Water, water everywhere, and you’re entitled to a drop.

As scientists warn that the world’s fresh water supplies will soon run critically short, and companies scramble to privatize them, some researchers and activists say water should be considered a basic human right. “Access to clean water, which is essential for health, is under threat,” write the editors of Public Library of Science Medicine in an essay published Monday. In terms of intellectual coherency, the idea passes muster. Water’s just as essential to life as food, which makes an appearance in Article 25 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

As of now, the World Health Organization estimates that inadequate water is responsible for nearly one-tenth of the world’s disease burden, and that six percent of all deaths could be prevented by universal access to safe drinking water and better sanitation. Of course, it’s a lot easier to declare a right than to enforce it. Despite the UN’s pledge to end hunger, nearly a billion people don’t have enough to eat. And the UN’s promise to halve the number of water-impoverished people by 2015 has a snowball’s chance in the Sahara of being met. But as the PLoS Medicine editors point out, recognizing water as a human right would at least provide a framework for dealing with water privatization.

Over the last 20 years, with the help of the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization, water has become a $500 billion global industry dominated by just three companies. According to reports published by the nonprofit Food and Water Watch, it’s been a disaster in both the United States and the developing world. “This model has proven to be a failure,” wrote Maude Barlow, senior advisor on water issues to the UN General Assembly’s president, in an essay published last year. “High water rates, cut-offs to the poor, reduced services, broken promises and pollution have been the legacy of privatization.”

According to the UN, 2.8 billion people won’t have enough water to meet their basic needs by 2025. “A human rights approach to water recognizes the potential for inequity and ensures that the most vulnerable are not ignored,” write the editors.

(Wired, 30/06/2009)