Water Water Water Water Water: Towards a Culture of Responsibility Towards a Culture of Responsibility Towards a Culture of Responsibility Towards a Book

PREFACE - Angel Gurria INTRODUCTION: A time to take responsibility THE WATER CENTURY SATISFYING GROWING NEEDS Ever increasing withdrawals from non increasing resources Parched megalopolises The growing competition for water resources Water for agriculture: the highest consumption, the highest waste PREVENTING FURTHER LOSS OF THE QUALITY OF OUR WATER RESOURCES Sanitation, the "poor relation" of water management A long march: controlling agricultural pollution The limitations of the "polluter pays" principle Escaping the spiral: ever more treatment of water that is ever more polluted EUROPE SETS A GOAL: A RETURN TO GOOD WATER QUALITY Europe: 30 years of water policies Good water status: moving towards a new stage in European water policy A disappointment on current water quality Quality and quantity: factors separated for too long WATER: THE PRIMARY ISSUE FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Unsafe drinking water and no sanitation: the world's greatest killers Lack of access means a higher price for water Wasted human resources, wasted social resources Millennium Goals: mixed results in the medium term WATER'S FALSE FRIENDS CLIMATE CHANGE AND WATER: DISTURBING FACTS Unavoidable change, avoidable catastrophe The climate changes... and us?
Foreseeing to be able to act The water wars will not happen A future with more climatic disasters TWO MISPLACED "GOOD IDEAS": "FREE WATER" AND "USER PAYS FOR ALL"
Free water: a review of recent history The myth of a free water service The opposite of free supply: the user pays for all The happy medium: a sociably affordable water price THE PRIVATE SECTOR: TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE INVOLVEMENT?
The many forms of cooperation between public and private Privatization: so frequently debated, so rarely practiced To delegate or not to delegate Public-private partnership: from fashionable craze to maturity Snapshots of the Latin American experience Are public-private partnerships appropriate for developing countries?
WATER: IS THE SERVICE TOO EXPENSIVE?
Water is not oil The price of water in France: the perception and the reality What price for what area? The example of France Are public operators less expensive? A false evidence A price that fails to reflect the scarcity of water The developing world: under-financing causes exclusion Information and transparency: at the heart of the debate Knowing what is being compared FUNDERS, OFTEN CRITICIZED BUT INDISPENSABLE An overview of public aid for water and sanitation Insufficient finance The search for new financial initiatives When one method displaces another FINDING NEW MODELS NEW RESOURCES Water saving, a resource available now Recycled waste water: the only resource that gains from economic development Sea water, an unlimited resource Using previously unexploited sources Rainwater: a useful resource, but not without its risks NEW ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL MODELS Mixed funding between service users and taxpayers Performance-based payment systems Separating the volume sold from the volume pumped Increasing water productivity for consumers The end of the principle of "user pays for water"?
HELPING MORE THE DISADVANTAGED Developing countries: water and sanitation for the greatest number Developed countries: maintaining access to services for the poorest GOVERNANCE: AT THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM, AT THE HEART OF THE SOLUTION The pathologies of governance Good governance means a proper allocation of roles Nothing sustainable can be created without dialogue and consultation Transparency: building a long-term relationship of trust CONCLUSION: Towards a culture of responsibility