Water Crisis Due to Inequality, Not Scarcity, Says Report

Proper management of water is imperative to addressing the water crisis, according to the 2006 Human Development Report.

As part of the launch of the 2006 Human Development Report, Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently invited four water and development experts to offer their perspectives at a panel in Washington, D.C. The participants largely applauded the report’s conclusion that the roots of the world’s water crisis, rather than reflecting absolute scarcity, “can be traced to poverty, inequality and unequal power relationships, as well as flawed water management policies that exacerbate scarcity.” According to the report, UN statistics estimating that more than a billion people lack access to clean water and 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation in fact underestimate the crisis by millions.

Author and lecturer Gregg Easterbrook, who served as the panel’s moderator, asked the participants why water and sanitation, so crucial to human development, attract such low visibility in international politics. UNDP administrator Kemal Dervis responded by reiterating the report’s focus on inequality. “It’s really the very poor and [those] with weak voices who are suffering,” he explained, noting that governments don’t prioritize the issue as they might for more influential constituencies. Geeta Rao Gupta, president of the International Center for Research on Women, added that water is central to women in developing countries, since they typically spend hours each day collecting it, and agreed that “the poor are at the bottom of the totem pole, and women at the bottom of that.”

James Kunder, acting deputy administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, applauded the report but excused governments’ inability to provide water and sanitation for everyone, saying that “the needs overwhelm the available resources.” Dervis disagreed, observing that the necessary resources exist but are mismanaged. Steve Werner, executive director of Water for People, affirmed that the problem is not a technical issue, but a regulatory one. He concluded that ensuring clean water and adequate sanitation for all requires both creativity and an ability to adapt for the needs of different regions.

This story was produced by Eye on Earth, a joint project of the Worldwatch Institute and the blue moon fund. View the complete archive of Eye on Earth stories, or contact Staff Writer Alana Herro at aherro [AT] worldwatch [DOT] org with your questions, comments, and story ideas.