New york: Governments must abandon market-driven models and embrace democratic, rights-based approaches that recognise water as a common good essential to life, dignity, and social cohesion, a UN expert said today.
According to Emirates News Agency, in a report to the UN General Assembly, Pedro Arrojo Agudo, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, called for a ‘paradigm shift’ in global water governance. Arrojo Agudo emphasised that the crisis is not solely about scarcity but represents a democratic issue, with billions of people being impoverished and marginalised while living near rivers or polluted aquifers exploited by powerful interests.
The report challenges the commodification and privatisation of water, warning that financialisation strategies, such as public-private partnerships and speculative water markets, undermine human rights and environmental sustainability. Arrojo Agudo asserted that managing water through speculative futures markets endangers human rights and that water should be governed as a common good, accessible to all but not appropriable by anyone.
He further stated that water governance must be rooted in principles like equality, non-discrimination, participation, accountability, sustainability, and legality. The report calls for recognising customary and Indigenous water tenure and empowering communities, especially women, as central actors in water management. Arrojo Agudo highlighted the necessity for democratic governance to be participatory and non-discriminatory, promoting equal participation of women and respecting Indigenous Peoples’ and peasants’ knowledge.
The report also addresses the climate emergency, advocating for a ‘water transition’ to complement energy transition strategies. This includes restoring aquatic ecosystems, protecting aquifers and wetlands, and implementing inclusive hydrological and urban planning to reduce vulnerability to droughts and floods. Aquifers, described as the ‘water lungs of nature,’ store significantly more water than surface flows and are crucial for managing the extraordinary droughts exacerbated by climate change.
The Special Rapporteur called for targeted public subsidies and soft financing mechanisms to ensure affordability and sustainability, particularly in rural and impoverished areas.