Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 3 • Number 6 • 3rd April 2003

PEOPLES’ WATER FORUM MILES FROM WORLD WATER FORUM

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PEOPLES’ WATER FORUM MILES FROM WORLD WATER FORUM

Two World Forums convened in March to discuss issues related to water. The Third World Water Forum from 16-23 March in Japan focused on water as a driving force for sustainable development, while an alternative People’s World Water Forum, held from 21-22 March in Florence, Italy, highlighted, inter alia, the impact of trade liberalisation on water services. The two Forums were not only miles apart from each other geographically but also in terms of their focus and conclusions.

In the meantime, the ten-plus WTO Members that met the 31 March deadline for submitting their initial services offers to the WTO have stayed clear of water supply services, focusing instead on wastewater management.

Two Forums — two conclusions

The Third World Water Forum in Japan was attended by more than 24,000 delegates from all over the world, discussing 38 interlocking themes dealing with water. They focused in particular on water resource management and benefit sharing; safe drinking water and sanitation; water for food and rural development; and water pollution prevention and ecosystem conservation. In the (preliminary) Forum statement, delegates stressed the need to balance increasing human requirements for adequate water supplies and improved health and sanitation with food production, transportation, energy and environmental needs. To achieve this, they noted the need for more effective governance, improved capacity and adequate financing.

Various civil society groups expressed disappointment with the Forum’s outcome, which they said did not pay enough attention to a number of controversial issues raised by water experts. The environmental group WWF regretted that the forum did not prioritise the conservation of freshwater but rather emphasised the need for more water and energy infrastructure, including more dams, in order to meet the growing water demand. "We have to ask how credible a forum like this is when governments do not draw on the [more than] 12,000 water specialists gathered together to identify common sense solutions to water problems, but instead continue to promote massive infrastructure as the sole solution to the world’s water crisis", said Jamie Pittock, Director of WWF’s Living Water Programme. NGOs were also disappointed that although this was the most debated issue during the conference, no references were made to the linkages between trade liberalisation and ongoing WTO negotiations and water services.

In contrast, the trade-water linkage was one of the key issues discussed at the first Peoples’ World Water Forum in Italy where participants examined requests made under the WTO General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) negotiations for countries to open their water markets to private service providers. Meeting participants criticised the ongoing GATS negotiations as a first step toward privatising global water supplies, making water another resource to be "bought, sold and monopolised by wealthy nations and corporations". In a move to reverse this trend, trade campaigning groups promised to escalate their ‘take services out of the WTO’ campaign before and after the September 2003 WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

Little reference to water in services offers at WTO

As part of the services negotiations at the WTO, a few countries have recently submitted their initial offers of services liberalisation, adhering to an end-March deadline. According to the negotiating mandate adopted at Doha in 2001, "participants shall submit initial requests for specific commitments by 30 June 2002 and initial offers by 31 March 2003". The countries presenting their offers to the Council on Trade in Services by the deadline — mainly developed countries — included Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. The EU was not yet able to agree on its offer, but is expected to present it over the next few weeks. The WTO Secretariat indicated it expected offers to trickle in up until the next WTO Ministerial in September.

With regard to water services, countries have been wary of including water supply services in their offers. Australia, while including wastewater management, stressed that "Australia will not be making any offers in the areas of public health, public education or the ownership of water". The US offer also covers wastewater management, but excludes water for human use and sanitation and similar services. Canada only includes sanitation and similar services and New Zealand’s offer covers sewage services under wastewater management. While many countries — both developed and developing — are interested in the current services negotiations, developing countries have seen no rush in this area, as other negotiating deadlines essential to their interest, such as intellectual property and health, special and differential treatment and agriculture, have lapsed. To date, only about 30-plus developing countries have presented their services requests and none have presented offers.

Regarding the requests submitted by countries in June 2002, the EU included certain water services in their liberalisation requests, such as water for human use and wastewater management, including water collection, purification, and distribution services. The European Commission however, stressed that "this sub-sector only concerns the distribution of water through mains" and "excludes any cross-border transportation…and does not imply access to water resources". Civil society groups have specifically pushed the Commission to leave basic public services untouched when drafting the EU offers (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 10 March 2003).

Additional Resources

For daily reporting of the Forum, see IISD Linkages.

WTO services offers available at http://www.ictsd.org/issarea/services/index.htm.

"Governments plunge backwards at World Water Forum," WWF, 23 March 2003; "World Water Forum ends with important commitments but vague declaration," EurActive, 25 March 2003; "Forum Bulletin," ENB, 23 March 2003.