Observations on the Intersections of Human Rights and Local

The “right to water” has been adopted as a human right in General Comment 15 by the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. A critical issue in international, national and local water
management is how to balance the concerns of the environment and the poor against the quest for a more
effective and productive use of land and water. The 'right to water' provides a framework for water
policy quite different from the Dublin Principles. In the African context the Dublin Principles have
emphasized water as an economic good which has led to the adoption of the user pay principle. In the
following we explore if and how local water management practice incorporates water within a broader
right to livelihood. Field research findings in Zimbabwe support the existence of a right to water forming
part of a broader right to livelihood. This has significant implications for incorporating local norms and
practices into water policies and management practices.

See at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/lgd/2008_1/derman_hellum/dermanhellum.pdf

Post Date : 29 Oktober 2008