Water Liberation Declaration: Vandana Shiva and others

 Water Liberation Declaration

“Water is life. It’s a gift of nature. The access to water is a natural and fundamental right. It is not to be treated as a commodity and traded for profit. People shall have the right to freedom from thirst, and shall have adequate access to safe water for all of their living needs. 
 
  Experiences all over the world reveal quite convincingly that water which is “life” is being privatized and brought under corporate control. This will deprive the people of water lifeline for survival. All the water resources should be owned, controlled, managed and utilized by local communities in their natural setting.  
 
  We the people from all over the world will not allow our waters to be made commodity for profit. 
 
  We will work together to liberate water from corporate / private agencies, control and return it to the people for common good.
 
  We demand the governments all over the world should take immediate action to declare that they accept waters in their territories a public good and exact strong regulatory structure to protect them.
 
  We, the undersigned, will work in solidarity to achieve these goals.”
 
— Vandana Shiva and others  

(Source: JANATA, [English Weekly] Vol.56, No. 42, January 6, 2002, P.11. D-15, Ganesh Prasad, Naushir Bharucha Marg, Grant Road (W), Mumbai 400 007. Email: yumeher@mtnl.net.in ) 

COMMENT COMPLIMENTARY  

Issue of WATER does not stop at containing it in bottles, pipelines, and dammed reservoirs.

 Large tracts of regions in Bangladesh, East Bengal, and Bihar etc have highly toxic subsoil water. This has been known for sometime.

 Deforestation, besides drawing water mechanically in large quantity for industry and farms have depleted sub soil water. 

 Untreated industrial wastes have polluted water bodies, and coastal waters that have affected marine life too. 

 Water logging in lower lands in the vicinity of canals damages farms.

 The fallout of ambitious 'Interlinking Rivers Project' may prove eventually an utopia - the Tower of Babel.

 These five major points leave much to be desired than 'Bottling Water’.

Indeed subject “WATER” should be compulsory part curriculum from Primary to Higher Education, including Doctorate, in all streams of Education.

And it should be compulsory as "Continued Education" for all the personnel of Legislative – Executive – Judiciary bodies from Central as well as State Governments down to District, Taluka / Tahasil and Village levels. The ignorance of authorities in various fields specialization is overwhelming as the move in blinkered tracks of expertise.
 
 Please read “WATER PARKS IN WANTING” 

Remigius de Souza 


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