The human right to water

This organization regarded its role in supporting domestic water provision to be unconnected to the human right to water and integrated water resources management questions.. Human right

Nandita Singh Editor

The Human Right to

Water

From Concept to Reality

Editor

The Human Right to Water

From Concept to Reality

ISBN 978-3-319-40285-7 ISBN 978-3-319-40286-4 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40286-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016954923

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifi c statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use

The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors

or omissions that may have been made

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG Switzerland

Nandita Singh

Department of Sustainable Development

Environmental Science and Engineering

(SEED)

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Stockholm , Sweden

The origin of this book lies in two of my research projects that were funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), which is a gov-ernment agency working on behalf of the Swedish parliament and government, with the mission to reduce poverty in the world The research projects focused on the human right to water at the level of local communities One of them looked at real-ization of the right from the gender perspective, while the other one considered the right of children The novelty in both the projects lay in the argument that human right to water cannot be realized by the right holders in local communities just because rosy legal frameworks have been created Based on an interdisciplinary research hypothesis arguing that implementation of legal frameworks is deeply embedded in the societal context where they are implemented, the projects on the whole concluded that realization of the human right to water by women and chil-dren of both genders in local communities depends on the norms prevailing in the context existing on both sides of the implementation process

This coincided with my experiences from an international evaluation of the India Country Programme of WaterAid International This organization regarded its role

in supporting domestic water provision to be unconnected to the human right to water and integrated water resources management questions Human right to water question was seen as “legal matters” (essentially outside their purview), while the importance of integrated water resources management for sustainable domestic water provision just could not be realized Two obvious recommendations of the evaluation were, fi rst, to adopt a human rights-based approach to their water provi-sioning role so that equitable access to safe water can be ensured and, second, to incorporate integrated water resources management approach so that sustainable water access could be ensured particularly in the semiarid areas where they were mostly active

These experiences led me to start considering the question of realization of the human right to water in a broader perspective, paving the way for scaling up the issue from local community to national, regional, and even global scales It became

a question worth examining that if realization of the human right to water can pose challenge at the small scale of local community, then how is the situation at larger

scales? What other kinds of contexts and factors can make an impact upon tion of the right? My long association with research and education in fi elds of water resources management and water governance paved the way to frame questions that were rooted in the possible interconnections between human right to water and water resources management/water governance

After the book idea was initially conceived, further conceptual clarity about the question raised and the need of the book came from a subsequent research project

on climate adaptation and water stress funded fi rst by SIDA and later by the Swedish Research Council This project enabled close investigation on the nature of adapta-tion planning required that could enable realization of the human right to water All this while new literature had been appearing on the diverse subjects men-tioned in this preface, however there was a clear lacuna of thoughtful writing exam-ining their cross-connections These were written by either “legal” experts elaborating on the rationale, content, and processes of implementation of the right

or else by experts and practitioners in the fi elds of water resources management /water governance who had virtually no concern for the human right to water The hiatus between the two fi elds was wide, while the interconnections were obvious

As a result, while guidelines for implementing the right were expanding, the comes could not be ensured despite the will and best efforts

The need of a book closing this gap was further reinforced through my ences from coordinating a long academic exchange with one of the premier law institutes in India – the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) This exchange was supported by SIDA again The law students at this institution undoubt-edly received legal education of the highest order but isolated from the environmen-tal and water contexts in which the laws operate

All this necessitated the compilation of this book It is intended toward benefi ting

a number of groups First are academics who teach in the fi elds of human right to water, water law, water management, water governance , and sustainable develop-ment Second are the researchers and students in these fi elds The third group com-prises policy makers and administrative staff in government agencies who design as well as implement action concerning the right Fourth are the policy-making and implementing staff in international-, national-, and/or local-level intergovernmental

as well as nongovernmental agencies that work in the related fi eld Finally, it is also intended to benefi t practitioners in the fi eld of law in general and environmental/water law in particular who deal with legal cases connected to realization of the right

A number of people have contributed directly or indirectly to the process that has enabled the completion of this book The project partners in the human right to water projects, Karsten Åström, Per Wickenberg, and Håkan Hydén; those in the climate adaptation project, Ulf Johansson Dahre and Anna Jonsson; and teachers from the NLSIU, particularly Sarasu Esther Thomas, M.K Ramesh, Chengappa M.P., Manjeri Subin Sunder Raj, Kumar Abhijeet, and Sairam Bhat, as well as the students at this institution, are all gratefully acknowledged for their respective con-tributions to the ideas and arguments contained in this book Special thanks remain for the women, men, and children of the local communities where research

connected to this book were carried out A word of acknowledgment is extended to all the contributors of this book who wholeheartedly agreed to the novel thinking of the book and faithfully wrote their chapters in a way that effectively fulfi lled its objectives The critical comments received from the anonymous reviewers of the book project are also gratefully acknowledged, particularly because these greatly helped clarify the purpose, objectives, and contents of the book

My heartfelt gratitude is owed to my husband Om Prakash Singh who as a friend, mentor, and guide initiated the writing of this book, helped clarify the ideas at every stage, supported building the arguments through his constructive and thoughtful insights, and extended practical support in carrying out some of the fi eld studies included in this book Last but not the least, I must appreciate the cooperation of our son Nilay who is only 14 years old but has patiently participated in many of the fi eld visits and quietly listened to discussions regarding water and the human right to water through the years

September 2016

1 Introduction 1 Nandita Singh

2 Realizing the Human Right to Water in Local

Communities: An Actor-Oriented Analysis 17 Nandita Singh

3 Monitoring and Evaluation of Rural Water Supply

in Uganda: Implications for Achieving the Human

Right to Water 33 Andrew Quin , Berit Balfors , and Marianne Kjellén

4 Arsenic in Drinking Water: An Emerging Human

Right Challenge in India 55 Arun Kumar , Ashok Ghosh , and Nandita Singh

5 Climate Change and Human Right to Water:

Problems and Prospects 83 Nandita Singh

6 Policy Paradoxes and Women’s Right to Water

in Mining Areas of Ghana 105

Nandita Singh , Berit Balfors , and John E Koku

7 Human Right to Water in a Bottled Water Regime 125

Ravi Shankar Shukla and Nandita Singh

8 Groundwater Management and the Human Right

to Water in India: The Need for a Decentralised Approach 141

Mahesh Menon

9 Achieving Clean Water to All Is a Question of Politics 159

Jan-Erik Gustafsson

10 Human Right to Water Obligations, Corporate Entities,

and Accountability Mechanisms 167

Amrita Paul

11 A Rights-based Policy Framework for Governing

Municipal Water Services 185

Berit Balfors is professor in environmental assessment analysis and head of the Division of Environmental Management and Assessment at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, Royal Institute

of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden The research fi eld encompasses tools for environmental systems analysis in particular related to ecosystem services and water management The research is directed toward the application of environmen-tal impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment in planning and decision-making

Ashok Kumar Ghosh has been professor-in-charge at the Department of Environment and Water Management, A.N College, Patna, India He is engaged in active research in the area of freshwater ecology and water quality His area of research also includes the study of wetlands of Bihar and related biodiversity Currently he is working on NWO Wotro, the Netherlands-supported research proj-ect under Urbanizing Deltas of the World Program, and also a research project for

fl uoride mitigation supported by Unilever, India He has published more than 50 research papers and presented his research fi ndings in international seminars in India and abroad He is one of the coordinators of the European Commission- sponsored project “Erasmus Mundus Eurindia and India4EU Program” – a world-wide cooperation and mobility program that aims to enhance quality in higher education and promote intercultural understanding He has been awarded an Erasmus Mundus Eurindia fellowship twice for collaborative research with the University of Applied Sciences, Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden He has been nominated as chairman of the Bihar State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority by the government of India and is also

a member of the Bihar State Pollution Control Board

Jan-Erik Gustafsson is an associate professor, at the Division of Land and Water Resources Engineering, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm He got his Ph.D degree at KTH on the subject “Water Resources Development in the

People’s Republic of China since 1949.” He has been a research fellow at Centre Informatique Géologique, Ecole des Mines, Paris, France, and participated in the Sino-Swedish Expedition to Tibet He has conducted research on Swedish river basin associations and on the issue of institutional water management in England and Wales (i.e., privatization) He has been a guest researcher at Agence de l’Eau Seine-Normandie in Paris He has several times been a guest lecturer at the University of Ghana; National Law School of India University, Bangalore; and Al-Quds University, Palestine, within the framework of the Linnaeus-Palme exchange program He was also the director of studies for the MSc program in envi-ronmental engineering and sustainable infrastructure at KTH for 15 years

Marianne Kjellén holds a Ph.D in human geography and has twenty years’ ence of policy-related research in the fi elds of water supply and sanitation, water resources management, health–environment linkages, and gender and rights issues Currently, she leads the thematic area of water governance at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) As director of the UNDP Water Governance Facility at SIWI, she is responsible for initiatives that support governance and lead-ership in the area of water, sanitation, and hygiene in close collaboration with devel-oping country governments, as well as capacity development in the area of “water integrity” aiming to create systems, based on transparency, accountability, and par-ticipation, that withstand corruption She also engages in research related to the human rights-based approach and ways to improve equity and inclusiveness of water and sanitation projects, particularly in relation to indigenous peoples Her work relates mostly to Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa

John E Koku holds a Ph.D in land and water resources management from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden He lectured at the University of Ghana for several years, after which he took up appointment as head/senior lecturer in the Department of Environment and Development Studies at Central University College, Accra, Ghana His research interests include environ-mental and health policy issues, development planning, participatory approaches in natural resource management decision-making, environmental justice, and environ-mental impact assessment His scholarly publications include papers in GeoJournal, the Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, the Journal of Applied Science and Technology, the Journal of African Earth Sciences, Sustainable Development, the Journal of Creative Communications, and Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

Arun Kumar has a Ph.D from Patna University, India, and is working as scientist

in the Mahavir Cancer Institute and Research Centre, Patna His research has been

in the fi eld of environmental toxicology, animal toxicology, medicinal chemistry, and cancer biology Based on this research and fellowship training, he has received several awards and honors, such as the Prof G.P Talwar Gold Medal, New Delhi, and Shradha Suman Award 2013, Patna He has authored and coauthored 74 research articles and three books He is serving as an editorial member and expert reviewer

of several reputed journals He is a member of the Indian Science Congress Association, India

Mahesh Menon was awarded a graduate degree in law by the National University

of Advanced Legal Studies, Cochin, India, after which he has practiced law at the High Court of Kerala, focusing on constitutional and environmental litigation He has completed his LL.M in human rights law from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, where he was awarded the Nani Palkhivala Memorial Gold Medal for the best student of human rights law During his master studies, he was also the recipient of a Linnaeus-Palme scholarship, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency for an academic exchange visit at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm Following a brief stint as a legal offi cer

at the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization, New Delhi, Mahesh rently works as assistant professor of law at the National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, India

Amrita Paul is a program offi cer in the Prison Reforms Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in the West Bengal chapter, India She has an LL.M in human rights from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, and an LL.B (Hons) degree from the National Law University, Jodhpur Prior to this, she worked on issues of transparency and accountability with the Access to Information Team, CHRI at Delhi She has also worked at the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, which is the research think tank of the Supreme Court of India

on issues of environment justice and criminal justice She has been the recipient of

a Linnaeus-Palme scholarship, funded by the Swedish International Development Agency for undertaking studies in water governance at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, as a part of which she explored the situation of water privatization in Delhi

Andrew Quin is a postdoc at the Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology at Stockholm University He completed his Ph.D and licentiate at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm His Ph.D research focused on the use of water management information to support implementation of the EU’s Water Framework Directive During his licentiate degree, his research focused on the rural water supply system in Uganda and its information support He also com-pleted his MSc in environmental engineering and sustainable infrastructure at KTH, Stockholm, where his fi nal-year project used GIS water point mapping in order to estimate rural water supply coverage Andrew completed his BAI in civil, structural, and environmental engineering at Trinity College, Dublin

Ravi Shankar Shukla holds a bachelors in law from the University of Lucknow and masters in law in human rights discipline from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, being awarded gold medals for his academic excel-lence at both places He has served as an intern with the National Human Rights Commission of India, the Supreme Court of India, and the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in India He was awarded a Linnaeus-Palme exchange scholarship by SIDA to pursue studies in water governance at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm He has been awarded a junior research fellowship by the University Grant Commission of India and was later selected to the Indian Administrative Service He is currently working as the subdivisional magistrate in Chakradharpur Subdivision of West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, India He is associated with the implementation of water-related policies and deci-sions and is a part of the administrative setup which is trying to harness and use surface water to tackle the problem of high iron content in drinking water in the area

Nandita Singh is Docent in Water Resources Management and engaged in research and teaching in water and environmental management at the Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, Royal Institute

of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden She is the recipient of many ships, awards and distinctions, including the prestigious Wennergren Foundation fellowship for postdoctoral research at KTH She was awarded the University Gold Medal for academic excellence in Masters and has the distinction of being placed in the famous ‘Marquis Who’s Who in the World, 2006’ for her outstanding contribu-tion in defi ning an alternate model on water resources management She also holds

fellow-a distinguished plfellow-ace fellow-among the ‘Lefellow-ading Scientists of the World’ (2006) compiled

by the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England She is an cian, author and activist in water sector with a long experience in research, educa-tion and advocacy in the areas of water policy, gender and water, human right to water, climate change and water, integrated water resources management, water quality management, participatory approach in water management, and traditional water management systems She has authored several international publications and

academi-is the co-founder of Millennium Water Story (MWS), which academi-is an information, cation and communication initiative She has conducted extensive research on water management and governance issues leading to several important policy recommendations

She has been instrumental in establishing and strengthening educational eration between Sweden and India through the Linnaeus-Palme Academic Exchange Program supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Erasmus Mundus Program supported by the European Commission She has been a visiting faculty at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore for 8 years and at A N College, Magadh University, Patna under these programs She has served as an expert in the water sector independently and as member in working groups in Sweden, India and also at many other places, includ-ing evaluation of the working of nongovernmental organizations in the sector and of projects for research funding agencies She is a regular reviewer of research articles for several international peer-reviewed journals and has also been an adviser on

coop-water issues to the private sector

Lina Suleiman is a researcher and lecturer at Urban and Regional Studies at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm, Sweden She earned a master degree of science in environmental engineering and sustainable infrastructure (EESI) from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) Stockholm, Sweden, and a Tekn.Dr degree in infrastructure with specialization in planning and implementa-tion from the same university She has worked on issues focused on institutional dimensions and dynamics for decision-making analysis and understanding precon-ditions and causal links between various types of actors for water governance; pub-lic institution reforms; methods and theories regarding participatory planning processes for coordinating diverse actors and interests; and the role of civil society and particularly the work of NGOs in micro-politics in the fi eld of development and democracy and integrated planning for sustainable urban water systems in European context

BIS Bureau of Indian Standard

BGL Bogoso Gold Limited

CEDAW Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child

CSR Corporate social responsibility

CWSA Community Water and Sanitation Agency

CWSP Community Water and Sanitation Program

EAP Environmental Action Plan

EIA Environmental impact assessment

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

ESC Economic, cultural, and social

EU European Union

GWCL Ghana Water Company Limited

ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights IEC Information, education, and communication

IFI International fi nancial institution

ILO International Labour Organization

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

ISODEC Integrated Social Development Center

IWRM Integrated water resources management

JRC Joint Rivers Commission

Lpcd Liters per capita per day

M&E Monitoring and evaluation

NGO Nongovernmental organization

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PCB Pollution Control Board

PHED Public Health Engineering Department

PRI Panchayati Raj Institution

TNC Transnational corporation

TSH Thyroid-stimulating hormone

UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights

UN United Nations

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientifi c and Cultural Organization UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

VWSC Village Water Supply Committee

WACAM Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining

WATSAN Water and sanitation

WB World Bank

WHO World Health Organization

WRC Water Resources Commission

WTO World Trade Organization

Fig 2.1 Norm-triad 20

Fig 2.2 The practical framework for rights realization 29

Fig 3.1 Summary of procedures for data collection and reporting ( solid lines ) and reviews ( dashed lines ), which lead to selection of undertakings ( thick solid line ) Data may be substantiated from other relevant surveys ( dotted lines ) 39

Fig 4.1 Worldwide arsenic distribution, arsenic source and number of people at risk 57

Fig 4.2 Arsenic map of India 58

Fig 4.3 Arsenic map of Bihar 59

Fig 4.4 Map of Buxar district, Bihar 61

Fig 4.5 Aerial map of Simri village, Buxar district, Bihar 62

Fig 4.6 Arsenic map of Simri village, Buxar district, Bihar 63

Fig 4.7 Arsenic contamination in hand pumps in Simri village of Buxar district 64

Fig 4.8 Aerial map of Tilak Rai Ka Hatta village , Buxar district, Bihar 65

Fig 4.9 Arsenic map of Tilak Rai ka Hatta village , Buxar district, Bihar 65

Fig 4.10 Different cases of arsenicosis in village Tilak Rai ka Hatta 67

Fig 4.11 The demographic map of gallbladder cancer incidence shows many similarities with the arsenic map of Bihar 71

Fig 4.12 Hormone levels in residents of village Tilak Rai Ka Hatta 72

Fig 4.13 Symptoms of arsenicosis and squamous cell carcinoma of skin in the patient from Gyaspur Mahaji village of Patna district, Bihar 76

Fig 5.1 Map of Rajasthan in India 89

Fig 5.2 Map of Nagaland in India 95

Fig 11.1 Model for setting the price of sustainable domestic

water service 192 Fig 11.2 Public perceptions on the basis for water services tariff 197 Fig 11.3 Public Perceptions on water supply governance

working partnerships models 198 Fig 12.1 Map showing the Juba and Shabelle River basins 207 Fig 12.2 Map showing the Jordan River basin 211 Fig 12.3 Map showing Ganges basin as part of the larger

Ganga-Brahmaputra- Meghna basin 213 Fig 13.1 Conceptual framework for transforming human right

to water from concept to reality 233 Fig 13.2 The right-realization continuum 234

Table 3.1 ‘Golden’ indicators in Uganda 37 Table 3.2 Estimated number of users per type of improved water supply 38 Table 4.1 Arsenic-affected community blocks and at-risk

population in Bihar, India 60 Table 4.2 Distance from river Ganga to different strips

of Simri village 63 Table 4.3 Percentage of hand tube wells contaminated with arsenic 64 Table 4.4 Common arsenicosis symptoms and their percentage

in the population of Tilak Rai Ka Hatta 69 Table 6.1 Salient features of different policy frameworks

concerning water supply in mining areas 112

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

N Singh (ed.), The Human Right to Water, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40286-4_1

Introduction

Nandita Singh

Abstract This chapter introduces the reader to the purpose and contents of the

book Beginning with a brief outline of history and concept of the human right to water, it argues that the current scenario indicates that measures for implementation

of the right are not always able to deliver the goods as planned Therefore, the tral question is identifi ed as: How to enable translation of the human right to water from concept to reality? The central contention in the chapter and hence the book is that human right to water questions cannot be addressed through mere legal formu-lations Instead, if the interest lies in enabling people to realize their right, then the need is to look beyond law, linking it to the interdisciplinary fi elds of water resources management and water governance Toward this end, concepts of “realization” and

cen-“implementation” of the right are differentiated, and the relevance of the “context”

of action is explained The chapter concludes with a description of the aim and tents of the book

Keywords Human right to water • Realization of Human Right to Water • Water

supply programs • Water quality • Climate change and water • Bottled water try • Privatization in water sector • Transboundary water governance

Water is a key resource for human survival and development It is indispensable to sustain life and health and fundamental to the dignity of all Yet 750 million people around the world lack access to safe water (WHO and UNICEF JMP 2014 ), a num-ber which raises signifi cant concern In order to address this crisis, the international community has increasingly recognized that access to water must be considered within a human rights framework Water was recognized as a right for the fi rst time

in 1977 at the United Nations (UN) Water Conference at Mar del Plata which declared that “All peoples, whatever their stage of development and social and eco-nomic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantities and

of a quality equal to their basic needs” (UN 1977 )

N Singh ( * )

Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED) , Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) , Stockholm , Sweden

e-mail: nandita@kth.se

In December 1979, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) set out an agenda to end discrimination against women, with explicit reference to water Article 14(2)(h) of CEDAW pro-vides: “States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas,…… shall ensure to such women the right: … (h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communication” (CEDAW 1979 )

In November 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) explicitly

mentioned water Article 24(2) of the Convention states: “States Parties shall

pur-sue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate sures: … (c) to combat disease and malnutrition,.… through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution” (CRC 1989 )

Among further developments in 1992, in January at the International Conference on Water and the Environment” in Dublin , it was seen as vital to recognize fi rst the basic right of all human beings to have access to clean water at an affordable price (ICWE

1992 ) At the UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro that followed in June, the Resolution of the Mar del Plata Water Conference was endorsed that all peoples have the right to have access to drinking water (UNCED 1992 ) Later in 1999, the UN General Assembly Resolution A/Res/54/175 “The Right

to Development ” affi rmed in Article 12 that “in the full realization of the right to development, ……the rights to food and clean water are fundamental human rights and their promotion constitutes a moral imperative both for national Governments and for the international community” (UN 2000 )

In November 2002, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted its general comment No 15 on the right to water, defi ning it as the “right of everyone to suffi cient, safe, acceptable and physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses” (CESCR 2002 ) While the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights does not explicitly refer to the right to water, the Committee underlined that the right to water was part of the right

to an adequate standard of living, as were the rights to adequate food, housing, and clothing The right to water clearly falls within the category of guarantees essential for securing an adequate standard of living, particularly since it is one of the most fundamental conditions for survival The Committee also stressed that the right to water was inextricably linked to the rights to health, adequate housing, and food Already in 2000, in its general comment No 14 on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had underlined that the wording of its Article 12(2) acknowledged that the right to health extended to the underlying determinants of health, including access to safe drinking water (CESCR 2000 )

In 2006, the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights adopted guidelines for the realization of the right to drinking water and sanitation (UN 2006 ) In 2008, the UN Human Rights Council created the mandate

of the expert on the issue of “human rights obligations related to access to safe ing water and sanitation” to help clarify the scope and content of these obligations

As a signifi cant development, in July 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/Res/64/292) which formally recognizes the right to water and acknowledges that clean drinking water is essential to the realization of all human rights The Resolution calls upon states and international organizations to provide

fi nancial resources, to help capacity-building and technology transfer to particularly developing countries, and to provide safe, clean, accessible, and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all (UN GA 2010 ) Even more signifi cantly, in September

2010, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution (A/HRC/RES/15/9) which affi rms that the right to water is part of existing international law and con-

fi rms that these rights are legally binding upon states It also calls upon states to develop appropriate tools and mechanisms, which may encompass legislation, com-prehensive plans, and strategies for the sector, to achieve progressively the full real-ization of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water, including

in currently unserved and underserved areas (UN HRC 2010 )

Given the history of development of the human right to water, obvious questions

to arise are: What are the key aspects of the right as a concept? How can this concept

be translated into a universal reality? What kind of action has been taken in this direction? Which dominant paradigms drive these actions? Is translation to reality universally achievable within the scope of these paradigms? This introductory chap-ter seeks to answer these questions, in turn initiating the reader into the main debates and discussions in the book

Human Right to Water as a Concept

The human right to water, as described by the Committee on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights in its general comment No 15 , contains entitlements as well as freedoms (CESCR 2002 ) These entitlements include access to a minimum amount

of safe drinking water to sustain life and health and access to safe drinking water in detention and participation in water-related decision-making at the national and community levels, especially emphasizing the participation of women and other traditionally excluded social groups

The freedoms include protection against arbitrary and illegal disconnections;

pro-hibition of unlawful pollution of water resources; nondiscrimination in access to safe drinking water, notably on the basis of land or housing status; noninterference with access to existing water supplies, especially to traditional water sources; and ensur-ing that personal security is not threatened when accessing water outside the home

The general comment No 15 further clarifi es that the right to water is a universal right, since it is everyone’s right to suffi cient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible,

and affordable water for personal and domestic uses These uses comprise water for drinking, washing clothes, food preparation, and personal and household hygiene

The right entails that the water supply for each person must be suffi cient and continuous to cover personal and domestic uses The right therefore covers access

to water to sustain life and health and to meet basic needs and does not entitle

individuals to an unlimited amount of water According to World Health Organization (WHO), this amount ranges between 50 and 100 l of water per person per day Access to 20–25 l per person per day represents a minimum possible, though this amount is insuffi cient to meet all basic hygiene and consumption requirements (Howard and Bartram 2003 ) These amounts are indicative as they might depend on

a particular context and might differ for some groups depending on their health status, work, climatic conditions, or other factors

Further, water for personal and domestic uses must be safe In accordance with

general comment No 15 , it must be free from microbes and parasites, chemical substances, and radiological hazards that constitute a threat to a person’s health These requirements apply to all sources of water provision, including piped water, tankers, vendor-provided water, and protected wells For protection against microbes, use of groundwater through technologies such as hand pumps and deep tube wells has been widely promoted, but in many places, chemical contaminants such as arsenic, fl uoride, nitrate, etc., have been found in groundwater in concentra-tions beyond permissible limits Such chemical contamination poses huge health risks to millions of people Even surface water sources, such as rivers and lakes, are getting increasingly polluted due to industrial and municipal wastewater being dis-charged without adequate treatment Some of the contaminants in these wastewaters are diffi cult to be removed, causing serious threat to the safety of drinking water Drinking water safety is usually defi ned through national standards for drinking water quality The WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality provide a basis for the development of national standards, which, if properly implemented, is expected

to ensure the safety of drinking water (WHO 2011 ) The absence of adequate tion systems has led to widespread pollution of water sources in many parts of the developing world In its general comment No 15 , the Committee also underlines that ensuring access to adequate sanitation is one of the principal mechanisms for protecting the quality of drinking water supplies and resources

Water must also be acceptable – of an acceptable color, odor, and taste – to

ensure that individuals will adopt safe water sources Such acceptability often rests upon culturally defi ned parameters which may vary from one local context to

another Also, water must be physically accessible and within safe reach for all

sec-tions of society, taking into account the needs of particular groups, including sons with disabilities, women, children, and the elderly While the right to water does not imply that everyone should have access to water at home, it requires such facilities to be in close proximity to, or at a reasonable distance from, each house Also, water should be provided in schools and hospitals, at the workplace, in deten-tion centers, as well as in refugee camps

As the amount of water accessed every day is largely determined by the distance

to the water source and the collection time, a reasonable distance is one that allows everyone to collect suffi cient water to cover personal and domestic uses According

to WHO, in order to have a basic access to 20 l per day, the water source has to be within 1,000 m of the home and collection time should not exceed 30 min When water is piped into the home, access is optimal and at least 100 l per person per day

is likely to be ensured (Howard and Bartram 2003 ) This also eliminates the need

for women and children to spend time and physically exert themselves to collect water from distant sources, at the cost of their health, education, and economic well-being

Finally, water services must be affordable to all No individual or group should

be denied access to safe drinking water because they cannot afford to pay This does not imply provision of “free” water by the state, but requires that the price be afford-able However, governments or even communities can decide to exclude certain groups, such as the poor, from paying for the water required to meet their basic needs or set up different pricing schemes for different segments of society based on their ability to pay

Given these key aspects , the human right to water is not only directly signifi cant for ensuring human survival and upholding the dignity and quality of human life, but it is also indirectly crucial for the realization of many other rights in society Examples are the right to health, the right to adequate food, the right to earn a living, and the right to take part in cultural life Acknowledging water as a human right not only entitles people to water itself but also to accountable institutions, access to information, nondiscrimination, and meaningful participation in decision-making

in this sector

By establishing a legal framework , defi ning who is responsible with respect to support for realization of the right, promoting pro-poor and nondiscriminatory ser-vice provision, and prioritizing water access for personal and household uses over all other uses, it is believed that a rights-based approach to water can effectively strengthen overall development efforts and support progress toward achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and, its successor, the Sustainable Development Goals This book critically examines this assumption

Translating Human Right to Water into Reality: Current

Scenario

While water is yet to be explicitly recognized as an independent self-standing human right in international treaties, as evident from above, international human rights law already entails specifi c obligations related to access to safe drinking water These obligations require states to ensure everyone’s access to a suffi cient amount of safe drinking water for personal and domestic uses, defi ned as water for drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, and personal and household hygiene These obligations also require states to progressively ensure access to adequate sanitation, not only as a fundamental element for human dignity and privacy but also linked to water for protection of the quality of drinking water supplies and resources The vital question is: How can the states fulfi ll these obliga-tions? How can they ensure everyone’s access to safe water? According to Human Rights Council’s Resolution (A/HRC/RES/15/9), states must develop appropriate tools and mechanisms, encompassing legislation, comprehensive plans, and strate-gies for the purpose (UN GA 2010 ) In this direction, recommendations have been

forwarded and several actions initiated This section presents a glimpse of these efforts

Several national constitutions now protect the human right to water or outline the general responsibility of the state to ensure access to safe drinking water for all In

2004, Uruguay became the fi rst country to include an explicit guarantee of the human right to water in its Constitution Many other constitutions contain explicit references to the right to water, including those of (Plurinational State of) Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, South Africa, and Uganda

In some other countries like India , there exists an implicit constitutional tee of the human right to water While the right is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, settled case law from courts at both state and federal level interprets Article 21 of the Constitution – the right to life – as encompassing the right to safe and suffi cient water Similarly in Argentina, the constitutional rights to health and a clean environment have been interpreted as including the human right to clean water Besides, courts from various legal systems have also adjudicated cases related

guaran-to the enjoyment of the right guaran-to water, covering issues such as provision of adequate water, pollution of water resources, and arbitrary and illegal disconnections Even if a constitutional safeguard is missing, in many places human rights prin-ciples in general and those related to the human right to water in particular are highlighted in laws, regulations, and policies related to the sector which helps implement the right For example, the UK’s Equality Act 2010 binds public bodies

by the principle of equality, obliging them to shape policy and deliver services in such a way that discrimination is eliminated and equality of opportunity are advanced (de Albuquerque 2014 ) Similarly in Ghana , the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission Act (Act 538), 1997 (Complaints Procedures) Regulations, has set up the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission as an independent body which regu-lates and oversees water services to consumers One of its functions is to receive and investigate complaints and settle disputes between users and the public utility (de Albuquerque 2014 )

However, despite several of these utilitarian interventions in place, the global ture on access to safe water is grim According to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation ( 2014 ), the fi gure of 748 million who still lack access to improved water sources actually underestimates the true scale

pic-of the problem, since crucial aspects like drinking water quality , continuous ability, distance to facilities, etc., are not yet measured This would mean that facili-ties measured as “improved sources of drinking water” may in reality, for example, deliver water of bad quality on an unreliable basis Also, the progressive numbers showing increased access over the years do not actually take into account the number

avail-of facilities that have deteriorated or are broken in the meanwhile because avail-of a lack

of proper maintenance (WHO and UNICEF JMP 2014 )

The 2014 JMP report further highlights stark disparities across regions, between urban and rural areas, and between the rich and the poor and marginalized Although progress represents important gains in access for billions of people around the world, it has been clearly uneven Great geographic, sociocultural, and economic inequalities in access persist and sometimes have increased

In this light, the obvious question is: What makes the global scenario so grim even after more than a decade of outlining the normative content of the right and half a decade of its recognition as a justiciable and enforceable right? Does there exist a holistic understanding of the process of translating the right from a concept

to reality? Are the existing paradigms on human right to water adequate to support the process?

Paradigms on the Human Right to Water

Like most human rights, the dominant paradigm on human right to water has been legal From the natural law perspective, the focus has been on the nature and legal bases of the right, including comparison among countries From a legal positivist perspective, the normative contents of the right have been simply described or else the guidelines for the human right to water law laid down Finally, from a moral philosophy perspective, attempts have been made to draw justifi cations for the right

on different grounds

A major drawback of the legal paradigm has been its inability to perceive the linkages between the right and the societal realities Very little in this paradigm actually relates to the question of what may be called “translation into world terms” (Roshwald 1959 ), i.e., moving beyond concept toward reality

As noted, there exist some guidelines for implementation of the right through legal frameworks, institutional structures, as well as policy and action to be under-taken primarily by the states parties (e.g., de Albuquerque 2014 ; COHRE et al

2007 ) But the vital question is: Are these legally framed efforts practically quate” to enable universal enjoyment of the right? Or is there a need for drawing upon other paradigms to support the process?

In order to translate any human right from an “ideal” into “world reality,” there

is need to conceive the right as “social practice” (Donnelly 2006 ), wherein those who can potentially enjoy the right are the “ right-holders ” and those to act for facili-tating its enjoyment are the “ duty-bearers ” The action undertaken by duty-bearers

may enable enjoyment of the right, but undertaking of the actions itself may not

necessarily guarantee its enjoyment Several factors and processes present in the practical societal context may infl uence the process, including political, economic, cultural, and institutional ones The current trend of reducing human right to water issues to mere law questions can actually preclude an adequate and appropriate holistic treatment of the subject, ultimately disconnecting the right from the realistic societal context

The question of enjoyment of the human right to water is further related to an external physical resource – water Two basic attributes related to the resource itself – its quantity and quality – may determine the criteria of suffi ciency and safety

of the water available for human consumption The quantity and quality attributes may in turn be affected by climatic, environmental, geological, or anthropogenic factors, sometimes also involving policy questions Other criteria like physical

accessibility, acceptability, and affordability may be affected by geographic, matic, technological, political, economic, sociocultural, and policy-related factors All these factors largely fall within the domains of water resources management and water governance

Beyond legal deliberations, there has only been some focus on social struggles of the “have-nots” and the confl icts between different interest groups such as private actors and the right-holders or between states in transboundary basin, but explora-tions on the linkage between the human right to water and the realms of water resources management and water governance are currently weak In order to enable people to lead lives in human dignity and to empower them so as to enjoy their legal entitlements and freedoms related to water, there is thus a need to broaden the dis-ciplinary horizon and adopt a more holistic paradigm Within such a broader para-digm, moral philosophy or natural law theory can help lay down the rationale and normative contents of the right, the legal positivist perspective can help develop guidelines and laws, while a wider interdisciplinary perspective can enable a “real-ity check” on the status of the right in society, identify the barriers, and help develop correctives at appropriate levels so as to enable its universal enjoyment

This book presents departure from the current discourse on human right to water

in two important respects, thereby also contributing new understanding on the ject First, it moves beyond the question of concept and content of the right to exam-ining how it can be translated into reality More specifi cally, it examines whether the measures for implementation of the right are always able to deliver the goods as planned Toward this end, the book innovatively puts forward a conceptual differen-tiation between “implementation” and “realization” of the right (discussed in the next section), further also arguing for the relevance of the “context” in which the questions of its implementation and realization are raised

Second, the book takes a broader disciplinary paradigm to understand and tate the process of realization of human right to water It is based upon the innova-tive argument that human right to water questions cannot be restricted to mere legal analysis, nor can solutions to problems with exercise of the right be solved through mere legal formulations Instead if the interest lies in enabling people to realize their right, then the need is to look beyond law, linking it to the fi elds of water resources management and water governance It is noteworthy that water resources manage-ment and water governance are interdisciplinary fi elds with diverse aspects of which law and policy are but only a part

“Implementation” Versus “Realization” of the Right:

Conceptual Underpinnings

Within the broad interdisciplinary paradigm proposed in the book, there is need to make a distinction between the concepts of “implementation” and “realization” of the human right to water According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word

“implementation” denotes “putting a decision or idea into practice.” In relation to human right to water, implementation can be construed to comprise all actions undertaken by the duty-bearers to facilitate enjoyment of the right by the right-holders This can include formulation of relevant law, policy, programs, and institu-tions to enable people’s access to water It can also include formulation of appropriate confl ict resolution mechanisms and institutions It would also include practical execution of such law, policy, and programs affected through those institutions In short, all efforts made to enable people to enjoy the human right to water can be classifi ed as efforts at “implementation” of the right

This book hinges on the argument that the efforts made at implementation of the human right to water by the duty-bearers may not always lead to the desired out-comes at the right-holders ’ end The implementation efforts may not spontaneously lead to enjoyment of the right itself This brings us to the concept of “realization” of the right According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word “realization” denotes “the achievement of something desired or anticipated.” In this case, the “achievement” concerns enjoyment of the right by each right-holder since that is the desired state

of affairs and the ultimate aim underlying recognition of this right Realization can also be understood as “the making or being made real of something imagined or conceived” or “an actual form given to a concept.” In this sense, the concern is with translating the human right to water as a concept into an actual and real practice by right-holders This state of enjoyment of the right by the right-holders needs to be conceptualized independently as its “realization.”

Gap Between “Implementation” and “Realization”

of the Right to Water: Relevance of the Context

In order to enable all women, men, and children to realize their right to water, there

is a need for states to undertake action in a way that the basic requirements are met and the goals are progressively reached Toward this end, guidelines have been for-mulated by the UN as well as by other human rights-based agencies As noted ear-lier, a number of states have attempted to “implement” the right through relevant constitutional and legal provisions as well as developmental actions However, evi-dences show that realization of the right is not ensured even after action for imple-menting the right has been undertaken This is because the process of implementation unfolds in given specifi c contextual settings, which may or may not support ultimate enjoyment of the right

Here, it would be important to clarify the notion of “context” as used in this book The meaning of the word “context” is explained in the Oxford Dictionary as

“the circumstances that form the setting for an event or situation in terms of which

it can be fully understood.” In this sense, “realization” of the human right to water

is a result of implementation of the right within a particular contextual setting which may facilitate or thwart its enjoyment by the right-holders These contextual settings

are varied and denote arenas where factors that infl uence the core parameters of

suf-fi ciency, safety, acceptability, accessibility, and affordability are located These include broadly the quantity and quality of available water, water use and manage-ment principles as well as practices, the water governance institutions and organiza-tions in place, and the prevailing sociocultural and environmental conditions against which the right is being implemented These practical contexts and factors need to

be carefully explored and the underlying subtleties understood so that holistic and realistic action can be designed toward universal realization of the right

Aim and Scope of the Book

The aim of this book is threefold First, it aims to bring forth a new understanding

on the human right to water by emphasizing on the process of translating it from an

“ideal concept” to a “social reality” where people as right-holders can practically enjoy the right in different circumstances Second, toward this end, through a con-ceptual distinction between “implementation” of the right and its “realization,” it aims to highlight the relevance of the practical contexts in which implementation of the right takes place, which again signifi es a new understanding in the fi eld Finally, through this effort, the book aims to enrich the human right to water discourse by introducing a broader interdisciplinary paradigm which builds upon water resources management and water governance perspectives

The focus of the book lies on examining the different contexts which infl uence the process of translation of the right from concept to reality, ultimately infl uencing its realization (or non-realization) It highlights that realization of the right is not simply a matter of preparing and following guidelines for implementing the right in terms of its content, but is actually an outcome of the way the implementation of the right unfolds in the given contextual setting

These various factors which can potentially infl uence realization of the human right to water and the contexts within which these are located have been little dis-cussed in the past Though each of these contextual situations has been individually explored in relation to different questions in the water sector, for example, water supply, water governance, integrated water resources management (IWRM) , etc., their relevance with respect to the human right to water has invited little systematic analysis This book aims to bridge this gap by examining how these different con-textual situations and the underlying factors infl uence the core parameters of suffi ciency, safety, acceptability, accessibility, and affordability, using illustrative case studies

Each chapter focuses on one or more of the contexts in which implementation of the human right to water takes shape These different contexts exist globally, cutting across nations, which implies that the same context or circumstance may exist in more than one country Alternately, the same country can have examples of different kinds of contexts within which implementation of the right may be affected, leading

to its realization (or non-realization) References are made to the country-based case

studies with the aim of exemplifying and clarifying more objectively on “how” tors existing within different kinds of contexts may infl uence the process

Since human beings and their basic conditions for survival and dignity are at the forefront of the right, the fi rst and foremost context is provided by the local com-munity itself where women, men, and children as right-holders reside When action

to implement the right is undertaken by state agencies at national level in the form

of legal provisions or water supply programs or any other, these actions are mately infl uenced by factors rooted in the local context This in turn poses challenge

ulti-to realization of the right by the right-holders The second chapter discusses the context of local communities, examining the process of implementation of water supply programs as it unfolds in Indian rural communities at the “micro-level.” It argues that the right-holders in the community as well as the duty-bearing agents are

“actors” who interact at the “interface” between them when water supply programs are implemented At the interface, factors on either side infl uence the decisions and actions of the actors, leading to a variety of outcomes regarding enjoyment of the access to water and hence the right

Again, designing and implementing water supply programs and projects is not enough to realize the human right to water Installed infrastructures undergo wear and tear, growing populations outnumber available water points, and new kinds of water challenges, such as that of water availability or quality or even questions of operation and maintenance of water points, can emerge over time Ensuring that the installed water infrastructures continue to serve the program/project goals continu-ously over long periods of time requires regular monitoring and evaluation Unfortunately, this is the most neglected aspect of water supply programs, and this negligence can easily thwart realization of the human right to water The third chap-ter explores this aspect Using the example of rural water supply programs in sub- Saharan Africa, it argues that monitoring and evaluation (M&E) can provide much-needed support and help to ensure that the human right to water is being ful-

fi lled Focusing on the situation in Uganda , where the development of M&E has been recently lauded, the authors seek to identify the various challenges still remain-ing in effectively undertaking the M&E Based on interviews and a document review, the chapter sheds light on these challenges and considers their implications for realizing the human right to water

Degraded water quality can pose a signifi cant challenge to the effectiveness of water supply programs and hence to the “safety” dimension of the human right to water Sometimes it can pose a challenge if the water quality is not screened before implementing a project, due to which the served populations have to suffer But it is also true that problems can arise much after a water supply project has been imple-mented, due to unforeseen changes in the water environment Arsenic and fl uoride

in groundwater are two such examples which have appeared on a wide scale after implementation of drinking water supply programs and projects in many parts of the world The health impacts of both these naturally occurring contaminants are seri-ous and therefore pose a huge challenge to exercise of the human right to water especially in areas where the water supply is derived from groundwater The fourth chapter examines the context of arsenic in drinking water, especially focusing on

India where one of the largest populations is exposed, with severe risks to health, livelihoods, and general well-being and development Not only are residents of such affected areas exposed, but even others depending upon real and virtual water from these areas share the risk of exposure The chapter also critically evaluates the options forwarded for mitigating the problem, suggesting that without sustainably addressing the situation, the human right to water and other related human rights of millions may be in jeopardy

In recent years climate change has emerged as a phenomenon posing signifi cant challenge to human development In the wake of its most direct impact on the water cycle, in a context of the already existing challenges to world’s water resources, the implications of climate change for realization of the human right to water are immi-nent Due to the impact on water cycle, water availability can become challenged especially in water stressed and water scarce areas, besides also posing a threat to water quality The fi fth chapter explores two central questions connected to the con-text of climate change, namely: (1) How will the climate change impacts on water pose challenges to exercise of the human right to water? (2) What are the prospects for effectively addressing these challenges so that the right can be universally real-ized? These questions are examined through an analytical study of literature on climatic impacts on water and the human right to water, together with fi rsthand empirical evidence from the Indian context A comparison is drawn between the western state of Rajasthan , where a study was carried out in the arid (desert) ecocli-matic zone with very little rainfall and water, and the northeastern hill state of Nagaland which lies in one of the highest rainfall areas of the country In the former, climatic variability and water stress have been a historical phenomenon, to which the local communities have adapted very skillfully through their traditional knowl-edge and practices, which included the approach of IWRM In the latter state, on the contrary, microclimatic changes and the resultant impact on water are a compara-tively recent phenomenon, to which sustainable solutions are not yet in place Industrialization has been an important engine of human development, but this phenomenon has a dark side too In most cases, industrial activities leave a negative impact on water, in terms of quality as well as quantity Many areas of the world are rich in minerals and ores, leading to proliferation of the mining industry This indus-try is often projected to not only improve national incomes but also enhance the quality of life of the local residents However, since mining processes have a serious impact on water quality and quantity, this industry can pose great challenge to real-ization of the human right to water if the mining industry is not regulated suffi -ciently through appropriate law and policy The sixth chapter examines the question

of realization of women’s right to water in Ghana in a context provided by dictory policy frameworks Women are focused since they have been recognized as

contra-a mcontra-argincontra-alized group within the interncontra-ationcontra-al frcontra-amework on humcontra-an right to wcontra-ater

As domestic water managers, they are seen to have traditionally faced diffi culties in exercising the right, and hence, states parties are obliged to ensure elimination of their hardships and protect their interests in water The mining policy in Ghana is very strong, promoting signifi cant foreign direct investment in the sector, but are the policies concerning women and water equally strong? How does the Ghanaian

policy framework concerning mining combine with that on water supply? How close are these two policy frameworks in terms of principles, approach, institutions, and processes? Do the two “fi t” together so as to maximize or at least protect the women’s right to water? These questions are explored and addressed in this chapter with an aim to identify the gaps and propose solutions so that Ghanaian women’s right to water can be secured

Another important context is provided by the technological possibility of porting water through “bottles.” According to protagonists, bottling of water improves “accessibility” of “safe” water for all at “affordable” prices, though antag-onists argue that this is nothing more than a business venture, where the only motive

trans-is to earn profi t out of a generally minimally priced resource, even at the cost of human health and well-being In the light of such contradictory arguments, avail-ability of bottled water in the market presents an important context which can strongly infl uence realization of the human right to water of the buyers as well as the residents in the local communities from where the water for bottling is mined Chapter seven examines the light and dark faces of the bottled water industry , evalu-ating its position as part of the context in which human right to water is to be realized

Chapter eight further explores the context of bottled water by examining the case

of India where overexploitation of groundwater by industrial giants in the sector leaves the right-holders unprotected, thwarting their enjoyment of the right to water The importance of groundwater resources – on which between 60 and 90 % of the Indian population depends for domestic water needs – needs to be understood in this context After the deregulation of the Indian economy, soft drink manufacturing companies have been establishing manufacturing units all over the country, which depend on groundwater for its production needs Water mining practiced by these companies negatively affects communities that depended on the groundwater resources, and the legal avenues for these people to redress their grievance are also lacking The regulatory atmosphere of groundwater enables this as the law allows

no voice to the dependents of a resource while allowing unlimited groundwater extraction by the owner of the land above Decisions regarding groundwater man-agement and exploitation are taken far away from these communities, and institu-tional structures have not created the spaces for the representation of their interests

In the background of these facts, this chapter explores the legal possibility for an alternate approach, namely, decentralized groundwater management, one that is based on the local self-government institutions

In recent years there has been an increasing emphasis upon promoting private sector participation in water supply initiatives While bottled water industry itself is

a private sector venture in water sector, privatization of the water is often seen more narrowly in terms of sharing of responsibilities in water utilities by private partners Privatization is essentially driven by profi t motive and therefore strongly questioned

on its human rights implications especially in terms of water pricing and service quality Privatization also precludes the scope of user participation in decision- making processes, which is otherwise highlighted as quintessential for “good” and

“effective” water governance as well as human rights realization The private

part-ners can be local, national, or even transnational in character Some of the well- known private partners in the sector are indeed transnational water companies, such

as Veolia, Suez, Biwater, Aqua Vitens Rand Limited (AVRL), and Severn Trent Regulation of such big partners using national legislative frameworks is not easy, and there can be signifi cant challenges in ensuring that they follow their human rights obligations

Chapters nine to eleven focus on the theme of privatization in water sector Chapter nine introduces the discussion on the emergence of privatization in the sec-tor and subsequent weakening of the state institution, both developments being unsuitable from human rights perspective Through illustrative examples the author argues that the current water crisis is not a result of a physical water shortage but wrong political decisions It further contends that privatization of water utilities is also a political decision which has been vehemently opposed, leading to a resur-gence of the public sector in operating and managing water utilities

Chapter ten examines the context of privatization within the broader setting of globalization, a phenomenon which relates to the increased worldwide movement

of fi nance and investment capital, goods, services, people, and information While the proponents say economic globalization has resulted in greater freedom, others strongly deny this The latter points out that while globalization has increased the power of transnational corporations (TNCs) , international fi nancial institutions (IFIs), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and some countries with strong econ-omies, by and large, the developing states have suffered from this process, over which they have little control, especially the right to water which has been recog-nized by the UN as being a fundamental human right IFIs and TNCs exert an increasing infl uence on the human rights of populations worldwide, and they mark

a signifi cant shift in the international order Due to this growing power imbalance, the weaker states are experiencing a heightened diffi culty in asserting the full real-ization of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, wherein the human right to water is primarily seen to belong The existing human rights legal framework is ill-equipped to deal with these actors and the effects of policies, and it does not squarely address the obligations of these actors This chapter explores a way in which these actors may be held accountable for their impacts under existing inter-national human rights law

Chapter eleven considers the context of the recently implemented water tion programs in the developing countries for the provision of improved water ser-vices The negative outcomes and experiences with these experiments have provided

privatiza-a ground to rprivatiza-aise voices thprivatiza-at reclprivatiza-aim publicprivatiza-ally governed wprivatiza-ater services Supported

by lessons learned from traditional, modern, past, and present water management practices and experiences, the chapter presents a framework outlining certain key principles necessary for developing a general public policy framework for improving municipal water services The chapter fi nally tests this framework by examining the perceptions of the actors involved in the decision-making process with regard to integrating the private sector in a case study carried out in Accra, Ghana

Realization of the human right to water can face hurdles in contexts where tries have large-scale dependence upon watercourses that are shared across national

coun-boundaries If proper agreements have not been reached, the upstream country may end up taking the lion’s share of the shared waters, leaving insuffi cient quantities for the downstream one This meager water in turn would require distribution among competing water use sectors, which may ultimately end up leaving too little for the drinking water sector This can potentially threaten the realization of the right to water by the downstream citizens Effectiveness of transboundary water governance hence becomes a contextual issue in realization of the human right to water Chapter twelve explores the context provided by transboundary watercourses and their management for realization of the human right to water Over 40 % of world’s population lives in river and lake basins that are transboundary and more than 90 % actually lives in countries that share basins In recent times, transbound-ary water resources are anticipated to come under stress due to increasing popula-tion, urbanization, rising demand for crop production, changing lifestyles, transforming economies, etc., that place greater demand on water in quantitative terms and contribute to water quality degradation Climate change is expected to further add to the pressures on transboundary waters The human right to water is based in consumptive use of water, and in a competitive transboundary water regime, fulfi llment of the right can meet much challenge Are there known exam-ples where realization of the right has been (potentially) thwarted by ineffi cient management of transboundary water bodies? How exactly can enjoyment of the human right to water be affected in the transboundary water context? How can real-ization of the right be facilitated in transboundary water regimes? These questions are explored in this chapter using evidence from three different transboundary regimes representing diverse nature of problems

Finally, the concluding chapter of the book attempts to integrate the analytical threads presented in the above chapters The different contexts presented in the book are fi rst analyzed under a number of overarching themes On the basis of the analysis, a conceptual framework is developed to help understand the process of realization of human right to water Finally, a way forward for translating the human right to water from concept to reality is defi ned, toward enabling a just, equitable, and sustainable world

References

CEDAW (1979) Convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination against women URL:

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm Accessed 4 Apr 2015

CESCR (2000) General comment no 14 (2000): The right to the highest attainable standard of

health (Article 12) Geneva: United Nations

CESCR (2002) General comment no 15 (2002): The right to water Geneva: United Nations COHRE, AAAS, SDC, & UN-HABITAT (2007) Manual on the right to water and sanitation

Geneva: COHRE

CRC (1989) Convention on the rights of the child URL: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx Accessed 4 Apr 2015

De Albuquerque, C (2014) Realizing the human rights to water and sanitation: A handbook

Offi ce of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to water and sanitation, Portugal

Donnelly, J (2006) Human rights In J S Dryzek, B Honig, & A Phillips (Eds.), The Oxford

handbook of political theory (pp 601–620) Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press

Howard, G., & Bartram, J (2003) Domestic water quantity, service, level and health Geneva:

World Health Organization

ICWE (1992, January 26–31) Development issues for the 21st century (The Dublin statement

report) International Conference on Water and the Environment (ICWE), Dublin

Roshwald, M (1959) The concept of human rights Philos Phenomenol Res, 19 (3), 354–379

UN (1977) Report of the United Nations water conference, Mar del Plata, 14–27 March, 1977

New York: United Nations

UN (2000) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly A/Res/54/175: The right to development

Geneva: United Nations

UN (2006) United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Res 2006/10, Promotion of the realization of the right to drinking water and sanitation, 24 August 2006, UN Doc A/HRC/Sub.1/58/L11, adopting the Draft Guidelines for the realization

of the right to drinking water and sanitation (2005), UN Doc E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/25 UNCED (1992) United Nations conference on environment and development Agenda, 21

UN GA (2010) Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 28 July 2010 64/292: The human

right to water and sanitation Geneva: United Nations

UN HRC (2010) Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council 15/9: Human rights and

access to safe drinking water and sanitation Geneva: United Nations

WHO (2011) Guidelines for drinking-water quality (4th ed.) Geneva: World Health Organization WHO, & UNICEF JMP (2014) Progress on drinking water and sanitation, 2014 update Geneva:

WHO Press

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

N Singh (ed.), The Human Right to Water, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40286-4_2

Realizing the Human Right to Water in Local Communities: An Actor-Oriented Analysis

Nandita Singh

Abstract The human right to water is ultimately to be enjoyed by people as right-

holders – men, women, and children – who live in local communities Action for implementing the right for the people is undertaken by the agencies as duty-bearers However, neither do the duty-bearers implement the actions in an impersonal and neutral manner, nor do the right-holders passively accept these actions and their outcomes as they come The actors on both sides are infl uenced by factors located within their local contexts, the interactions of which at the interface lead to dynamic results This chapter aims to present these realities at the lowest level of action as a practical framework of norm-triads which can be used to assess the situation in any community-level context and design improvements to promote realization of the right

Keywords Human right to water • Actor-oriented perspective • India • Water

sup-ply programs • Right-holders • Duty-bearers • Norm-triad • Interface for right realization

The human right to water entitles everyone to suffi cient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible, and affordable water for personal and domestic uses (CESCR 2002 ) It

is implied within several international treaties, declarations, and human rights instruments and also acknowledged as an inextricable aspect in articles 11 and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1 Access to clean water has been recognized as a fundamental human right, integral to the real-ization of all human rights by the UN General Assembly More recently, the Human Rights Council of the UN by consensus adopted a resolution affi rming that water is

a human right (UN 2010 )

Such recognition is important for a number of reasons First, it clarifi es the role

of states in ensuring access to water Second, it sets standards that can be monitored, for which states can be held accountable Third, it prioritizes access for those

1 This has been done through adoption of General Comment No 15 (CESCR 2002 )

N Singh ( * )

Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering (SEED) , Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) , Stockholm , Sweden

e-mail: nandita@kth.se

currently without access, particularly the vulnerable and marginalized, in a criminatory manner, thereby facilitating its equitable realization

It is widely assumed that action for implementation of the right will enable water access for many of the 748 million in the world who lack the access It is often hypothesized that designing new legal frameworks, processes, and machineries to enable the right will imply that the deprived will be able to secure their right But how true is this assumption in the context of local communities where people – the right-holders – receive the implementation actions? Does implementation of these actions spontaneously lead to universal realization of the right in the community? Considering that the ultimate level of action or instrument through which people’s right to water can be facilitated is water supply programs, this chapter explores these questions by examining the processes through which implementation of water supply programs unfolds in local communities It examines the factors and processes lying at the

“interface” between the right-holders living in the local communities and the bearing agents who implement the programs The process is analyzed from actor-oriented perspective, attempting to identify the microlevel factors that infl uence the actions The analysis leads to development of a framework which can be further used

duty-to identify appropriate realistic correctives duty-to address the bottlenecks identifi ed at the outset, thereby facilitating more universal realization of the right

The fi ndings of this chapter are built upon a qualitative analysis of insights from an empirical study in India that investigated the process and outcomes of rural water sup-ply programs The study was carried out in different selected pockets of rural India, situated in the states of Madhya Pradesh (MP), West Bengal (WB), Bihar, Gujarat, and Orissa The focus of the study was primarily on water quality issues, especially high fl uoride and arsenic in drinking water High concentration of arsenic and/or fl uo-ride in groundwater has emerged as a signifi cant problem in some areas in these states Since rural water supply is primarily dependent upon groundwater, this problem is sought to be addressed through installation of different kinds of technological options for treating affected groundwater or for supplying safe water from alternate sources

Actor-Oriented Perspective and Human Rights: Conceptual Background

The “actor-oriented” perspective is based on the idea of “social interfaces” where people interact Though the word “interface” conveys the image of a two-sided articulation or face-to-face confrontation, social interface situations are actually more complex and multiple in nature, containing within them many different inter-ests, relationships, and modes of rationality and power (Long 1999 )

With respect to human rights, individuals – the right-holders as well as the duty- bearers – are social actors that do not merely act but also react to what happens around them and have the capacity to process social experience and respond accord-ingly Further, they belong to diverse life worlds and have different knowledge con-texts, so they have different interpretations of same situations and events

Consequently, they develop differential responses to similar conditions and cesses, thereby changing the course of events in unpredictable and multidirectional ways (Long 1992 ) Using the concept of “interface,” the actors and the factors in their action contexts were identifi ed in the study to understand the realities with respect to implementation of the human right to water through rural water supply programs Actor-oriented studies on human rights practice contend that people actually live

pro-in a context of legal as well as cultural pluralism and strategically draw from both their cultural and religious norms and formal rights regimes in dealing with real-life situations (Nyamu 2000 ; Nyamu-Musembi 2002 ) Closely related to these actor- oriented studies is the anthropological perspective on “rights as culture” that delin-eates the connections of rights to other aspects of social life and “culture as a heuristic analytical device” whereby culture is to be employed as a means of analyz-ing and better understanding the particular ways that rights processes operate as situated social action (Cowan et al 2001 )

Drawing upon such a conceptual background, the chapter is based on the esis that if the real concern is to investigate the realization of the human right to water , there is a need to examine the process of its implementation at the local level

hypoth-of action This can be at the micro-level where water supply programs are mented in local communities The latter can be seen as presenting an “interface” between the duty- bearers who are engaged in implementing the program and the right- holders who respond in accordance with their socio-cultural situation The hypothesis in the chapter further draws from the concept of “norm-triad” wherein “norms” are defi ned as “action directives” that consist of three dimensions

imple-or sets of factimple-ors, namely, will, knowledge, and system conditions, that offer bilities or constraints (Hydén 2002 , 2008 ) The dimensions of the norm-triad are illustrated in Fig 2.1 It is assumed that since actions occur on both sides of the interface when attempts at implementing the right are made, norms must exist on either side Sometimes, these norms are formal and tangible (e.g., government’s policy and programs), while at other times, these are informal and intangible (e.g., attitudes, cultural concepts, and beliefs)

Law, Policy, and Programs Supporting Implementation

of Human Right to Water in India

India is a signatory to the different human rights instruments, and there have been consistent efforts on part of the state to facilitate exercise of the human right to water Among Constitutional safeguards, Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to protection of life, within the scope of which right to safe drinking water

is recognized (FIAN 2004 )

At the policy level, there have been attempts at promoting the needs and interests

of all as water users Consecutive National Water Policies have recognized the vision of adequate safe drinking water facilities as one of the priority areas for action (MWR 1987 , 2002 ) Similarly, since women are recognized as the primary

pro-domestic water managers, the National Policy on Empowerment of Women rants special attention to their needs in the provision of safe drinking water within the accessible reach of households (DWCD 2001 )

For translating the policy guidelines into action, a number of interventions have been designed and implemented Provision of water supply has been organized as a

“mission” activity and a number of target-oriented programs implemented for more than four decades The oldest and most widespread program has been the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Program initiated in 1972–1973 and aims at ensuring coverage

of all rural habitations and especially reaching the “unreached” with access to safe drinking water “Access” to safe water is defi ned in the following terms: provision

of 40 l per capita per day (lpcd) of drinking water for human beings, with one hand pump or standpost for every 250 persons, and availability of water source (either private or public) in the habitation or within 1.6 km in the plains and 100 m eleva-tion in hilly areas

Potable water for humans in the government’s policy context is meant for ing the following daily requirements: drinking, cooking, bathing, washing, and ablution Special initiatives have been taken for tackling the problem of severe water shortage (in arid zones) and that of groundwater quality (in areas with high fl uoride and arsenic) Gender concern in these interventions has also been expressed with women as the focal target group to be benefi ted through domestic water supply programs that are to be facilitated through provision of new, improved, reliable, and

Fig 2.1 Norm-triad (Source: Hydén 2008 )