Its true that Stockholm World Water Week (WWW) is without doubt one of the most significant events in the water conference circuit. It attracts over 2500 delegates (many of whom the foremost experts in their field) from over 100 countries. It’s clear and fairly obvious that amongst other things it’s an important forum for debate and the swapping of new ideas, scientific concepts and technical expertise. On the face of it this activity must make WWW a good thing though – right? Well yes, of course, in order to improve the quantity of those provided with clean water and sanitation and its quality its good that there are people and organisations working towards that goal, and WWW for getting people together to discuss such things must be given some credit.
Yet… the concentration on the technocratic can make WWW a flat and dispiriting experience. Especially, for those working towards the consideration of alternatives to the dominance of the current shade of politics and governance: yes the one that preaches self-interest and markets no matter the social and environmental impacts. Little analysis is given at WWW to the political systems, choices and policies that perpetuate the crisis of inequitable water allocation and lack of provision in the world. It is a very uncritical and unquestioning environment in this context… however, that’s not to say its not political – it is! It is a certain brand however, one that lingers beneath the surface….and which will be discussed below.
When reflecting about WWW 2008 it has taken me some time to grapple and think about what was taking place this week. Sadly the conclusions from this year mirror once again those of las year. Nonetheless, last year was still a bit simpler to report; a small group punched well above its weight with a great bit of activism and campaigning. Notably against Nestle, who were welcomed back this year again – I’m afraid a clear sign of where SIWI, (the organisers of WWW) stands and indeed overall where the WWW does too. At the final plenary Anders Berntell, the Director of WWW, took time in his speech to respond to criticisms of Nestles sponsorship, stating that as one of the worlds biggest food supplier’s it was important to engage with such companies. He omitted to speak of the legitimacy WWW welcoming Nestle gives their CSR strategy. Neither, unsurprisingly! did he raise the ‘slightly’ thorny, but true, issue of the ‘couple of elephants’ in the living room: that its because of the likes of Nestle seizing private ownership of land and freshwater and their driving up of demand and consumption that leads to people doing without water and the exploitation of people and the environment. But…I digress…i should explain the empty void that I often felt during my time in Stockholm.
This feeling was not what I hoped for. 5 days in a beautiful city, surrounded by islands and water researching a subject close to my heart was not meant to lead to feelings of weariness as I made my way from my hotel to the venue at Stockholm International Fairs. It was not just conference fatigue either. A clue to why my mood was what it was is found in the comments of Mr Berntell. For despite the technocratic nature of WWW it masks the underpinning ideology pervading throughout WWW in the conference halls, seminars, workshops, side events, discussions and public areas and as such that which is found in the very influential actors active in the water sector. It is the value system which avoids the politics of progressive alternatives: embraces the politics of free markets; supports the public bad private good ethos; often blames bad governance on – more often than not - public utilities; speaks and writes of corruption in countries of the south whilst ignoring that in the north (for instance there is nothing in the WIN report on corruption about the practice of overestimating costs and then overcharging customers in the UK which has led to prosecutions of some of the major privatised companies in the UK) and which lectures those suggesting progressive alternatives about being ideological dreamers and how they are merely ‘pragmatic’ realists .
However, it was one of these so called dreams – the Global Water Operator Partnership Alliance (GWOPA) process –that lifted this observer’s spirits! This process is not just simple idealism however, its purely common sense. To help address the MDG’s it is entirely rational and logical too, or at least try to, include the 90% or so of the worlds water utilities who are still public in doing so. Ideally, the GWOPA - borne from the concept of Public Public Partnerships - is also about tackling the scandal of unequal water allocation based on principles of social solidarity and cooperation, participation and democracy. There are clear dangers to such an initiative, especially as the Private Water TNC’s reconfigure and look for new markets and opportunities, but the hope and the light that GWOPA provide is something worth fighting for and clinging to. Nowhere during WWW was anybody or anything else discussing genuine participation by civic society in the form of trade unions, NGO’s, public utility manager’s (strikingly these managers were nowhere to be seen during WWW) or citizen participation. This is why when times are difficult and feelings of political impotency are omnipresent that we should and indeed have to carry on. Where else will the ideas and vision come from? Where else the alternatives to the current prevailing ideology and proposals? Where else the strength and the fight against private self interest and exploitation? I reminded myself of this when leaving WWW for the last time this week: and is why, ultimately, I left not dispirited but alive and re-energised: reactivated to the fact that it’s important to witness and to hear and to remind ourselves of the fight for what we are against but much more importantly of what we are for
Sunday, 24 August 2008
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Stealth privatisation of Stockholm's water utility continues
In a statement issued at the occasion of World Water Week, Jan-Erik Gustafsson of the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology warns against reforms initiated by Stockholm's rightwing municipal government which threaten the future of the city's world-class public utility, Stockholm Vatten. The municipal government has in the last year moved a range of the utility's activities into five new subsidiary companies, three of which have already been sold off. This asset stripping has resulted in “major job losses”.
Water sector professionals, Gustafsson writes, suspect the municipal government is preparing the whole utility for EU-level tendering, including core tasks such as drinking water supply and sanitation. European multinationals like Veolia and Suez would be lining up to take over the company.
Gustafsson points out that the privatisation process happens without transparency and participation of the water consumers. He observes the irony that the privatisation push in Stockholm happens at a time when the mayor of Paris has decided not to renew the contract with Veolia and Suez and instead will remunicipalise the city's water services. World Water Week was initiated by Stockholm Vatten in the early 1990's.
Water sector professionals, Gustafsson writes, suspect the municipal government is preparing the whole utility for EU-level tendering, including core tasks such as drinking water supply and sanitation. European multinationals like Veolia and Suez would be lining up to take over the company.
Gustafsson points out that the privatisation process happens without transparency and participation of the water consumers. He observes the irony that the privatisation push in Stockholm happens at a time when the mayor of Paris has decided not to renew the contract with Veolia and Suez and instead will remunicipalise the city's water services. World Water Week was initiated by Stockholm Vatten in the early 1990's.
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Controversy around Nestle sponsoring World Water Week 2008
In 2007, the organisers of World Water Week faced heavy criticism and protest actions for allowing Nestle to sponsor the conference and for serving bottled water to the participants. For this year's edition of World Water Week, the organisers have skipped the bottled water, but Nestle again features as the prime sponsor of the event.
Swedish public television STV earlier this week reported on the controversy around Nestle's sponsorship, featuring an interview with America Vera Zavala of ATTAC Sweden. Zavala asks how the organisers of World Water Week could allow a corporation with such a problematic record and such clear interests in expanding unsustainable bottled water consumption to sponsor the conference. Watch the interview with America Vera Zavala and reactions from the World Water Week organisers as well as Nestle here (in Swedish).
The STV website also features a short article about these issues: "Kritik mot sponsor av vattenveckan". Here is a rough translation:
Critique of sponsor World Water Week
Criticism is voiced from several sides against World Water Week, which is taking place in Stockholm. The event is sponsored by Nestle, the world's biggets producer of bottled water, which has caused anger in the alterglobalist movement, among others. America Vera Zavala of Attac Sweden says it is problematic that the organisers link up with a corporation that has such clear interests. World Water Week's manager Andes Berntell had some understanding for the critique but says it is better to communicate with large firms than to exclude them. Nestle rejects the critique and highlights that the firm has reduced its water consumption and CO2 emissions in recent years. Nestle Vice-President Jose Lopez claims it is only 0,0009% of Nestle's water use that eventually is consumed in the form of bottled water.
Swedish public television STV earlier this week reported on the controversy around Nestle's sponsorship, featuring an interview with America Vera Zavala of ATTAC Sweden. Zavala asks how the organisers of World Water Week could allow a corporation with such a problematic record and such clear interests in expanding unsustainable bottled water consumption to sponsor the conference. Watch the interview with America Vera Zavala and reactions from the World Water Week organisers as well as Nestle here (in Swedish).The STV website also features a short article about these issues: "Kritik mot sponsor av vattenveckan". Here is a rough translation:
Critique of sponsor World Water Week
Criticism is voiced from several sides against World Water Week, which is taking place in Stockholm. The event is sponsored by Nestle, the world's biggets producer of bottled water, which has caused anger in the alterglobalist movement, among others. America Vera Zavala of Attac Sweden says it is problematic that the organisers link up with a corporation that has such clear interests. World Water Week's manager Andes Berntell had some understanding for the critique but says it is better to communicate with large firms than to exclude them. Nestle rejects the critique and highlights that the firm has reduced its water consumption and CO2 emissions in recent years. Nestle Vice-President Jose Lopez claims it is only 0,0009% of Nestle's water use that eventually is consumed in the form of bottled water.
Monday, 20 August 2007
Some reflections
The week spent at World Water Week has left me with a variety of conflicting feelings. Inspired and humbled by working alongside such committed and interesting people in the fight for an equitable and just allocation of water and sanitation: but, angry by the pursuit still, of market solutions to their provision for those without. Despite the evidence that the investment required to address the lack of clean water was not forthcoming from the private sector, the prescriptions promoted in Stockholm by the vast majority were still to involve the private sector. It really does beg the question which bit of the fact; the private sector won’t invest in providing water for the poorest people in the world, isn’t yet understood?!
The European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) mid-term review of its work in Africa, offered a window into this outlook. Their presentation of their Forward Strategy and Work Plan expressed disappointment at the lack of private finance for the EUWI projects in Africa. Nevertheless, they still recommended that they would redouble their efforts to involve the private sector. Doh! It is now unequivocal, their own and other evidence shows it, the private sector simply won’t invest without the guarantee of profit: and the poorest communities do not offer that guarantee.
Of course, if visiting World Water Week from the wider galaxy you would get the impression that the proponents of private solutions have the interests of the all the world’s poor as their number one priority. And, that their policies are the fail safe way of achieving the MDG’s. If the Martian’s stayed long enough to see and hear the evidence beyond the warm words written by the PR men they would soon see that their private intentions and actions more often than not don’t correspond with their public utterances. Kevin Wall, of CSIR in South Africa, sees water provision in South Africa and elsewhere as an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to open franchises – with all the detrimental implications that that idea brings to the principle of cross-subsidisation. He suggests water franchisees as offering similar opportunities to those like Macdonalds franchisees – no it was no (sick) joke, he really did intimate this!
Listening to asset managers speak at the founders business seminar on Wednesday, led me to question just who actually are the extra-terrestrials? At this meeting, where all were seemingly surrounded by likeminded self-interested souls, their guard came down and their mindset was revealed. They said things like “water is a tremendous business opportunity – because there is no substitute to water”; or, when one was asked what they had learned from this week and answered, “money – I really didn’t realise just how much money there is in water”; or “water systems in the western world are ready for private takeover”. All these alone would illustrate to any would-be visitors from the cosmos that pro-poor speeches are simply rhetoric with little substance.
In relation to the theme of sustainability – the major plank of the week – the conference really sent out the wrong message with the recruitment of Nestle as the main sponsor. This was re-enforced during the synthesis panel on Friday. One of Nestles’ PR team attended – presumably this was part of the package. SIWI asked a question to him on consumption patterns and whether they were supply or demand driven and if it was a question of supply would they alter their corporate strategy in the name of sustainability; even if it ate into profits? The inadequacy of his response and the eventual assertion – after being pressed - that it was demand driven was without any analysis or evidence, and what’s more the supposedly slick PR man knew it himself. Hence his reluctance to say so! While it was good SIWI asked the question it was too little too late: having them in the first place was plain wrong.
One final point on pricing: there was much said by business on it during the week. They regularly spoke of how agriculture were the main users and how it was literally free for them to waste water, even some with links to agriculture said this. Their argument was that only pricing could control use. Indeed some control and regulation of over-use is required – this is undoubtedly an area for discussion and debate. However we should note that they offered only full scale market solutions with no thought on how a pricing system would impact the poor. Indeed it had the feel of a solution that realised water depletion was an issue and that they wanted to use pricing as a means to seize control of supplies - knowing full well that only they had the means to purchase if fully priced.
So often this week, it was said that the finance was there, but there was just not the projects to invest in. This view is puzzling for us mere mortals on earth let alone anyone else. For what greater project can there be to provide water to those 1.4 billion without clean water and those 2.5 billion without sanitation? This is the one and only project: but, for the private sector there is no incentive in striving to achieve the addressing this modern day shame. For us not inclined to promote market solutions, the solution, while not simple, is clear. Focus and redouble our efforts, not to involve the private sector, but to organise and finance world-wide those communities and public utilities that have local expertise and knowledge with social solidarity at heart and a commitment to solve the current, scandalous state of affairs where so many do without.
The European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) mid-term review of its work in Africa, offered a window into this outlook. Their presentation of their Forward Strategy and Work Plan expressed disappointment at the lack of private finance for the EUWI projects in Africa. Nevertheless, they still recommended that they would redouble their efforts to involve the private sector. Doh! It is now unequivocal, their own and other evidence shows it, the private sector simply won’t invest without the guarantee of profit: and the poorest communities do not offer that guarantee.
Of course, if visiting World Water Week from the wider galaxy you would get the impression that the proponents of private solutions have the interests of the all the world’s poor as their number one priority. And, that their policies are the fail safe way of achieving the MDG’s. If the Martian’s stayed long enough to see and hear the evidence beyond the warm words written by the PR men they would soon see that their private intentions and actions more often than not don’t correspond with their public utterances. Kevin Wall, of CSIR in South Africa, sees water provision in South Africa and elsewhere as an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to open franchises – with all the detrimental implications that that idea brings to the principle of cross-subsidisation. He suggests water franchisees as offering similar opportunities to those like Macdonalds franchisees – no it was no (sick) joke, he really did intimate this!
Listening to asset managers speak at the founders business seminar on Wednesday, led me to question just who actually are the extra-terrestrials? At this meeting, where all were seemingly surrounded by likeminded self-interested souls, their guard came down and their mindset was revealed. They said things like “water is a tremendous business opportunity – because there is no substitute to water”; or, when one was asked what they had learned from this week and answered, “money – I really didn’t realise just how much money there is in water”; or “water systems in the western world are ready for private takeover”. All these alone would illustrate to any would-be visitors from the cosmos that pro-poor speeches are simply rhetoric with little substance.
In relation to the theme of sustainability – the major plank of the week – the conference really sent out the wrong message with the recruitment of Nestle as the main sponsor. This was re-enforced during the synthesis panel on Friday. One of Nestles’ PR team attended – presumably this was part of the package. SIWI asked a question to him on consumption patterns and whether they were supply or demand driven and if it was a question of supply would they alter their corporate strategy in the name of sustainability; even if it ate into profits? The inadequacy of his response and the eventual assertion – after being pressed - that it was demand driven was without any analysis or evidence, and what’s more the supposedly slick PR man knew it himself. Hence his reluctance to say so! While it was good SIWI asked the question it was too little too late: having them in the first place was plain wrong.
One final point on pricing: there was much said by business on it during the week. They regularly spoke of how agriculture were the main users and how it was literally free for them to waste water, even some with links to agriculture said this. Their argument was that only pricing could control use. Indeed some control and regulation of over-use is required – this is undoubtedly an area for discussion and debate. However we should note that they offered only full scale market solutions with no thought on how a pricing system would impact the poor. Indeed it had the feel of a solution that realised water depletion was an issue and that they wanted to use pricing as a means to seize control of supplies - knowing full well that only they had the means to purchase if fully priced.
So often this week, it was said that the finance was there, but there was just not the projects to invest in. This view is puzzling for us mere mortals on earth let alone anyone else. For what greater project can there be to provide water to those 1.4 billion without clean water and those 2.5 billion without sanitation? This is the one and only project: but, for the private sector there is no incentive in striving to achieve the addressing this modern day shame. For us not inclined to promote market solutions, the solution, while not simple, is clear. Focus and redouble our efforts, not to involve the private sector, but to organise and finance world-wide those communities and public utilities that have local expertise and knowledge with social solidarity at heart and a commitment to solve the current, scandalous state of affairs where so many do without.
Saturday, 18 August 2007
Stockholm Water: An view from Scotland
As someone who had read, researched and cited Stockholm as a company that we in the UK could learn from and aspire towards I was saddened, though not surprised, to hear of the current changes and unbundling of the different services it provides. This tactic of unbundling is currently en-vogue amongst the private companies. In Scotland for instance the non-domestic sector has been unbundled from the domestic sector and in England there is much talk that they will also follow this path. At the same time the trans-national private sector are looking to re-configure themselves by gaining contracts and short-term leases and stakes in risk free, efficient companies with sound up to date infrastructure and guaranteed profits from an affluent customer base. Companies just like Stockholm Vatten in fact.
We should be clear these changes in Stockholm can only be based on fundamentalist free-market ideology. The changes will not improve the service that Stockhom Vatten currently provides. In fact there is a huge body of evidence from elsewhere in the world that the opposite is likely to happen. It will result in rising costs for the users, huge profits for the companies and exploitation of the workers. What’s more any notion of social solidarity will be lost. As we have seen with the abandonment of its international service and the cuts to its public education resource.
Hearing both the PM of Sweden and the Deputy Mayor of Stockholm on Monday it helped me understand the political context from where this emphasis on providing only core services is coming. The Deputy Mayor, Michael Sorderlund, offered an especially shockingly misguided and blinkered analysis. Amongst other things he said, “water is an everyday commodity to be sold to consumers” – yes ok but what about those who cant afford it; “property is not a threat – it is the key to environmental solutions!” – so consumption and the drive for economic growth is nothing to with the advent of climate change and water depletion!; and, that “it was economic growth that led to the improvements in water provision in Stockholm over the last century”. Obviously suffering from amnesia or perhaps a heavy night on Sunday he also failed to mention how progressive taxation and pricing, the toil of the workers and that notions of collectivism – not individualism - and social solidarity led to a sound and clean water services – both in Stockholm and indeed all over the world.
The paradox of Stockholm Water is that this ideology is based on an assumption that the market is always best and most effective way to provide a service. But Water Privatisation’s elsewhere tells us that this prevailing wisdom cannot be further from the truth. Globally, we have seen how privatisation cannot simultaneously ensure low costs, an equal allocation for all, environmental protection and adequate investment whilst still providing a dividend for its shareholders. Something has got to give: and you can be sure it’s not going to be the dividend.
Stockhom Vatten is clearly in peril. If privatised or even simply commercialised there will be serious consequences and implications for the people of Stockholm. There will also be implications for people elsewhere in Sweden for once they get Stockholm they will spread their tentacles further. As such I hope that our Swedish friends can mobilise and organise to fight these illogical and nonsensical changes. It’s important both for the users of water in Sweden and in the wider battle for community and collectivism against the forces of self-interest and individualism.
We should be clear these changes in Stockholm can only be based on fundamentalist free-market ideology. The changes will not improve the service that Stockhom Vatten currently provides. In fact there is a huge body of evidence from elsewhere in the world that the opposite is likely to happen. It will result in rising costs for the users, huge profits for the companies and exploitation of the workers. What’s more any notion of social solidarity will be lost. As we have seen with the abandonment of its international service and the cuts to its public education resource.
Hearing both the PM of Sweden and the Deputy Mayor of Stockholm on Monday it helped me understand the political context from where this emphasis on providing only core services is coming. The Deputy Mayor, Michael Sorderlund, offered an especially shockingly misguided and blinkered analysis. Amongst other things he said, “water is an everyday commodity to be sold to consumers” – yes ok but what about those who cant afford it; “property is not a threat – it is the key to environmental solutions!” – so consumption and the drive for economic growth is nothing to with the advent of climate change and water depletion!; and, that “it was economic growth that led to the improvements in water provision in Stockholm over the last century”. Obviously suffering from amnesia or perhaps a heavy night on Sunday he also failed to mention how progressive taxation and pricing, the toil of the workers and that notions of collectivism – not individualism - and social solidarity led to a sound and clean water services – both in Stockholm and indeed all over the world.
The paradox of Stockholm Water is that this ideology is based on an assumption that the market is always best and most effective way to provide a service. But Water Privatisation’s elsewhere tells us that this prevailing wisdom cannot be further from the truth. Globally, we have seen how privatisation cannot simultaneously ensure low costs, an equal allocation for all, environmental protection and adequate investment whilst still providing a dividend for its shareholders. Something has got to give: and you can be sure it’s not going to be the dividend.
Stockhom Vatten is clearly in peril. If privatised or even simply commercialised there will be serious consequences and implications for the people of Stockholm. There will also be implications for people elsewhere in Sweden for once they get Stockholm they will spread their tentacles further. As such I hope that our Swedish friends can mobilise and organise to fight these illogical and nonsensical changes. It’s important both for the users of water in Sweden and in the wider battle for community and collectivism against the forces of self-interest and individualism.
Friday, 17 August 2007
Water Justice Message Delivered at World Water Week 2007
Well it has been a phenomenal week for our movement...
Not least of all because it confirms a quote Olivier sent me just before I headed over to Stockholm.... ' Never doubt what a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that has. Margaret Mead.
Was it as profound as that? For me it was.
I am now on my way home after this brilliant week of working in Stockholm with this small, but committed, group of water activists. During the week we shook up the otherwise staid world of the global water mafia. We won over many conference members with well reasoned arguments, materials and even some direct action. We placed articles in all major Swedish media. We welcomed new members into the water justice movement and solidified old allegiances.
The Swedish activists we worked with received an injection of energy into their efforts to protect Stockholm Vatten (Water) from privatisation - this public ulility is one of the world's most efficient water companies, yet this is no protection from ideology.
It is impossible to write down all the initiatives of the week, but here are some that come to mind...
Direct action protest against Nestle's sponsorship of the World Water Forum. Nestle is the world's largest bottled water company and the world's largest food company. During the week they reported first half of the year profits of over 4 Billion USD. We sent our message outside an official event Nestle held at the WWW using placards and leaflets as well as chants and coins in water bottles symbolizing profit from water.
Public event focused on supporting protection of Stockholm Vatten - Stockholm's public water company and a shining example of good public management delivering quality water at an affordable rate. Wonderful presentations and informed debate from the floor made this an inspiring event even though the temperature of the room resembled that of a sauna!
Within hours leaflets, banners and other materials were collectively written and printed. Plans were hatched and tasks divided. With around a dozen activists working together we were far outnumbered by the neo-liberal deal-makers, but everyday there was a new story about our work in the media and visible signs of our engagement inside the forum.
And the most amazing thing of all is that these plans and work all came together within two weeks of the beginning of the event! Partially because this was the height of the Swedish holiday season, but also because this was our first engagement at the forum and people were going separately for differing reasons.
This is only a small sample of all the good work that was done. Next year we will need to build on this success. I am convinced that this meeting is the most dangerous gathering for the realization of water as a human right. There are well-meaning academics and technical people at the event trying to present their research but they are dwarfed by the donor countries, private water companies, UN agencies and International Finance Institutions making back room deals and plotting for their next water grab. It was far, far, worse than I could have imagined. There were almost as many closed, by-invitation-only, meetings as open sessions.
All for now, below is a note with a sample of some links which one of our Swedish friends from ATTAC compiled.
Anil Naidoo
Blue Planet Project
Hallo!
Our efforts to make people look with critical eyes at the WWW culminated yesterday when the public meeting at ABF-huset moved the focus to the threat against Stockholm Water coming from the new political majority in Stockholm.
Stockholm Water has been kind of a positive international icon among public water utilites. Both the international acitvists, the Swedish aciivists and the reopresenttavis from Swdish Trade Union of the Municipality workers agreed that now is the time to mobilize against the sneak privatization.
The union's paper Kommunalarbetaren is topping on the web with a report from our meeting, written by Ann Christin Sjölander whoi has also written the book "The water business : corporations versus people" Look at "Don't Sell out our Water!"!" http://www.kommunalarbetaren.se/index.cfm?n=1644&o=1591&c=77164
The same day Aftonbladet published a big op-ed written by Anil Naidoo, Blue Planet Network and me titled Vatten = Politik. Diskussionen får inte tas över av teknokrater och företagsledare. http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/article576391.ab
This op-ed is also on the web in an English version http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/op-ed-ciriticising-world-water-week.html
The Editors op-ed in the magazine ETC (paper version) is written on the same theme by me."Don't touch our water!" http://etc.se/veckans_ledare/15420/roer-inte-vart-vatten
The Nestlé acton on Wednesday (at the same time critzising the organizers behind WWW) was also a success.Look at Protest mot Nestlés sponsring av Världsvattenveckan http://www.yelah.net/news/20070816161212
Pictures and some commentaries are also on:
Mai Simonsen, FIVAS, Norge http://www.flickr.com/photos/11576295@N06/
Vattenaktivisternas blogg http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/protest-action-during-nestl-seminar.html
Anericas blogg http://americavz.com/blogg/?p=214
Tommy Kane's presentation at the ABF-meeting brought "A warning from England and Scotland" Tommy underlined that the commercialization of the scottish activities to distribute water and treat waste water in many ways is like what is happening in Sweden just now. It is impossible for the politicians to just sell out the plants - therefore they advance step by step in a more subtile way. We will later send out Tommy's Powerpoint presentation. I also recommend his reports from inside the WWW published on the blog
Tommy Kane: Solidarity http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/solidarity.html
Tommy Kane: Behind Closed Doors http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/behind-closed-doors.html
"Water is a Human Right" - a column in Göteborgs-Posten, written by Lars Henriksson, a metal worker and a member of Attac http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=421&a=362678 "There is Something Rotten in the People's House" By Lasse Karlsson at Attac's blog. http://www.attac.se/blogg/
"Knowledge is Already Availabe" A short commentary in Dagen http://www.dagen.se/dagen/Article.aspx?ID=139673
Sweden denies visas to Nigerians for the water week" Yelah on the web http://www.yelah.net/news/20070813112359
Future Occurencies at the Waterfront Helsingborgs Dagblad A comment to Fredrik Reinfeldt's speech http://hd.se/ledare/2007/08/14/framtidens-haendelser-vid-vatten/
Not least of all because it confirms a quote Olivier sent me just before I headed over to Stockholm.... ' Never doubt what a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that has. Margaret Mead.
Was it as profound as that? For me it was.
I am now on my way home after this brilliant week of working in Stockholm with this small, but committed, group of water activists. During the week we shook up the otherwise staid world of the global water mafia. We won over many conference members with well reasoned arguments, materials and even some direct action. We placed articles in all major Swedish media. We welcomed new members into the water justice movement and solidified old allegiances.
The Swedish activists we worked with received an injection of energy into their efforts to protect Stockholm Vatten (Water) from privatisation - this public ulility is one of the world's most efficient water companies, yet this is no protection from ideology.
It is impossible to write down all the initiatives of the week, but here are some that come to mind...
Direct action protest against Nestle's sponsorship of the World Water Forum. Nestle is the world's largest bottled water company and the world's largest food company. During the week they reported first half of the year profits of over 4 Billion USD. We sent our message outside an official event Nestle held at the WWW using placards and leaflets as well as chants and coins in water bottles symbolizing profit from water.
Public event focused on supporting protection of Stockholm Vatten - Stockholm's public water company and a shining example of good public management delivering quality water at an affordable rate. Wonderful presentations and informed debate from the floor made this an inspiring event even though the temperature of the room resembled that of a sauna!
Within hours leaflets, banners and other materials were collectively written and printed. Plans were hatched and tasks divided. With around a dozen activists working together we were far outnumbered by the neo-liberal deal-makers, but everyday there was a new story about our work in the media and visible signs of our engagement inside the forum.
And the most amazing thing of all is that these plans and work all came together within two weeks of the beginning of the event! Partially because this was the height of the Swedish holiday season, but also because this was our first engagement at the forum and people were going separately for differing reasons.
This is only a small sample of all the good work that was done. Next year we will need to build on this success. I am convinced that this meeting is the most dangerous gathering for the realization of water as a human right. There are well-meaning academics and technical people at the event trying to present their research but they are dwarfed by the donor countries, private water companies, UN agencies and International Finance Institutions making back room deals and plotting for their next water grab. It was far, far, worse than I could have imagined. There were almost as many closed, by-invitation-only, meetings as open sessions.
All for now, below is a note with a sample of some links which one of our Swedish friends from ATTAC compiled.
Anil Naidoo
Blue Planet Project
Hallo!
Our efforts to make people look with critical eyes at the WWW culminated yesterday when the public meeting at ABF-huset moved the focus to the threat against Stockholm Water coming from the new political majority in Stockholm.
Stockholm Water has been kind of a positive international icon among public water utilites. Both the international acitvists, the Swedish aciivists and the reopresenttavis from Swdish Trade Union of the Municipality workers agreed that now is the time to mobilize against the sneak privatization.
The union's paper Kommunalarbetaren is topping on the web with a report from our meeting, written by Ann Christin Sjölander whoi has also written the book "The water business : corporations versus people" Look at "Don't Sell out our Water!"!" http://www.kommunalarbetaren.se/index.cfm?n=1644&o=1591&c=77164
The same day Aftonbladet published a big op-ed written by Anil Naidoo, Blue Planet Network and me titled Vatten = Politik. Diskussionen får inte tas över av teknokrater och företagsledare. http://www.aftonbladet.se/debatt/article576391.ab
This op-ed is also on the web in an English version http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/op-ed-ciriticising-world-water-week.html
The Editors op-ed in the magazine ETC (paper version) is written on the same theme by me."Don't touch our water!" http://etc.se/veckans_ledare/15420/roer-inte-vart-vatten
The Nestlé acton on Wednesday (at the same time critzising the organizers behind WWW) was also a success.Look at Protest mot Nestlés sponsring av Världsvattenveckan http://www.yelah.net/news/20070816161212
Pictures and some commentaries are also on:
Mai Simonsen, FIVAS, Norge http://www.flickr.com/photos/11576295@N06/
Vattenaktivisternas blogg http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/protest-action-during-nestl-seminar.html
Anericas blogg http://americavz.com/blogg/?p=214
Tommy Kane's presentation at the ABF-meeting brought "A warning from England and Scotland" Tommy underlined that the commercialization of the scottish activities to distribute water and treat waste water in many ways is like what is happening in Sweden just now. It is impossible for the politicians to just sell out the plants - therefore they advance step by step in a more subtile way. We will later send out Tommy's Powerpoint presentation. I also recommend his reports from inside the WWW published on the blog
Tommy Kane: Solidarity http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/solidarity.html
Tommy Kane: Behind Closed Doors http://worldwaterweek.blogspot.com/2007/08/behind-closed-doors.html
"Water is a Human Right" - a column in Göteborgs-Posten, written by Lars Henriksson, a metal worker and a member of Attac http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=421&a=362678 "There is Something Rotten in the People's House" By Lasse Karlsson at Attac's blog. http://www.attac.se/blogg/
"Knowledge is Already Availabe" A short commentary in Dagen http://www.dagen.se/dagen/Article.aspx?ID=139673
Sweden denies visas to Nigerians for the water week" Yelah on the web http://www.yelah.net/news/20070813112359
Future Occurencies at the Waterfront Helsingborgs Dagblad A comment to Fredrik Reinfeldt's speech http://hd.se/ledare/2007/08/14/framtidens-haendelser-vid-vatten/
Thursday, 16 August 2007
Op-ed criticising World Water Week published in Aftonbladet today
The Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet today published an op-ed written by Anil Naidoo (Blue Planet Project) and Lasse Karlsson (ATTAC Sweden). In the op-ed, titled "Vatten = politik" (Water = politics), Naidoo and Karlsson criticise the "dangerous and short-sighted vision of water" being promoted during World Water Week.
Follows the English version of the op-ed:
Water = politics
Water is not a product like any other. Water is a human right and a common responsibility, Water is a matter of life and death for billions of people.
It is therefore dangerous when World Water Week in Stockholm is dominated by the global private water industry; write Anil Naidoo and Lasse Karlsson.
This week the water world once more descends on Sweden. For the 17th year the World Water Week will be held in Stockholm. Dubbed, “Where the Water World Meets”, this event is increasingly looking like a venue where the corporate water world meets. This is why, this year, a group of international water activists, aligned with the Reclaiming Public Water Network will also be coming to Stockholm.
For years Stockholm has been seen as a technocratic initiative, but as the event has become increasingly politicized, activists feel it is critical that a diversity of voices be heard at this important event. We will also be forging new alliances with Swedish activists and holding a public event to allow broader inputs into this important issue.
Water is a life and death issue for billions living in water-stressed parts of the world. These people are the most marginalized and un-represented, both in their own countries and globally. Attempts must be made to ensure that their voices are heard and understood by the decision-makers and we urge the organizers of the WWW to do more to have these voices represented.
Water must be treated in a different way than the goods that we buy and sell.
Our message to the organizers of this event, Stockholm International Water Institute, is simple. Any discussions and decisions without inputs by those most affected will result in ‘solutions’ which risk doing more harm than good. The initiative for World Water Week was first taken by Stockholm Water Company, which is publicly run but now threatened by outsourcing and privatization promoted by the new political majority in Stockholm. There is however little discussion during World Water Week about how to strengthen and improve the public water systems which represent 95% of water systems around the world. Instead the WWW has fallen into the trap of believing that the only future for water is a private, market-based future. This is a dangerous and short-sighted vision of water which the social movements we work with around the world are vigorously opposing.
One problem is that World Water Week is such an exclusive event. The costs are prohibitive, even for Northern activists to join.
The costs for one activist are well over 10,000 SEK (half as conference fees). And this is without including flights. This hardly embodies a place that the whole water world can afford to meet when the conference fees alone represent a whole years wages for billions who are most affected by the global water crisis.
The WWW has become a place where monumental decisions are being made and where the global deals on water are being struck, yet the door is closed to all but the most basic of inputs by those who are most affected. These same doors swing wide open, however, for those who have the money to participate. Among this year’s lead sponsors is Nestle, one of the largest water-bottling organizations, responsible for massive water-takings around the world and the subsequent pollution created by this industry. For a cost of 300,000 SEK, Nestle is offered, in the WWW’s own publications, that a sponsor can “…raise your corporate sustainability profile, meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of your customers, expand into new markets, and make new contacts.”
Customers, markets, corporate sustainability profile… these are dangerous words when we are discussing something as fundamental as water. We believe water is a human right and a public trust. Water must be treated differently than the commodities we buy, sell and trade in this globalized world. If we do not address water differently, with respect and even with reverence, the suffering will continue and increase.
This is why we cannot leave the debate in the hands of technocrats and corporations. Future generations, nature and all who suffer today from lack of access to clean water must be represented before we can hope to have sustainable solutions to this crisis.
Follows the English version of the op-ed:
Water = politics
Water is not a product like any other. Water is a human right and a common responsibility, Water is a matter of life and death for billions of people.
It is therefore dangerous when World Water Week in Stockholm is dominated by the global private water industry; write Anil Naidoo and Lasse Karlsson.
This week the water world once more descends on Sweden. For the 17th year the World Water Week will be held in Stockholm. Dubbed, “Where the Water World Meets”, this event is increasingly looking like a venue where the corporate water world meets. This is why, this year, a group of international water activists, aligned with the Reclaiming Public Water Network will also be coming to Stockholm.
For years Stockholm has been seen as a technocratic initiative, but as the event has become increasingly politicized, activists feel it is critical that a diversity of voices be heard at this important event. We will also be forging new alliances with Swedish activists and holding a public event to allow broader inputs into this important issue.
Water is a life and death issue for billions living in water-stressed parts of the world. These people are the most marginalized and un-represented, both in their own countries and globally. Attempts must be made to ensure that their voices are heard and understood by the decision-makers and we urge the organizers of the WWW to do more to have these voices represented.
Water must be treated in a different way than the goods that we buy and sell.
Our message to the organizers of this event, Stockholm International Water Institute, is simple. Any discussions and decisions without inputs by those most affected will result in ‘solutions’ which risk doing more harm than good. The initiative for World Water Week was first taken by Stockholm Water Company, which is publicly run but now threatened by outsourcing and privatization promoted by the new political majority in Stockholm. There is however little discussion during World Water Week about how to strengthen and improve the public water systems which represent 95% of water systems around the world. Instead the WWW has fallen into the trap of believing that the only future for water is a private, market-based future. This is a dangerous and short-sighted vision of water which the social movements we work with around the world are vigorously opposing.
One problem is that World Water Week is such an exclusive event. The costs are prohibitive, even for Northern activists to join.
The costs for one activist are well over 10,000 SEK (half as conference fees). And this is without including flights. This hardly embodies a place that the whole water world can afford to meet when the conference fees alone represent a whole years wages for billions who are most affected by the global water crisis.
The WWW has become a place where monumental decisions are being made and where the global deals on water are being struck, yet the door is closed to all but the most basic of inputs by those who are most affected. These same doors swing wide open, however, for those who have the money to participate. Among this year’s lead sponsors is Nestle, one of the largest water-bottling organizations, responsible for massive water-takings around the world and the subsequent pollution created by this industry. For a cost of 300,000 SEK, Nestle is offered, in the WWW’s own publications, that a sponsor can “…raise your corporate sustainability profile, meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of your customers, expand into new markets, and make new contacts.”
Customers, markets, corporate sustainability profile… these are dangerous words when we are discussing something as fundamental as water. We believe water is a human right and a public trust. Water must be treated differently than the commodities we buy, sell and trade in this globalized world. If we do not address water differently, with respect and even with reverence, the suffering will continue and increase.
This is why we cannot leave the debate in the hands of technocrats and corporations. Future generations, nature and all who suffer today from lack of access to clean water must be represented before we can hope to have sustainable solutions to this crisis.
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