Nearly 7,000 people from more than 30 countries, and from almost every Brazilian state, gathered at the Alternative World Water Forum (FAMA) from 17 to 22 March 2018. The purpose of this mobilisation was to challenge the legitimacy of the World Water Forum, which is organised every three years by the private think-tank World Water Council together with its corporate partners.
Jennifer Franco, Satoko Kishimoto, Sylvia Kay, Timothé Feodoroff, Gloria Pracucci
20 October 2014
Primer
Water grabbing refers to situations where powerful actors take control of valuable water resources for their own benefit, depriving local communities whose livelihoods often depend on these resources and ecosystems.
Les terres agricoles ne sont pas les seules cibles de puissants intérêts privés, de grandes entreprises ou de gros investisseurs. Littoraux, mangroves ou récifs coralliens sont aussi convoités. Un nouveau rapport lève le voile sur cet accaparement des mers.
This primer unveils a new wave of ocean grabbing, answering the most important questions about the mechanisms that facilitate it and the impacts on people and the environment.
It had been billed as a summit to push for universal access to water, but attending the Budapest Water Summit held last week felt like grasping at a mirage of water in a desert. The slogans and appearance were attractive, but held no prospect of delivering the human right to water for all.
The fluid nature of water and its hydrologic complexity often obscure how water grabbing takes place and what the associated impacts on the environment and diverse social groups are.
Worsening climate change and the emergence of new economic powers is leading to a renewed scramble for resources, with negative consequences for many impoverished communities.
With hedge funds making bids for melting glaciers, there is a danger at a time of multiple crises of a renewed push for commodification of water that will affect those who can't pay.
