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DAM-L Stealing our Water: Implications of GATS for Global Water Resources(fwd)

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Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2001 13:03:02 -0600
Subject: Stealing our Water: Implications of GATS for Global Water
	 Resources
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Right to Water (right-to-water@iatp.org)    Posted: 11/08/2001  By  svarghese@iatp.org	
============================================================



Stealing our Water: Implications of GATS for Global Water Resources

Summary
A number of governments of the world's richest countries are pushing for
expansion of global negotiations to liberalise trade in services in the
World Trade Organisation (WTO).  This is being done through an agreement
called the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).  The inclusion of
water services in the current proposals typifies what is wrong with the WTO
in general and GATS in particular.

There is general consensus that the world is facing a looming water crisis
and investment in water resource management and a water strategy is needed.
 GATS and the WTO are not the appropriate fora to address this, however,
and there are many reasons why GATS will not help solve the crisis.

Liberalisation of trade in water inevitably means opening up water services
to the private sector, yet privatisation of water services to date has been
problematic, with negative impacts for consumers and the environment.
Despite this, GATS would be irreversible as countries are prevented from
altering commitments once they have been made and there is no fallback
position.

GATS would undermine environmental protection as it contains only a very
narrow environmental exception.  Governments could find that laws and
measures they have introduced for environmental protection and water
conservation could be classified as barriers to trade and be overruled by
the WTO.

GATS is not compatible with the basic human right of access to clean safe
drinking water.  'Full cost-recovery' - the principle promoted by the IMF
and World Bank that people should pay the full cost of water, or go without
- would effectively be enshrined in law by GATS.  Sustainable water
distribution practices could also be undermined as charges could be
introduced, for example for the collection of rainwater.

It is often ordinary people who end up paying the increased financial cost
resulting from water privatisation as companies try to recoup their
investment.  This is either through increased prices for water or through
state subsidies of the companies.

A comprehensive review of the impact of liberalising trade in services is
needed before further discussions and liberalisation take place either
inside or outside of GATS.  GATS is the wrong treaty, in the wrong place at
the wrong time.

Friends of the Earth Trust
Author: Tim Concannon;    Co-author and editor: Hannah Griffiths
Information Service: 0808 800 1111 Fax 020 7490 0881 Email info@foe.co.uk

Full article available at:

http://www.waterobservatory.org/library/uploadedfiles/Stealing_our_Water_Imp
lications_of_GATS_for_Gl.doc






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