by Carlin Christy

In this article Carlin gives us a brief rundown on the Fourth World Water Forum held in Mexico City from March 16-22.

Increasing world population and water scarcity have pushed the issue of access to a secure, clean supply of water to the forefront of international discussion. Currently, one billion people, or one-sixth of the world’s population do not have access to potable water. Estimates suggest that by 2025, two-thirds of the world's population will be gravely impacted by water scarcity. The World Water Forum, a gathering of corporations, financial institutions and others seeking to profit from this situation, convened for the 4th World Water Forum in Mexico City from March 16th to March 22nd.

According to their website, the World Water Forum: “seeks to enable multi-stakeholder participation and dialogue to influence water policy making at a global level, thus assuring better living standards for people all over the world and a more responsible social behavior towards water issues in-line with the pursuit of sustainable development.” The organization also refers to itself as ¨a venture founded on the principles of collaboration, partnership and innovation.¨ However, this Forum was attended by neo-liberal profiteers including 320 corporations, government agencies and international financial institutions like the World Bank. A main focus of the forum is to negotiate the privatization of public water markets in order to open them up for lucrative business ventures.

In response to the agenda of the 4thWWF, an alternative forum was held titled “The International Forum in Defense of Water.” This gathering involved testimonies from people all over the globe, indigenous peoples forums and workshops for better grassroots organization to protect water as a human right. Another aspect of the alternative forum was a march held on March 16th. Approximately 100,000 people from all over Mexico and Latin America participated in this march which was met with violent police repression. At least 27 people were arrested, many of whom were young students between the ages of 19-26.

Overall, the absence of public participation in the 4th WWF and repression of community organization draws a clear picture of what is to come if water is controlled and privatized by neo-liberal interests. In the meantime, activists and peoples from across the globe continue organizing to assure that water is a human right, not a privilege or a product to be commercialized.

For more information:
http://mexico.indymedia.org/tiki-index.php
http://www.worldwaterforum4.org.mx
http://www.comda.org.mx/