The debates drag on

At the recent World Water Forum in Istanbul, it was good to hear some new topics being discussed such as the energy-water linkage, the need for water-related data and the impact of the financial crisis on the water sector.

But one set of debates that never seem to go away are the ‘Is water a human right?’ debate which leads to the ‘Shouldn’t water be free?’ debate which opens the floodgates for “Should water be managed by the public or private sector?” debate.

The Politics of Water at Davos

Discussing water at the World Economic Forum in Davos where the world’s political and business leaders gather is quite a recent phenomenon. “Water has moved up the global and Davos agenda,” declared Peter Gleick, President of the Pacific Insititute while speaking at a session titled ‘The Politics of Water’.