StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Is Water a Natural Right or Is It a Commodity - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Is Water a Natural Right or Is It a Commodity" states that privatization of water is more disadvantageous than when the government had the role of supplying water. For a resource that is as vital as water, the negative results from privatization are unacceptable…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.9% of users find it useful
Is Water a Natural Right or Is It a Commodity
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Is Water a Natural Right or Is It a Commodity"

Download file to see previous pages

Different civilizations throughout history considered water as a mutual property resource and not an open access resource. Hence there were different priorities over water usage. Drinking water had the highest priority; nobody who wanted drinking water was turned away. The community well dug by the community, in general, was freely used by the community. A civilization like Rome shows a typical example of how water was allocated when there was an actual allocation and sanitation system. They had an unrestricted water source recognized as the locus.

Here the Romans rich or poor could collect water for free. The use of lacus required one to transport the water to their private homes using their labor and money. Then there was another kind of executive supply of water whereby the water would be delivered to the homestead via a pipe for a fee. It was an actual right recognized by the Roman and Jewish law which was known as the “Right to thirst”. This shows that human beings since the early civilization have recognized water especially drinking water as a human right and not a commodity (Branco, 150).

In today’s world, international human rights and law have been put in place which acknowledges water as a human right and not a commodity. This was agreed on after a lot of discussion and debate by 122 countries. This decision was arrived at formally on 28 July 2010. This was done in a General Assembly (GA) resolution (A/64/292 which was established on draft resolution A/64/L>63/Rev.1.) It led to the UN Human Rights Council espousing an obligatory resolution that acknowledged that the human right to water and sanitation is an element of the right to a sufficient standard of living.

Although it is recognized in international law it cannot be imposed in the national echelon until it’s integrated into the national legislation (Gupta, 304). This resolution confirms that the human right to nontoxic drinking water and sanitation originated from the right to an adequate standard of living and is inextricably tied to the right to the highest possible standard of physical and mental health, also the right to life and human dignity. This right places several responsibilities on governments.

They are meant to ensure that all their citizens can access sufficient, uncontaminated water and affordable in an equal manner. Some of the uses that water should be availed for include drinking, personal sanitation, washing clothes, food preparation, and personal hygiene. The States should ensure that priority should go to personal and domestic uses over other uses. This water should be sufficient, cleanly affordable, and accessible. Governments should also take up secondary priorities of irrigation and availing water for manufacturing in an affordable manner (International water sanitation center, 204).

The number of people unable to access clean and improved sources of domestic and drinking water is 780 million and at least 2.6 billion lacking access to sanitation services. This shows that still, a lot has to be done to make sure water is accessible to all on the planet. Other problems that have afflicted secure and accessible sourcing of water are the cross-border conflicts in the Middle East, The Eastern Mediterranean, and other parts of North America. 

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Is water a natural right or is it a commodity Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved de https://studentshare.org/macro-microeconomics/1495180-is-water-a-natural-right-or-is-it-a-commodity
(Is Water a Natural Right or Is It a Commodity Essay)
https://studentshare.org/macro-microeconomics/1495180-is-water-a-natural-right-or-is-it-a-commodity.
“Is Water a Natural Right or Is It a Commodity Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/macro-microeconomics/1495180-is-water-a-natural-right-or-is-it-a-commodity.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Is Water a Natural Right or Is It a Commodity

Human Rights in Development

Theorists advocating the contention that 'water is a right' argue that since water is a natural rheostatic is essential to our survival as humans, access to clean water must also be considered a basic human right (Okonski, 2009).... Water in some parts of the world is considered a priced commodity as many people travel many miles to avail of it.... Others however opine that water as a priced commodity is not consistent with the water right....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Water and Gender

This paper ''Water and Gender'' tells us that gender means the societal responsibilities that males and females play and the authority associations between them that mainly possess a deep influence on the application and control of natural reserves.... Women play an important function in the control of natural reserves etc....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Stories of Strange Lights in the Skies after Earthquake

The paper "Stories of Strange Lights in the Skies after Earthquake" states that the EQL came from small pockets of trapped natural gas that are released and ignited by friction during an earthquake and produces the effect of lights.... natural gas is lighter than air, which can escape and scatter.... Later, Yasui concluded that 18 of the 34 detailed accounts could not be elucidated by known lighting activities like twilight, zodiacal light, auroras, meteors, and other sources and the other 16 accounts cannot be considered natural phenomena (Wagner, 1978)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Water as a Human Right

The author of this paper "Water as a Human right" casts light on the essence of water.... Following the growing problem in the accessibility of safe water in different parts of the world, different international organizations such as the UN and the World Health Organizations have been on the forefront in advocating for the recognition of saving water accessibility as a human right (Moench 2003).... The concept of property rights and privatization has extended into the prevailing debate on the water as a human right....
8 Pages (2000 words) Research Paper

Human Rights and Natural Law Theory

The writer of this essay "Human Rights and natural Law Theory" aims to investigate whether there are contradictions between human rights and natural law theory.... At such, the essay will critically discuss natural law ethics in contrast with legal human rights regulations....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Water as a Human Right

This paper explores the moral reasoning and ethical principles surrounding the view of water as the human right with the aim of developing a moral stance on the issue.... The author states that the concept of property rights has extended into the prevailing debate on water as a human right.... Endorsement of water as a human right by the UN triggered a heated debate on the ethical issues surrounding extensively covered by different scholars.... Recognition of water as a human right not only guarantees accessibility of safe water to all people but also provides an avenue to eliminate existing injustices in the distribution of resources Environmental activists have applied different moral theories to support and detest activities and decisions surrounding the use of water resources and other natural resources....
5 Pages (1250 words) Assignment

Should Water Supply Privatization Be Allowed

However, efforts by some multi-nationals, to trade water as a commodity by exporting it from one country to another, are gaining momentum.... An author of this paper will describe arguments in support as well as against the thesis that the water supply should not be privatized, as it is the basic human right for all.... Therefore, the writer will discuss the consequences of water monopolization in recent years.... water distribution has remained a challenge for different administrations throughout the world....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

Should Water Be Commodified

For, unless the nations seriously consider managing water as an economic good and, at the same time, veer away from understanding water as a human right, the globe is very likely to face a prospect of health, economic and security crises.... This is accounted for by the sturdiness of the tradition of perceiving water as a human right.... The "Should water Be Commodified" paper argues that with the global platform as the locus where debates are usually fiercely happening, the position of the World Bank to bankroll its policy for privatization of water distribution is met by invigorated opposition from environmentalists and communities....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us