Water: Towards a Culture of Responsibility

Contents

CONTENTS P. 5 PREFACE Ángel Gurría P. INTRODUCTION A time to take responsibility P. 19 PART 1: THE WATER CENTURY P. 20 I. SATISFYING GROWING NEEDS P. 21 Ever increasing withdrawals from non increasing resources P. 25 Parched megalopolises P. 26 The growing competition for water resources P. 28 Water for agriculture: the highest consumption, the highest waste P. 31 II. PREVENTING FURTHER LOSS OF THE QUALITY OF OUR WATER RESOURCES P. 31 Sanitation, the “poor relation” of water management P. 35 A long march: controlling agricultural pollution P. 38 The limitations of the “polluter pays” principle P. 40 Escaping the spiral: ever more treatment of water that is ever more polluted P. 42 III. EUROPE SETS A GOAL: A RETURN TO GOOD WATER QUALITY P. 42 Europe: 30 years of water policies P. 45 Good water status: moving towards a new stage in European water policy P. 47 A disappointment on current water quality P. 47 Quality and quantity: factors separated for too long P. 50 IV. WATER: THE PRIMARY ISSUE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT P. 50 Unsafe drinking water and no sanitation: the world’s greatest killers P. 53 Lack of access means a higher price for water P. 55 Wasted human resources, wasted social resources P. 56 Millennium Goals: mixed results in the medium term 9 P. 61 PART 2: WATER’S FALSE FRIENDS P. 62 I. CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER: DISTURBING FACTS P. 62 Unavoidable change, avoidable catastrophe P. 65 The climate changes… and us? P. 66 Foreseeing to be able to act P. 67 The water wars will not happen P. 69 A future with more climatic disasters P. 72 II. TWO MISPLACED “GOOD IDEAS”: “FREE WATER” AND “USER PAYS FOR ALL” P. 72 Free water: a review of recent history P. 73 The myth of a free water service P. 75 The opposite of free supply: the user pays for all P. 77 The happy medium: a sociably affordable water price P. 79 III. THE PRIVATE SECTOR: TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE INVOLVEMENT? P. 79 The many forms of cooperation between public and private P. 81 Privatisation: so frequently debated, so rarely practiced P. 83 To delegate or not to delegate P. 86 Public-private partnership: from fashionable craze to maturity P. 87 Snapshots of the Latin American experience P. 91 Are public-private partnerships appropriate for developing countries? P. 96 IV. WATER: IS THE SERVICE TOO EXPENSIVE? P. 96 Water is not oil P. 97 The price of water in France: the perception and the reality P. 100 What price for what area? The example of France P. 102 Are public operators less expensive? A false evidence P. 105 A price that fails to reflect the scarcity of water P. 107 The developing world: under-financing causes exclusion P. 108 Information and transparency: at the heart of the debate P. 110 Knowing what is being compared P. 111 V. FUNDERS, OFTEN CRITICISED BUT INDISPENSABLE P. 112 An overview of public aid for water and sanitation P. 114 Insufficient finance P. 116 The search for new financial initiatives P. 119 When one method displaces another P. 123 PART 3: FINDING NEW MODELS P. 127 I. NEW RESOURCES P. 127 Water saving, a resource available now P. 130 Recycled waste water: the only resource that gains from economic development P. 133 Sea water, an unlimited resource P. 136 Using previously unexploited sources P. 138 Rainwater: a useful resource, but not without its risks P. 141 II. NEW ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL MODELS P. 142 Mixed funding between service users and taxpayers P. 144 Performance-based payment systems P. 144 Separating the volume sold from the volume pumped P. 145 Increasing water productivity for consumers P. 146 The end of the principle of “user pays for water”? P. 149 III. HELPING MORE THE DISADVANTAGED P. 149 Developing countries: water and sanitation for the greatest number P. 160 Developed countries: maintaining access to services for the poorest P. 164 IV. GOVERNANCE: AT THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM, AT THE HEART OF THE SOLUTION P. 165 The pathologies of governance P. 166 Good governance means a proper allocation of roles P. 169 Nothing sustainable can be created without dialogue and consultation P. 173 Transparency: building a long-term relationship of trust P. 17 CONCLUSION Towards a culture of responsibility 7 ...