The water governance challenge: the discrepancy between what is and what should be

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 799-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. Ravnborg ◽  
K. M. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Governance Reform ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water Research ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
The Right

In 2010, the UN General Assembly declared the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights. Yet, findings from the Competing for Water research programme suggest that all too often, people in need of water for domestic purposes lose out to people and companies who claim access to water for productive purposes. Likewise, in many countries, specific water authorities at national as well as basin and watershed level have been formed and assigned the responsibility to allocate water according to the water policy and the associated legal framework. Yet, findings from the Competing for Water research programme show that real-world water allocation takes place through a wide array of institutions, ranging from the rural community, over agreements mediated by local lawyers, district officials and non-governmental organisations, to decisions made in the president's office. The Competing for Water programme entails empirical research conducted in Bolivia, Mali, Nicaragua, Vietnam and Zambia. Based on findings from this research, this paper identifies the discrepancies between statutory and actual water governance, analyses the underlying causes and explores the implications for ongoing water governance reform.

scholarly journals Privatisation and water governance in Africa: implications of a rights-based approach

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oladejo Olowu
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Independence Era ◽  
The Right ◽  
Water Issues

Early in the post-independence era, the control of water resources in many African states was a task of central planning. Regrettably, water management soon became a miry adventure in most African states largely because of warped planning and implementation. This article examines the phenomenon of private sector involvement in water resources management and seeks to understand the effect of such involvement on the right to water in Africa in the context of the Millennium Development Goals. The article explores the continuing relationship between African governments and non-state actors in the management of water resources in the privatisation age. The article further analyses the role of various national water governance initiatives vis-à-vis the efficient management of water resources and the sharp contradictions in their frameworks from a rights-based perspective. It evaluates the normative frameworks of access to water as a human right in Africa and contends that the human being must be placed at the centre of water discourses in assessing all role actors and their responsibilities. Extrapolating from experiences from various states within and outside Africa, this article advocates a rights-based approach to water issues and its value for the ultimate purpose of human- centred development.

Water for Life

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline Baer
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
National Level ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
The Right

Chapter 5 provides a case study of the human rights-based approach to water policy through an analysis of the Bolivian government’s attempts to implement the human right to water and sanitation. It explores these efforts at the local and national level, through changes to investments, institutions, and policies. The analysis reveals that while Bolivia meets the minimum standard for the human right to water and sanitation in some urban areas, access to quality water is low in poor and marginalized communities. While the Bolivian government expresses a strong political will for a human rights approach and is increasing state capacity to fulfill rights, the broader criteria for the right to water and sanitation, including citizen participation and democratic decision-making, remain largely unfulfilled. This case suggests political will and state capacity might be necessary but are not sufficient to fulfill the human right to water and sanitation broadly defined.

scholarly journals The Human Right to Water and Unconventional Energy

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Palmer ◽  
Damien Short ◽  
Walter Auch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

Access to water, in sufficient quantities and of sufficient quality is vital for human health. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in General Comment 15, drafted 2002) argued that access to water was a condition for the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and thus a human right. On 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. This paper charts the international legal development of the right to water and its relevance to discussions surrounding the growth of unconventional energy and its heavy reliance on water. We consider key data from the country with arguably the most mature and extensive industry, the USA, and highlight the implications for water usage and water rights. We conclude that, given the weight of testimony of local people from our research, along with data from scientific literature, non-governmental organization (NGO) and other policy reports, that the right to water for residents living near fracking sites is likely to be severely curtailed. Even so, from the data presented here, we argue that the major issue regarding water use is the shifting of the resource from society to industry and the demonstrable lack of supply-side price signal that would demand that the industry reduce or stabilize its water demand per unit of energy produced. Thus, in the US context alone, there is considerable evidence that the human right to water will be seriously undermined by the growth of the unconventional oil and gas industry, and given its spread around the globe this could soon become a global human rights issue.

Right to Sanitation in Urban Areas

2019 ◽  
pp. 195-227
Author(s):  
Mathew John
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Fundamental Change ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Urban Sanitation ◽  
Effective Delivery ◽  
Administrative Framework ◽  
Policy Direction ◽  
The Right ◽  
Water Boards

This chapter looks at the emergence of the right to sanitation as a problem for public administration. Although sanitation has been articulated in terms of a human right, it is often unclear what this means for policy direction in relation to its administration and delivery. Indeed, it is even unclear whether there should be any fundamental change in administrative framework at all for the more effective delivery of urban sanitation. In this context this chapter recounts and critically analyses the legal framework (centred on water boards and urban local bodies) that delivers urban sanitation and the forms in which the various players are brought to account through courts and other forms of administrative regulation. Set against this background this chapter assess the connections between forms of governance and regulation, and their impact on the delivery of sanitation as a basic human right.

scholarly journals The Water Governance Reform Framework: Overview and Applications to Australia, Mexico, Tanzania, U.S.A and Vietnam

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Grafton ◽  
Dustin Garrick ◽  
Ana Manero ◽  
Thang Do
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystem ◽  
Policy Cycle ◽  
Governance Reform ◽  
Trade Offs

The world faces critical water risks in relation to water availability, yet water demand is increasing in most countries. To respond to these risks, some governments and water authorities are reforming their governance frameworks to achieve convergence between water supply and demand and ensure freshwater ecosystem services are sustained. To assist in this reform process, the Water Governance Reform Framework (WGRF) is proposed, which includes seven key strategic considerations: (1) well-defined and publicly available reform objectives; (2) transparency in decision-making and public access to available data; (3) water valuation of uses and non-uses to assess trade-offs and winners and losers; (4) compensation for the marginalized or mitigation for persons who are disadvantaged by reform; (5) reform oversight and “champions”; (6) capacity to deliver; and (7) resilient decision-making. Using these reform criteria, we assess current and possible water reforms in five countries: Murray–Darling Basin (Australia); Rufiji Basin (Tanzania); Colorado Basin (USA and Mexico); and Vietnam. We contend that the WGRF provides a valuable approach to both evaluate and to improve water governance reform and, if employed within a broader water policy cycle, will help deliver both improved water outcomes and more effective water reforms.

Urban homelessness and the right to water and sanitation: experiences from India's cities

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-772 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicky Walters
Keyword(s):  
Homeless People ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Significant Development ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The Right ◽  
Indian Cities

Improving access to water and sanitation for vulnerable groups has been a significant development priority in recent decades and this has been coupled with calls for water and sanitation to be recognised as fundamental human rights. However, to date there has been very limited attention on the right to water and sanitation for homeless people, despite their high vulnerability to a range of water and sanitation insecurities. Drawing on empirical data from the Indian cities of Delhi and Bangalore, this paper examines homelessness and the right to water and sanitation. It highlights the everyday practices and experiences of homeless people in their efforts to access water and sanitation, and sheds light on some of the factors that contribute to their water and sanitation insecurity. It concludes that addressing the human right to water and sanitation for homeless people will require going beyond a technical and sector approach, to the more challenging task of tackling the complex factors that create and sustain their vulnerability and marginality in urban spaces.

The Human Right to Water in South Africa and the Mazibuko Decisions

2011 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 521-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Humby ◽  
Maryse Grandbois
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
The South ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Lower Courts ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access

The right of access to sufficient water in the South African Constitution has for long been regarded as progressive in a global context where the human right to water is still a subject of contention. In its recent decision handed down in the Mazibuko matter, the South African Constitutional Court interpreted the right of access to sufficient water for the first time and clarified the nature of the State’s obligations which flow from this right. It also commented upon the role of the courts in adjudicating the human right to water. This article describes the passage of the Mazibuko matter and the manner in which the lower courts interpreted the right of access to “sufficient water” as well as outlining the Constitutional Court’s decision in the context of access to water services provision in South Africa.

scholarly journals THE RIGHT TO HUMAN DIGNITY IN THE SYSTEM OF CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF UKRAINE AND GERMANY

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-32
Author(s):  
O. Kosilova
Keyword(s):  
Human Dignity ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Eral Republic ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Fundamental Value ◽  
The Right

The article analyzes human dignity as a legal category and fundamental natural human right. The place and role of the right to human dignity in the system of constitutional rights of Ukraine and Germany are compared. The scientific substantiation of the right to human dignity in Ukraine and Germany, its normative protection in both countries, is investigated. The approaches to defining and interpreting the right to human dignity in the practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany are compared. The relationship between the right to human dignity and other human rights is determined, as well as the sphere of protection of this right. In particular, there are parallels between the right to life and the right to human dignity, and their relationship is determined. It is substantiated that the human life and dignity of each person enjoy the same constitutional protection regardless of the duration of the individual's physical existence. It is established that among Ukrainian scholars there is no unified view of the right to dignity as a fundamental natural right. The right to human dignity in Ukraine is enshrined in the norms of constitutional, civil and criminal law. For the most part, the protection of the right to human dignity is correlated with the right to the protection of honour and goodwill. The right to human dignity and honour are not clearly distinguished. The legisla- tion of Ukraine does not contain a legal norm defining the concept of the right to human dignity. The case-law of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine in this area is not sufficiently developed and does not constitute a proper legal framework. In Germany, the right to human dignity is a decisive and fundamental human right that is fundamental to all other rights. Human dignity is the supreme fundamental value and the root of all fundamental rights. The right to human dignity enshrined in Article 1 of the Constitution of the Fed- eral Republic of Germany defines it as an absolute value, which means that it cannot be restricted by any other norm, even by another fundamental right that follows from human dignity.

scholarly journals The Fundamental Human Right to Marry and to Family Life and their Protection in the Legal Framework of the Republic of Macedonia

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.Sc. Albana Metaj-Stojanova
Keyword(s):  
Family Life ◽  
Nuclear Family ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Family Structures ◽  
Degree Of Protection ◽  
Republic Of Macedonia ◽  
The Family ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right

The right to family life is a fundamental human right, recognized by a series of international and European acts, which not only define and ensure its protection, but also emphasize the social importance of the family unit and the institution of marriage. The right to family life has evolved rapidly, since it was first introduced as an international human right by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The family structure and the concept of family life have changed dramatically over the last few decades, influenced by the everchanging social reality of our time and the decline of the institution of marriage. Aside from the traditional European nuclear family composed of two married persons of opposite sex and their marital children, new forms of family structures have arisen. LGTB families are at the centre of the ongoing debate on re-defining marriage and the concept of family life. The aim of this paper is to analyse the degree of protection accorded to family life and to the right to marry, which has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the pursuit of happiness by free men by both, international acts ratified by the Republic of Macedonia and the legal system of the country. The methodology applied is qualitative research and use of the analytical, historical and comparative methods. The paper concludes that in general Republic of Macedonia has a solid legal framework, in compliance with the international law, that protects and promotes the right to family life.

scholarly journals Legal Exploration of Right to Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (S2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tengku Noor Azira Tengku Zainudin ◽  
Mohd Zamre Mohd Zahir ◽  
Ahmad Azam Mohd Shariff ◽  
Ramalinggam Rajamanickam ◽  
Ong Tze Chin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Right To Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health It ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Legal Mechanism

The right to health is recognised as a fundamental human right in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Constitution. In Malaysia, the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is a fundamental human right without discrimination for every human being. Consequently, the principle of the “right to health,” regardless of the legal status of an individual, is the driving force in creating acceptable standards of health care for all citizens. Even for individual who suffers from Covid-19, he still has a fundamental right to health. The issue of the right to health is whether the patients have any rights of their health? If they do have the right to health, the next issue is whether the hospitals are legally bound to follow such right, i.e. the right to health of the patients. Therefore, this paper aims to analyse and discuss the issues regarding the rights to health of the patients. Without the legal mechanism in recognising the right to health, it pointed out that is no such right. The method employed in this paper is qualitative based. The paper finds that although Malaysia does not have any specific legal framework about the right to health, the application of international legal mechanism can be referred to a guideline. Thus, it is important to have a specific legal framework by applying international legal mechanism in order to address this issue.

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