 G Ganges river basin, 212–216 climate and hydrologic cycle, 128, 206, 214 features, 212–216 population, 73, 74, 213, 214 riparian states, 213 Ganges water supply system, Maujampur, 73, 74 General Comment No 15, Committee on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, 2–4, 34–36, 84, 85, 87, 105, 126 Germany, 193, 226 Ghana, 6, 12, 14, 56, 105–121, 160, 161, 187, 194–196, 200, 225, 228–230, 232 Ghana environmental and mining guidelines, 111, 117, 119 Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), 111, 194, 195 Golden indicators for rural water supply, Uganda, xxiii, 36, 41 Groundwater depletion in Plachimada, India, 143–149, 151–153 Groundwater law in India, 135, 150, 152–155, 227 Groundwater management, decentralized approach, 141–155 Groundwater use in India, 148–151, 154, 155 H Helsinki Rules, 1966, 218 Human right to water actor-oriented framework, 28–30 and arsenic contamination, 73, 86 and bottled water industry, 13, 127, 129, 131–133, 135–138 context of realization, 3–5 implementation of, viii, 2, 7, 10, 18–21, 34, 35, 164, 178, 216, 218 key aspects, 3, realization of, 8, 19, 34, 56, 84, 119, 130, 209, 224 in transboundary contexts challenges, 206–216 multidisciplinary approach, 205–210, 212–219 the way forward, 218–219 and water privatization, 129, 178, 225, 232 I Improved and unimproved water sources, 118 India, 6, 18, 56, 86, 126, 141, 162, 177, 212, 224 Industrialization and water, 12, 152, 155, 189 Internal complications of arsenicosis, 68 International Conference on Water and Sustainable Development, 1992, International Monetary Fund (IMF), 179 International water treaties, history, 206 Islamic law and water governance, 188 Israel, 161, 209–212, 217, 231 IWRM and human right to water, 10, 12, 101 J Jordan, 209–212, 216 Jordan river basin climate, xxii, 209–212 distribution of water resources, 210 features, 209–212 riparian states, 212 transboundary agreements, 218, 228 water resources and use pattern, 217 Index Juba-Shabelle basin climate, 206–209 features, 206–209, 216 population, 206–209 water use, 207, 209, 216 L Lebanon, 188, 209, 210 M Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), 5, 30, 34, 118, 126, 178, 196 Minerals and Mining Act, Ghana, 107, 110, 227 Mining and human right to water, 12, 226 Mining impact on women’s right to water in Ghana, 116 Mining policy, Ghana, 12, 110 Mini water supply scheme, Semaria Ojha Patti, 73, 74 Model Bills for groundwater management in India, 150, 152 Model of water governance Scandinavian, 186, 193, 226 United States, 8, 10, 15, 187 Western European, 226 Monitoring and evaluation challenges in Uganda, 11 Monitoring and evaluation indicators in Uganda, 38–40, 45 Monitoring and evaluation of rural water supply, 18, 21, 30, 45, 107–110 N National Human Rights Commission, Ghana, 117 National Water Policy Ghana, 108 India, 108 Nepal, 56, 212, 216 The Netherlands, 193 Nile Basin Initiative, 209 Norm-triad concept, xxi, 29, 229 Norm triad for duty-bearers in India, 19, 229 Norm triad for right-holders in India, 19 O Obstacles to functioning of public water utilities corruption, 229 political interference, 179, 195 237 OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, 174 P People’s Water Forum, 163, 164 Plachimada, India, 135, 143–153 Principle of reasonable and equitable use, 25, 30 Principle of unilateral control over shared waters, 15, 206, 207 R Rainwater harvesting and human right to water, 41, 72, 73, 75, 92, 99, 101, 224 Realization of human right to water in Rajasthan, 8, 15, 28, 84–99, 232–233 Right-holders, 7–9, 11, 13, 18, 19, 21–28, 30, 87, 139, 229, 230, 234 Right to development, 2, 171 Riparian state, definition, 205, 206, 212, 213, 216–219 River basins in Ethiopia, 206–208 River development Master Plan in Ethiopia, 209 Role of politicians in monitoring and evaluation, 41 Rural elite and human right to water in India, 25, 27 S Small scale mining, Ghana, 106, 107, 115, 117 Sub-Saharan Africa, water access, 11, 33 Sweden, 194, 226 Syria, 188, 209–212 T Traditional knowledge system, 24, 26, 28 Transboundary water challenges, 206, 217, 226 definition, 15, 216–218 global distribution, 22, 118, 165 and human right to water, 15, 205–210, 212–219 Transnational Corporations and human rights, 14, 168, 169, 171, 173, 175, 231 Transnational Corporations and state control, 179 238 U Uganda, xxiii, 6, 11, 45, 229, 232 UN Convention on the Law of the Non-­ navigational Uses of International Watercourses, 1997, 218 United Nations and human right to water, 1, 187, 199 United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 169 United Nations Commission on Transnational Corporations, 169 United Nations General Assembly, 2, 3, 17, 159, 164, 165 United Nations Human Rights Council, 2, 34 United Nations Water Conference, 1977, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948, 135, 167 W Washington Consensus, 160, 162–165 Water as a public good under traditional management, 27 Water conflict between Bangladesh and India, 213 Water conflicts between Ethiopia and Somalia, 206 Index Water governance, viii, 8, 10, 13, 130, 187, 189 in Accra, Ghana, 187, 194–195 Water pollution by mining industry, Ghana, 232 Water privatization in Bolivia, 186 in Britain, 226 in Jakarta, 178 in USA, 163 Water quality, 4, 6, 11, 12, 18, 24, 36, 37, 41–43, 45, 48–51, 55, 77, 88, 93, 98, 117–120, 132, 135, 137, 206, 210, 225, 229, 231 problems in India, 21 Water Resources Commission, Ghana, 108 Water resources management, vii, viii, 8, 10, 37, 127 Water supply in Mogadishu, 208 World Bank, 107, 110, 118, 141, 142, 179 World Economic Forum, 160, 162, 164, 165 World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002, 170 World Water Forum, 160–164, 188, 189 World Water Vision, 162 ... refer to the right to water, the Committee underlined that the right to water was part of the right to an adequate standard of living, as were the rights to adequate food, housing, and clothing The. .. indirectly crucial for the realization of many other rights in society Examples are the right to health, the right to adequate food, the right to earn a living, and the right to take part in cultural... Paradigms on the Human Right to Water Like most human rights, the dominant paradigm on human right to water has been legal From the natural law perspective, the focus has been on the nature and