News
The World Water Council (WWC) held its 8thGeneral Assembly 29 November – 1 December, in Marseille, France. In an interview for WCC Communication, Dinesh Suna, coordinator of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN) expressed discontent over the lack of opportunities for participation of the civil society in the structure and work of the WWC.
“A global body such as the WWC, which is world’s apex body on water and is responsible for organizing the biggest event on water, the World Water Forum (WWF), is unfortunately, dominated by the corporates who apparently are more interested in privatization of water than addressing the global water crisis”, states Suna.
Set up in 1996, the WWC is a global body of over 300 organisations representing various entities from five different ‘colleges’ representing the Inter-governmental organisations, government agencies, commercial and corporate organizations, civil society organizations and scientific and academic institutions.
Suna is especially critical of the limited space given to civil society organizations (CSOs) in the WWC: “A close look at the membership of the WWC will reveal that not so long ago, hardly any water-related CSOs were part of the WWC”, he says.
When asked about the reasons for such lack of integration, Suna says that, on the one hand, such organizations from the civil society were not interested in joining the WWC as they were opposing its so-called anti-poor policies related to water, while, on the other hand CSOs were often not accepted in the first place when they applied for membership.
The WWC organises the WWF, which gathers 40,000 – 120,000 participants and is usually opposed by a large number of CSOs and mass movements, engaged in water issues. They, instead, organise the Alternate World Water Forum at the same venue and the same time of the official WWF.
“Just imagine, how can a grassroots people’s movement engaged in water issues participate at the World Water Forum whose registration fees are about 1,000 Euros, excluding the travel and accommodation costs?”, he asks.
WCC-EWN has been participating in all the Alternative World Water Forum since its inception in 2006 to support the people’s movements. During the most recent 8thWWF in Brazil, the WCC’s EWN took the leadership and co-sponsored the Alternative World Water Forum (FAMA – in Portuguese).
“Despite the alternate forums on water, the WWC continues its business as usual”, Suna points out.
Earlier this year, several CSOs decided that there is no point boycotting the WWC. “It is important that we as the people's movements engaged with the human right to water issues join the WWC as members and try to reform it from the within”, he says.
At the WWC General Assembly, several noted CSO representatives and water activists, including the PV Rajagopal, of Ekta Parishad; and Lesha Witmer, of Women for Water Partnership, among others, contested in the elections of the leadership of WWC for the next three years. To the surprise of many, none of them got elected. “The result of the election clearly shows the composition and interest of the WWC”, says Suna.
“The CSOs and partner organisations of the WCC-EWN have not given up on the discouraging outcome of the general assembly elections”, says Suna. “However, they are more determined with a stronger resolve to continue to resist to the powers that be which are using the WWC as a platform to further their ambition of commodification of water in the name of addressing global water crisis”, he adds.
Learn more about the WCC's Ecumenical Water Network
"WCC reaffirms water as God’s gift and a human right" - WCC news release 27 March 2018
