1 / 33

Water as a Human Right

Water as a Human Right. “You ain’t gonna miss your water until your well runs dry.” ~Bob Marley. “ In today’s world, water is something more than a source of life… …Water is a human right – and none of us should turn a blind eye to the violation of human rights. Nor should we

sandrahouse
Download Presentation

Water as a Human Right

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Water as a Human Right “You ain’t gonna miss your water until your well runs dry.” ~Bob Marley

  2. “In today’s world, water is something more than a source of life… …Water is a human right – and none of us should turn a blind eye to the violation of human rights. Nor should we tolerate a world in which over 1 million children are…dying for a glass of water and a toilet.” Kevin Watkins Director, Human Development Report

  3. 5 Water Issues Identified by the United Nations • Diseases caused by contaminated water • Women’s responsibility in water collection • Conflicts over water • Inequitable access and cost of water • Water pollution

  4. Diseases Caused By Contaminated Water • Right now almost half the population of the developing world suffer from diseases because of dirty water and inadequate sanitation

  5. 80% of all illnesses and deaths are related to water borne diseases • A water-related illness kills a child every 8 seconds

  6. Raw sewage mixed with drinking water is a recipe for infectious disease

  7. Water and Women • In many societies women have the greatest responsibilities in terms of water use and management • Women and children living in rural Africa spend as much as 3 hours per day fetching water • A major reason girls drop out of school in developing countries is because they do not have access to toilet facilities (globally, 2.4 billon people do not have access to toilets).

  8. For girls, the lack of clean water close to home turns into lost opportunities to go to school, learn marketable skills, and fully participate in their communities.

  9. Studies suggest that if a woman only had to carry water for one hour a day (instead of three) she could earn an additional US $100 each year.

  10. Conflicts over water • In most of the developing world, unclean water is a greater threat to human lives than violent conflict • 2 out of 5 people live in water basins shared by multiple countries or territories • Fighting over water is just as big of a conflict as fighting over oil in some countries

  11. Available Water

  12. Inequality of water • If you live in a slum in Manila, you pay more for your water than people living in the rich part of London • To get water, the poor walk great distances, wait hours, and compete with other equally desperate people for the precious resource

  13. Can you imagine waiting in line for one bucket of water?

  14. Water Wasters? 325 gallons of water are consumed per person per day in Las Vegas, possibly more than any other city in the world…

  15. Compared To… …Indonesia, where children bathe, wash clothes and drink from this polluted river basin. The average person in Indonesia consumes 5 gallons per day.

  16. JPC COMMENT: put U.S. slides here also – suburban, rural, urban, etc. Water costs nothing for those with everything And everything for those with nothing…

  17. A woman collects water from a local stone tap in the Thimi District near Kathmandu, Nepal. (Photo provided by R. Dies)

  18. Water Pollution • Did you know that pollution of the Nile River is considered to be one of the most dangerous hazards affecting modern day Egypt? • Pollution is caused by an increase in population, as well as modern agriculture and industry techniques • The worst and most preventable cause is human laziness and error

  19. Ganges River Basin, India Ganges River pollution makes it an unsanitary water resource

  20. Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, South Africa Children crossing contaminated river source to get to school

  21. Would you drink this water?

  22. What governments need do to reverse the crisis… • Make 20 liters (5 gallons) of clean fresh water for each person, everyday, a recognized and upheld human right • Regulate water conservation • Ensure that the poor get water for free • International aid donors must fund sanitation and water projects • Make clean water and sanitation a national priority, and provide funding for development projects

  23. Be An Agent of Change! As youth, we are in a unique position: we have energy, time and enthusiasm. Now is the time for action. Get involved!

  24. Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth Change water taps at home to economy taps Educate yourself about the water and sanitation crisis Monitor and conserve your water usage Start with word of mouth…Tell friends, classmates, your parents about this issue Send letters, postcards, and emails to your government on water and sanitation issues If you live in a water-rich area, help raise money to fund projects in places that are in need of clean water What Can You Do?

  25. Water is fundamental for life and health. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a healthy life in human dignity. It is a requirement of realizing all other human rights. -The United Nations Committee on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights, Environment News Service, 27 Nov 02

  26. Every human should have the idea of taking care of the environment, of nature, of water. So using too much or wasting water should have some kind of feeling or sense of concern. Some sort of responsibility and with that, a sense of discipline. -The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso quoted in Peter Swanson's Water: The Drop of Life, 2001

  27. I understood when I was just a child that without water, everything dies. I didn't understand until much later that no one "owns" water. It might rise on your property, but it just passes through. You can use it, and abuse it, but it is not yours to own. It is part of the global community, not "property" but part of our life support system. • -Marq de Villiers, Water, 2000

  28. “I can make one promise and one wish. I promise that I will never be careless towards water from now on, and I wish that every single person on this planet would follow my lead.” Raffia Saleem, Pakistan

  29. You can live for 40 days without food….. But only 53 days without water…

  30. ACTION "It only takes a single thought to move the world.”

  31. Resources for the PowerPoint Presentation • Water: H2O= Life. American Museum of Natural History 10 July 2008. http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/water/?section=healthywater • Associated Press. “Pipe Break Spills Sewage into the Hudson.” The New York Times. 6 May 2007: Forums sec. 19 July 2008.http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07EFDD1531F930A25756C0A9619C8B63 • Polaris Institute. Africa: Cruel Irony: Water Costs the Most for Those Who Can Least Afford It. 9 November 2006. 10 July 2008. http://www.polarisinstitute.org/africa_cruel_irony_water_costs_the_most_for_those_who_can_least_afford_it • United Nations Human Development Report 2006-Water Rights and Wrong. “Dealing with Inequality.” 2006. 10 July 2008. http://hdr.undp.org/external/hdr2006/water/16.htm • United Nations Human Development Report 2006-Water Rights and Wrong. “Water Crossing Borders.” 2006. 10 July 2008. http://hdr.undp.org/external/hdr2006/water/24.htm • Web Women Giving Circle. What This Woman Would Give Just To Have A Faucet! 10 September 2007. 10 July 2008. <http://www.realtown.com/CAREmoreGivingCircle/blog/wateradvocacy

More Related