Water as a human right ?

Scanlon, John E.; Cassar, Angela; Nemes, Noémi

doi:10.2305/iucn.ch.2005.eplp.51.en

Cited by 85 publications

(37 citation statements)

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“…However, proponents of equity advocate for water pricing to be used for the cross-subsidization of poor households by rich ones or state subsidies. This also corresponds to the notion of social equity, which sees water as a social good that needs to be guaranteed to everyone in a certain amount regardless of affordability [39]. However, some scholars point out to the welfare distortions of cross-subsidization through water prices and propose better alternatives for targeting the poor, namely through direct transfer and the social security system [40,41].…”

Section: Demands On Urban Water Pricing Policiesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Comparative Scorecard Assessment of Urban Water Pricing Policies—The Case of Jordan and Iran

Al‐Saidi

Dehnavi

2019

Water

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Urban water pricing is becoming increasingly important due to the rapid rate of urbanization and the expansion of water reclamation and reuse. The mounting evidence of failures of current pricing schemes makes analyzing their performance essential for understanding the adequacy of economic and sustainability policies in water management. However, urban water pricing policies are complex, serve multiple objectives, and vary widely across regions and countries. This paper presents an assessment framework for urban water pricing policies based on common conditions advocated for well-functioning pricing policies. Using a simplified scorecard, it compares the performance of urban water pricing policies in Jordan and Iran, two countries under growing scarcity pressure. Both countries show serious deficiencies with regard to the economic valuation of water services and the cost recovery of utilities. Public policies are rather oriented towards access and affordability, with Jordan showing a higher level of transparency and competition in tariff-setting. The assessment tool indicates a high potential for experience-sharing in future reforms, which should promote water as a scarce good. Such reforms need to prioritize full cost valuation, participation, and scientifically based designs of local and regional water tariffs.prices in one subsector such as irrigation [9][10][11]. Nauges and van den Berg [12] compared 11 case studies and determined that cost performance, and hence the ideal pricing model, depends on economic development in general, and even on corruption perception or investment protection. Recent comparative studies confirm the notion about the heterogeneity of pricing policies and their performance. A study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation (OECD) [13] emphasized the importance of tariffs that are tailored to local conditions. Accordingly, the practice of metering is unevenly adopted across OECD countries. Besides, environmental water charges such as abstraction charges, pollution/effluent charges, or water-use permits are emerging as a new kind of water tariff.Due to the varying objectives and great heterogeneity in tariff structures on the local scale, the literature on water pricing has so far offered little means of assessing the overall performance of water pricing across countries. Dinar et al. [14] presented many country-level case studies with various types of water tariffs and policy innovations. They did not regard these case studies as 'best practices', nor did they provide any assessment method across the case studies. Instead, they pointed out some underlying trends such as the shift in water-pricing objectives from cost recovery and efficiency towards social and environmental considerations. Accordingly, water pricing is becoming a key issue across the globe due to increasing investment to achieve water security. Similarly, Zetland and Gasson [15], in their analysis of 308 cities in 102 countries, did not indicate in which locations water pricing policies are better-performing. Rath...

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Section: Demands On Urban Water Pricing Policiesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Comparative Scorecard Assessment of Urban Water Pricing Policies—The Case of Jordan and Iran

Al‐Saidi

Dehnavi

2019

Water

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“…Neither term is defined in the Constitution, but as already discussed, sufficient water has been defined in the literature variously as between 20 and 50 lpd and has received legislative definition as 25 lpd. Sufficiency has been described as being dependent on three factors, accessibility, adequate quality and adequate quantity (Scanlon et al, 2004). These factors include the five components of the human right to water as interpreted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, namely that water must be sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable (GC15, 2003; para 53).…”

Section: Integrated Water Resources Management (Iwrm) and South Africmentioning

confidence: 99%

A confluence of new technology and the right to water: experience and potential from South Africa’s constitution and commons

2014

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South Africa's groundbreaking constitution explicitly confers a right of access to sufficient water (section 27). But the country is officially 'water-stressed' and around 10% of the population still has no access to on-site or off-site piped or tap water. It is evident that a disconnect exists between this right and the reality for many; however the reasons for the continuation of such discrepancies are not always clear. While barriers to sufficient water are myriad, one significant factor contributing to insufficient and unpredictable access to water is the high percentage of broken water pumps. Previous studies have reported that between 20% and 50% of all hand operated water pumps installed on the African continent are broken, or out of use. Monitoring and maintenance of pumps, which in South Africa is the responsibility of local municipalities is often ineffective, in part due to the distances between municipal centres and rural communities and the consequent costs of site visits, as well as breakdowns within the local bureaucratic system. The emergence of new telemetry tools that can remotely monitor water applications constitutes a novel and cost-efficient alternative to undertaking regular sites visits. Sustainable, Appropriate, Low-cost Telemetry (SALT) systems are emerging that could be used to monitor the operational performance of water pumps, or a wide range of other field parameters, and to communicate this information swiftly and cheaply to water service providers, using SMS messages. Data on the performance of water pumps could also be made available to the public online. This is an example of how ICT can be used for Water Resources Management and environmental regulation, as well as in the governance of socio-economic rights: helping to optimize water allocation by improving communication and strengthening accountability.

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“…Although a human right to water may 'entitle everyone to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses', 10 significant economic resources are needed to deliver clean water to every individual. While the rights-based approach has gained some recognition at the international level, there are still uncertainties about its meaning and practical implications.…”

Section: "The Rights-based Approach Has Gained Some Recognition At Thmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rule : reforming water governance

Iza¹,

Stein²

2009

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Water as a human right ?

Cited by 85 publications

References 1 publication

Comparative Scorecard Assessment of Urban Water Pricing Policies—The Case of Jordan and Iran

Comparative Scorecard Assessment of Urban Water Pricing Policies—The Case of Jordan and Iran

A confluence of new technology and the right to water: experience and potential from South Africa’s constitution and commons

Rule : reforming water governance

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