News
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Right to Water in Mexican Constitution
I am so excited to announce that the Mexican Senate has voted to add the right to water to the Constitution just moments ago! This initiative also adds the right to a healthy environment! The initiative now needs to be voted in the majority of the state legislations, which might still take a few months,…
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UPDATE: The human right to water in the Mexican Constitution – one step closer
For years, Mexican organizations have been pushing our government to acknowledge the human right to water and act accordingly. The Coalition of Mexican Organizations for the Right to Water (COMDA), together with other organizations, started a campaign for the right to water in 2006. However, it seemed unlikely at that time such an initiative would…
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‘This is damning evidence of the dangers of handing control of public services to private firms’
A MASSIVE £4.8 billion of public money is being paid to multinational corporations to run water-works that are plagued with breakdowns and pollution, an investigation by the Sunday Herald has revealed. Internal reports from Scottish Water lay bare for the first time the scandal of contracts signed under the private finance initiative (PFI) backed by…
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Vermont water as a public trust law challenges quarry permit
The Burlington Free Press reports that, “In the first cases involving Vermont’s 2008 groundwater protection law, an state Environmental Court judge has ruled that regulators must take additional steps to consider the impact on groundwater when reviewing projects with a potential to pollute.” “Judge Merideth Wright on Wednesday reopened a permit issued last year by…
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WIN! Judge orders construction of Zapotillo dam suspended
The Inter Press Service has reported that the Zapotillo dam in Mexico “would divert the course of the Verde river and carry water to the cities of León and Guadalajara. The project, to be completed by late 2012, also involves the construction of a 140-km aqueduct from the dam, pumping plants, a disinfection plant, a…
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Victory for Kalahari Bushmen as court grants right to water
In a momentous decision, Botswana’s Court of Appeal today quashed a ruling that denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water on their ancestral lands. With support from Survival, the Bushmen appealed a 2010 High Court judgment that prevented them from accessing a well which they rely on for water. The panel of five Appeal Court judges has…
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Kalahari Bushmen win right to water in Botswana court decision
Survival International reports this morning that, “In a momentous decision, Botswana’s Court of Appeal today quashed a ruling that denied the Kalahari Bushmen access to water on their ancestral lands. …Celebrating after the decision, a Bushman spokesman said, ‘We are very happy that our rights have finally been recognized. Like any human beings, we need…
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Bushmen ‘determined’ as legal battle over water approaches climax
On January 17th, Botswana’s Court of Appeal will begin a hearing to decide whether Kalahari Bushmen living on their ancestral lands have the right to water. The Bushmen, who returned to their lands in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve after a previous court victory, are appealing against a 2010 High Court ruling that denied their…
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WIN! The Human Right to Water and Sanitation
On July 28, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly agreed to a resolution declaring the human right to “safe and clean drinking water and sanitation.” The resolution, presented by the Bolivian government, had 122 countries vote in its favour, while 41 countries – including Canada – abstained.