Title: Too Public Not to Be Private: Investigating Water Ownership as a Strategy in a World of Economic Goods Under International Trade and Investment Laws
Abstract: Water has quickly moved from the realm of common and public control into private control as an economic good. Globalization and international investment trade laws, as well as overall trade laws, have helped encourage this shift. Water has strong ties to various sectors given its usefulness as well as the simple ability to sustain life. The UN, World Water Council, World Bank, WTO, IMF, GATT and GATS are all players in the world of water management. Much of the literature to date has been centered at the policy level and focused mainly on intercountry disputes. The paper argues that national interests are tied to water and can be supported by trade in water and water services. As we have seen, conflict and war can stem from water issues between countries, and where political laws have much variance in application as chosen by nations around the globe, trade and investment law appear to be more advanced in terms of enforcement. Here the argument is given that when water ownership is privatized, it can reduce the likelihood of water being withheld or destroyed in time of war due to global agreements governing trade and economies, thus, moving direct competition by nations through war into competition through trade and economic power. The paper posits that while both public and private ownership have both positive and negative elements, combining them can serve to promote interests of nations as well as the simple need for humans to have access to water as a basic human right. We conclude that where water supports necessary life functions for human beings, in a world of globalized trade and investment, it provides employment, tax revenue and opportunities for technological advancement, and serves the interests of nations, their private and multinational corporations and the people of those nations.
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-09-17
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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