Saturday, August 14, 2004

The Global Water Privatization Pandemic

The privatization of municipal water systems is a prime policy pushed by the 

International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in exchange for loans and 

bailouts. Water, after all, is a profitable resource, worth an estimated $45 billion 

worldwide. The World Bank estimates that 2 billion people, a third of the world’s 

population, live in water-scarce areas; that number could double in less than 30 

years. Despite IMF pressure, water giant Suez recently abandoned service 

contracts in Buenos Aires and Manila, Phillipines, and pulled out of a deal to build a 

water treatment plant in Puerto Rico, citing “poor economic conditions.” Instead, 

Suez and other companies are turning to the water networks of the European 

Union, North America, and China, where they expect to find less popular 

resistance and more stable economies. This could be seen as a victory, but it 

also simply moves the battlegrounds on which water wars will be fought.