Urban Water Conflicts: UNESCO-IHP

344 Pages·2011·6.559 MB·English

by  Bernard Barraque

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8 8
Urban Water Series -UNESCO-IHP
U
R
Urban water conflicts manifested first in Europe in the 19th century B
A
and are observed nowadays in various forms throughout the world;
N
in particular, in developing countries. Main causes of these conflicts W
are characterized by complex socioeconomic and institutional issues
A
related to urban water management. The debate about public T
water services versusprivate water supplies is frequently associated E
R
with conflicts over water price and affordability. On the other hand,
C
the issue of centralization versusdecentralization of water utilities O
is also often discussed in the context of institutional aspects of N
F
urban water management. These issues are intertwined and, thereby, L URBAN WATER CONFLICTS
a critical examination of socioeconomic and institutional aspects of IC
urban water management in a holistic way is important for better T
S
understanding water conflicts in urban areas.
E
D
Urban Water Conflicts – the output of a project by UNESCO’s IT EDITED BY
E
International Hydrological Programme on “Socioeconomic and D
B BERNARDBARRAQUÉ
Institutional Aspects in Urban Water Management” – presents a Y
collection of essays on socioeconomic and institutional aspects of BE
R
urban water management, focusing on water and sanitation services. N
A
The book examines interdisciplinary approaches to understanding R
D
and analyzing conflicts that arise from inadequate urban water B
management. Conflict analysisis addressed in some essays by taking A
R
into account economic, environmental and social dimensions of R
A
sustainability. The issue of institutional conflicts betweendifferent Q
U
levels of government is also discussed in some case studies. É
Urban Water Series -UNESCO-IHP
ISSN 1749-0790
Following from the Sixth Phase of UNESCO’s International Hydrological
Programme (2002–2007), the Urban Water Series – UNESCO-IHP
addresses fundamental issues related to the role of water in cities and
the effects of urbanization on the hydrological cycle and water
resources. Focusing on the development of integrated approaches to
sustainable urban water management, the Series should inform the
work of urban water management practitioners, policy-makers and
educators throughout the world.
Series Editors
C<edo Maksimovic´
Imperial College, London, United Kingdom
J. Alberto Tejada-Guibert
UNESCO International Hydrological Programme, Paris, France
Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa
UNESCO International Hydrological Programme, Paris, France
International
Hydrological an informabusiness
Programme
Urban Water Conflicts
Urban Water Series – UNESCO-IHP
ISSN 1749-0790
Series Editors:
Cˇ edo Maksimovic´
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Imperial College
London, United Kingdom
J. Alberto Tejada-Guibert
UNESCO International Hydrological Programme
Paris, France
Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa
UNESCO International Hydrological Programme
Paris, France
Urban Water Conflicts
Edited by
Bernard Barraqué
Centre International de Recherche sur l’Environnement et le
Développement CNRS-CIRED, and AgroParisTech, Paris, France
CRC Press
Taylor & Francis Group
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© 2011 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
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Version Date: 20120113
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-203-87702-9 (eBook - PDF)
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Foreword
The current rate of population growth and urbanization is likely to exacerbate the dif-
ficulties that cities face when attempting to provide water and sanitation services to all
their inhabitants. This situation is particularly acute in megacities of developing coun-
tries. In addition to decreasing availability of water resources and increasing demand,
complex socioeconomic issues such as poverty, inequality, land use and tenure changes,
inefficient legal and institutional frameworks, poor water governance, and lack of
infrastructure and financial resources have serious implications for urban water
management. Reforms in management and ownership of water and sanitation facilities
through privatization and different forms of private-public partnership also have an
impact on access to water and sanitation and, if not undertaken with consideration to
local socioeconomic conditions, may lead to increasing conflicts over access to, and
use of, water and sanitation services.
The collection of essays presented in this publication focus on urban water conflicts
in an effort to examine controversial aspects of the management and, in many cases,
mis-management of water resources in an urban setting. The essays present different
cases of urban water conflicts that had arisen in large urban areas around the world
over socioeconomic and institutional issues linked to access to water and sanitation
services.
This book presents the results of the UNESCO project on ‘Socioeconomic and
Institutional Aspects in Urban Water Management’, implemented during the Sixth
Phase of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (2002–2007). Its produc-
tion was the result of the dedicated work and efforts of the UNESCO-IHP Taskforce
on Urban Water Conflicts with contributions from experts from various continents
of the world. The contribution of Evan Vlachos (Colorado State University, USA)
and Bernard Barraqué (Centre International de Recherche sur l’Environnement et le
Développement – CNRS-CIRED, France) in coordinating the Taskforce was essential
and is gratefully acknowledged. This publication, which is a volume in the UNESCO-
IHP Urban Water Series, was prepared under the responsibility and coordination of
J. Alberto Tejada-Guibert, Deputy-Secretary of IHP and Responsible Officer for
the Urban Water Management Programme of IHP, and Sarantuyaa Zandaryaa,
Programme Specialist in urban water management and water quality at UNESCO-
IHP.
vi Foreword
UNESCO extends its gratitude to all the contributors for their outstanding efforts,
and is confident that the conclusions and recommendations presented in this volume
will prove to be of value to urban water management practitioners, policy and
decision-makers and educators alike throughout the world.
International Hydrological Programme (IHP)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Contents
List of Figures xiii
List of Tables xv
List of Boxes xvii
List of Acronyms xix
Glossary xxiii
List of Contributors xxvii
Introduction xxxi
1 Urban water conflicts: Background and conceptual framework 1
1.1 UNESCO-IHP Taskforce on Urban Water Conflicts 1
1.2 Socioeconomic and institutional aspects of urban water management 2
1.3 Definition of urban water: an impure public good 4
1.4 A few methodologies for analysing urban water conflicts 9
1.5 Conclusions 13
2 Urban water conflicts in recent European history: Changing
interactions between technology, environment and society 15
2.1 Introduction 15
2.2 Governments intervene to provide long distance supply of clean
water 17
2.3 From quantity at a distance to quality close at hand 20
2.4 The crisis of municipal water supply services 23
2.5 European water services and the three Es of sustainability 25
2.6 The new social issue of sustainability 28
2.7 Conclusion 30
3 Water, public responsibility and equity: The Barcelona ‘water war’
of the 1990s 33
4 Full circle? Public responsibility versusprivatization of water supplies
in the United States 39
4.1 Urban water supply before 1830 40
4.2 The rise of the public water utility, 1830–1920 41
4.3 Expansion of water supply systems, 1920–1945 44
viii Contents
4.4 Metropolitan expansion and new demands on water supplies,
1945–1970 45
4.5 From infrastructure crisis to privatization, 1970–2004 46
4.6 Conclusion 53
5 Public-private partnership in courts: The rise and fall of
concessions to supply drinking water in France (1875–1928) 57
5.1 Corpus and context 58
5.2 The origin of conflicts: is drinking water a profit-oriented service? 60
5.3 CE position: under a concession contract, drinking water
is a profit-oriented activity 62
5.3.1 Amendments should be negotiated by the parties on
the grounds of the initial contract’s status quo 63
5.3.2 Local authorities had no right to renegotiate access to
private service 63
5.3.3 The CE restrictions on contract termination 64
5.4 The consequence of CE decisions on water supply management 64
5.5 Conclusion 66
6 In search of (hidden) Portuguese urban water conflicts:
The Lisbon water story (1856–2006) 69
6.1 A century of Portuguese water services: evolution,
accomplishments and failures 69
6.2 The Lisbon water story 74
6.2.1 Liberal waters (1858–1926) 74
6.2.2 Authoritarian waters (1926–1974) 78
6.2.3 Democratic waters (1974–2006) 81
6.3 Urban water conflicts: from the unfinished welfare state
to the new regulatory state 84
6.4 Concluding remarks: hidden conflicts or potential conflicts? 87
7 Water supply services in the cities of Brazil: Conflicts, challenges
and new opportunities in regulation 93
7.1 Introduction 93
7.2 The institutional conflicts and challenges 95
7.3 Economic conflicts and challenges 99
7.4 Socio-environmental challenges and conflicts: social inequality
and environmental degradation 104
7.5 New opportunities in water and services management:
regulation and conflict-resolution 106
8 Urban water conflicts in Buenos Aires: Voices questioning
the sustainability of the water and sewerage concession 111
8.1 Introduction 111
8.1.1 The social urban context 112
8.1.2 Water services before privatization 112
Contents ix
8.1.3 The private sector operating the largest water concession
in the world 113
8.1.4 Development of the chapter 115
8.2 Economic sustainability issues leading to political conflict
and conflict among users 115
8.2.1 Financing the expansion of the network: the SUMA conflict 115
8.2.2 Devaluation of the Argentinean peso: renegotiation of the
concession contract 117
8.3 Social sustainability issues: bringing water services to the poor 120
8.3.1 Bringing water and sewerage networks to poor
neighbourhoods 120
8.3.2 The social tariff: a response to the recent inability of
Argentina’s middle class to cope with the water bill 123
8.4 The evolution of the ‘environmental question’ in the context
of the water sector privatization and the concession process 123
8.4.1 Water table rise, flooding and environmental conflict 124
8.4.2 Urban water conflict and environmental conflict:
the Lomas de Zamora Water Forum 125
8.4.3 The ‘environmental problem’ and the need for a
responding institution 126
8.5 Conclusion 127
9 In search of meaningful interdisciplinarity: Understanding
urban water conflicts in Mexico 129
9.1 Introduction 129
9.2 Urban water conflicts in Mexico from a historical perspective 129
9.3 Urban water conflict events in Mexico 132
9.4 Explaining urban water conflicts 139
9.5 Concluding remarks 142
10 Conflict versuscooperation between the state and civil society:
A water-demand management comparison between Cape Town and
Johannesburg, South Africa 147
10.1 Background to the South African water context 149
10.2 Case study 1: Johannesburg 150
10.2.1 Institutional profile of water service provision in
Johannesburg 150
10.2.2 The Gcin’ Amanzi Project 151
10.2.3 Community response 154
10.3 Case study 2: Cape Town 156
10.3.1 The state of municipal debt: the driver behind
Cape Town’s WDM approach 157
10.3.2 Mfuleni pilot project 158
10.3.3 Water saving device options 159
10.4 CSO response 161
10.5 The political terrain of the two cities 161
10.6 Conclusion 165