Let’s Avoid a Human and Economic Genocide
It is inadmissible for the government to propose the handing over of “perpetual rights” to water. I call on the entire Congress and the citizens to reflect deeply on a constitutional change, where all our natural resources belong to the citizens, and the State is a guarantor of these rights. This I have proposed in Chile for years. Water affects all citizens as well as all eco-systemic services. No less important is that water is a source of wealth and poverty, both globally and nationally.
Worldwide
There are a number of concerns about water within its global context: there are more than 1,000 million people on the planet who do not have access to drinking water; about 3 billion people do not have access to sanitation; one in four people under the age of 5 dies from waterborne diseases; two-thirds of people without access to clean water earn less than a dollar a day, indicating a convergence between lack of water and poverty. The World Economic Forum has declared that water deficit is the second highest impact global risk.
Importance at the National Level
Chile is drying up. Desertification and water scarcity in 73% of the national territory. The availability of water per person, on average, is 53,000 m3 / person, while from Santiago to the north it is 800 m3 / person. The scarcity is right where mining puts pressure and seizes water. The minimum water consumption according to the UN is 2,000 m3 / person.
Water is a living entity of vital importance for all forms of life on our planet. The water crisis has an expression in space and time. Where water disappears, life also disappears in its many expressions. Chile is on the brink of a major water crisis and nothing is being done to avoid it. We all know that the deeper the crisis, the deeper the solutions must be. Let’s avoid violence.
Water scarcity has an immense economic, human, social and spiritual cost. How many people in our country are suffering these costs, or more? What are we going to do as a country? When are we going to act as a collective that is determined to solve this very serious problem, which also manifests itself through desertification, the erosion of fragile soils, and many other ecological phenomena?
Climate change is here, now, and it is ready to stay with us. Are we waiting for a deep crisis that manifests itself in conflicts of all kinds between us to do something radical and definitive? Most of the armed conflicts in the world are motivated by the scarcity of natural resources and mainly by water. Why don’t we talk about this, about the quantity and quality of our waters?
Just as we want a new constitution for Chile, water represents the essence of the constitution that embraces natural law. In Chile, these resources are contaminated by sewage, industrial and mining waste (terrestrial, liquid, without prior treatment, agricultural and forestry discharges), constituting a great threat to our health and well-being. It is already felt that the value of water is much higher than that of oil. The next great crisis in the world and in our country will be the water crisis. The paradox of this crisis in our country is that it is mentioned that Chile has the second largest freshwater reserve in the world. Hence the paramount importance of having an effective water policy at all levels. Water is a scarce natural resource on which all our economic and social competitiveness depends. Both mining, industry and agriculture depend on water. But even more important is the dependence that our families, neighborhoods and cities have on water.
The sustainable solution to this water crisis goes far beyond an economic or legal debate on water. By this I do not mean that the economic and legal aspects of water are not important. The crisis that we see in Chile today could have been avoided if we had a true national water policy with the participation of all sectors of economic and social activity. A clear policy within a citizen consensus. We cannot say that the only factor responsible for our water crisis is climate change. By using the term “climate change” we are simply saying that “no one is responsible”. To think that “nature” is the one to blame would be, in my opinion, irresponsible. This posture does not possess the wisdom we need to solve this great challenge, nor does it represent an operational message to attack a problem that is going to become more and more acute. We need a new citizen political commitment.
A lack of political commitment to the future of our country is felt. Confronting and solving this crisis requires a profound change: (i) In economic and social mentality: nature of the resource, allocation in alternative uses, allocation of its value and current use of water. (ii) Institutional and organizational governance: property rights and administration. (iii) Of lifestyles: saving and not wasting water. In its ultimate expression, resolving this crisis demands a significant increase in our individual and collective consciousness. But are we willing to change?
The Economic Model
Entrepreneurs think that this is not an economic issue. As if there were no relationship with the implementation of the neoliberal model of economic, human and social development. The bad management of water means great economic, human and social losses. In the past, water was an abundant resource, and therefore it was not seen as a constraint on development. Today, at least 3.3% of the consumer basket makes direct use of water. And a significant proportion of this basket makes indirect use of water (housing, energy). In other words, if that consumption grows, there will be much more demand for water. This is leading us to “Structural Inflation”: lack of water implies higher prices. Therefore, the time has come to weigh Chile’s economic growth objective and its sectoral composition, with social, environmental and, why not say, humanitarian objectives.
It is important to note that the limitation to Chilean economic growth is not technological in nature, but rather biological. This implies the need for great management and conservation of our resources. Our economy is based on our natural resources. Consumptive use of water such as agriculture and non-consumptive use of water such as hydroelectric power generation. However, the discussion does not end simply with the supply and demand of water, or the quantity and quality of water. There are important determinants of access, use and management of our water resources that have to do with rights. A citizen, legal, institutional matter, etc. As a preliminary example, it should be noted that property rights over non-consumptive use are held by foreign companies.
Water is multi-use: many sectors and many actors. Also, the water has a precise geographic location. The reform of the water code will severely affect not only agricultural irrigators but also artisanal fishermen. Water scarcity not only affects human beings but also all forms of life that inhabit our country and on the planet.
Water Management
Water is a very scarce natural resource and this scarcity of the resource generates an important “value”: the more scarce, the higher is that value. Related to scarcity, this value transforms water into a great source of wealth. Those who have water get rich and those who don’t have water get poorer. They say that water is going to be worth more than oil, gold, and other precious metals. You have to consider the “quantity” and the “quality” of the water. Conflicts over water are born to defend a source of wealth or avoid a path of poverty. It is not just drinking, watering, or generating energy. Therefore, the policies of access, distribution, use and management of water affect the levels of well-being and wealth of the people involved. This is why water conflicts are so violent.
Water shortage
The value of water can be expressed in financial, economic, human or social terms. In economic terms, this is equivalent to its opportunity cost: the value of the water in alternative uses. If, for example, mining takes most of the water, the cost for mining is not only the cost of extracting the water but also the cost of the lack of water in other uses: households, industry, tourism, agricultural irrigators, artisanal fishing, ecological flow, landscape, recreation, the sacred, etc.
We must add the ecological impacts of the loss of glaciers, the inadequate disposal of tailings, the contamination of groundwater, etc. Water has multiple, alternative, and hierarchical uses. This entails a multiplicity of actors, who demand to establish priorities. Whatever the adopted priorities – economic, political, social – they are not neutral in relation to the well-being and wealth of these actors: they benefit some and harm others.
Water rights
Most of the problems we observe are rooted in the property system (rights) and the economic sovereignty and sustainability of water. In this sense, I have said first, that water belongs to all Chileans and secondly, that it is a strategic public good. The first is a demand for a constitutional change of fundamental importance since for now it is said that the water belongs to the State. We must make a constitutional reform so that water and all our natural resources belong to all Chileans. There is no doubt that water can be managed by the State or another economic agent, but on behalf of the citizenry. The water belongs to us and we must have the power before the law and the customs to demand and sue the State, if necessary, for lack of good administration. Today, we are spectators and that has to change. The second, demands to understand water as a public good; But we know that the State has privatized water and this has to be evaluated and questioned in detail. In my opinion, water should be in the hands of the State and it should NOT be defined and managed as a private good. This return to water as a public good will make a difference to millions of Chileans affected by poor administration and high costs of access to a good that belongs to them. And in this, I not only include individuals, but also companies and entities that use water. Water is a public good that must have a governance of public good, wherever it is allocated, used or managed.
Industry cannot use and pollute water without paying its true value. It is not acceptable for a poor family to pay proportionally more per liter of water consumed than a company. In my opinion, water should be in the hands of the State and it should not be defined or managed as a private good. The reform of the Water Code has generated much debate since its current content is insufficient to address the situations of many actors, in need of this scarce resource, including future generations. Several fundamental issues: (i) whose water is, the individual and social character of water, (ii) how rights over water should be assigned, (iii) how to define priorities especially in times of great scarcity, (iv) how assign or revoke water rights, (v) which are the relevant institutions, (vi) what is the best form of water governance, (vii) what happens when someone owns a right and does not use it, (vii) existence of other forms of rights and what criteria should be applied, etc.
A little scoop on “assignment of rights”. To assign rights, the individual or collective character of the water must first be defined. In my opinion, water belongs to all citizens and the State must be a guarantor of those rights. Water has an eminently social and collective character, like all the natural resources of Chile. The assignment of rights must be intrinsically related to their social character, and to the objectives that are being pursued when assigning access and use rights.
Also, I would like to emphasize that the assignment of a private right does not per-se ensure the availability of water. It may be a necessary but not sufficient condition. We must ask ourselves: What are the criteria to define for the assignment of these rights? Is it guaranteeing accessibility to the resource, is it guaranteeing efficiency in use? Is it defining a distribution criterion, or others? Today, there is no clarity on the criterion that should prevail and, therefore, I see that the assignment of rights fundamentally represents a distribution of power and a protection of the wealth of those who are subjects of said rights. But, you have to go much further.
The assignment of private rights does not represent the only solution to the multiple objectives that we are addressing today in Chile. That does not alter a serious and mature debate on customary law and the guarantees that must be given to those who have benefited from a rule of law. Whatever the solution, it must be complemented with important institutional arrangements (incentives, organizations, regulations, laws…). It will be the power of the actors that will ensure access to water. A system of rights, without empowered actors within the governance system, is a false promise of well-being. All of the above must be accompanied by: a watershed management and conservation plan, a land use planning program, a water management and conservation plan, a decontamination program for all waters, a coastal rainfed development plan ( groundwater) …
Water is a good that was not created by humans and therefore belongs to all of us, including future generations and all forms of life that co-inhabit here. Be transparent about how systems of law create and secure wealth for some and not for others. The criteria for assigning rights must be defined by consensus (ownership, access, security, efficiency …). Let’s avoid violence and conflicts in the fight for wealth or poverty that water ownership generates. Much still to be defined.
The Value and Cost of Water
Water is a scarce commodity and therefore has a value. How do we define that value? What goals are behind that definition of value? We must not make decisions based only on the law of supply and demand, but on something more essential such as the human, social and environmental sphere. As a scarce public good, water must be valued, and within this assessment the dimensions of equity and sustainability must be taken into account. In this sense, it is important to say that (i) it is not possible for the industry to use and pollute water without paying the true value of this water, and that (ii) it is not acceptable for a poor family to pay proportionally more per liter of water consumed than a company. This must change. The government has the obligation to show how the different actors pay for the value of the water and the most relevant costs:
- The Environmental Cost. You have to pay for the cost of decontamination of the water. In this case it seems essential that we use the sustainable principle of: “the polluter pays”. This should be our philosophy, and not make those who did not contaminate pay the cost of decontamination.
- The Social Cost. Water pollution is the source of great inequities and injustices, and responsible for dozens of diseases that primarily afflict poor families. It cannot be that this scarce public good is being managed and valued as a private good, maximizing the profit of an economic group.
- The Cost of Integration. In particular, the problem of water that comes from any hydrographic basin is not due only to tropical rains as a result of climate change, but to the way we treat our mountains, including the over-exploitation of forests, the lack of reforestation. and protection of watersheds, unplanned urbanization, etc..
- The State is Responsible. The State is the one who decides, bids and assigns the water rights. Economic activities in general and drinking water companies in particular must not only have access to water, but also be responsible for all the upper parts of the basins where this water is born..
Technology
Chile should have a national organization that monitors and implements technological advances that increase the effectiveness, efficiency, equity and sustainability in the management of our public goods.
Our Mountains
We should create a national program for the management and use of our mountains and ranges, which includes all ministries. Our mountains are not only a source of water, the fertility of all our agriculture and industry, a source of life for all Chileans, but they are also the common thread of all forms of life that exist in our nation. Particular importance must be given to the conservation of our glaciers and native forests. For now we see our mountains as something of little use except when we discover something (minerals) and exploit it to the fullest.
Important Elements for a Water Code
In its preamble there must be a new definition of what constitutes the element of water in our lives as Chileans. Water should not be considered only a production factor, or something inert, of material nature, but must be recognized as a fundamental element of all forms of life that exist in our nation. This Code must clearly establish that it is something that it has its own divinity and therefore must be respected and protected. The preamble is of a fundamental nature since the element of water will condition our material and spiritual well-being as citizens.
There are many other items to consider. A deep reflection is required on how fiscal policy could contribute to solving this water crisis and not deepening it: public investments, budget allocations, fiscal revenues (taxes, water rights), control, fiscal productivity, selection of intervention instruments , etc.
The Water Crisis
This crisis is relevant because: we are putting all Chileans at risk; we are destroying our economic competitiveness; and we are putting our entire identity as a country and as a nation at the disposal of mismanagement. Modifying the code represents a necessary but not sufficient condition to solve the water problem. The sufficient condition is a change in the collective consciousness of all the social actors involved, regarding the nature of water in our lives, and the social, human and environmental costs to which citizens are being subjected due to lack of quantity and quality of water. . The situation we are experiencing today calls for a strategy and rights immersed in just forms of citizen sovereignty. Legislation is important but legislation must be accompanied by citizen interaction mechanisms – information, risk assessment, collective bargaining, municipal empowerment, that protect the rights of those who must consume water as its highest form of expression of material well-being.
Water: A Living Being
Finally, I would like to say that water is a living entity. It is not a thing. It has intelligence, memory and behavior according to them. Water pollution is the pollution of all of us. Pollution of external water implies contamination of internal water. We are 70% water. If we cleaned the waters of our country, there would be fewer sick people. With water we can cure all diseases. Yes, I said, ALL diseases. So far we have contaminated 4 of the 5 elements of life: Water, Space, Wind, and Earth. We only have to pollute the fire. The important thing is that fire is not contaminated with matter. It becomes contaminated with non-matter: feelings, thoughts, intentions, values etc. Once we pollute the fire, human civilization as we know it will end. That is why the last and most important instrument of development and transformation is human consciousness.
