Can Politics Be Separated From Water Management In Developing Countries?
Was brächte eine Trennung von Politik und Betrieb den Konsumenten, vor allem den Armen? Ist eine solche Trennung politisch durchsetzbar und welche Rahmenbedingungen müssen erfüllt sein?
It has been estimated that by 2025 1.8 billion people will inhabit regions suffering from water scarcity, and will not have enough clean water for consumption and food production. This, however, is not necessarily a consequence of a physical lack of water. It has been highlighted repeatedly, that the real cause of water scarcity is an economic lack of it, meaning that water scarcity occurs through mismanagement. Faulty water management structures can often be traced back to the political forces that are responsible for them, such as incompetent or corrupt governments. There have been repeated attempts to solve the persistent problems of a lack in efficiency and equality in water access by commercializing the utility and privatizing it. Both public and private management structures have their advantages and drawbacks, but when considering how a depoliticized water supply system could be established, privatization is the only option. The possible ways in which privatization can take place and how political forces can be kept to a minimum are examined here. The conclusion the evidence leads to is that political influences are inextricably present, and that this need not necessarily be undesirable. The success of water supply systems is not so much dependent upon whether the structure is public or private, political or depoliticized, but rather on the nature of the governance of it.