Water Justice News
-
NEWS: Pani Haq Samiti debate on India’s proposed National Water Policy
The Times of India reports, “Water should be treated as a public good and not as an economic one. This was the dominant point in a public debate organized by the Pani Haq Samiti on the National Water Policy, 2012, floated by the ministry of water resources.” “The draft copy of the policy has been…
-
UPDATE: Campero protests proposed Caballo Blanco mine in Veracruz, Mexico
According to the Vancouver-based mining company Goldgroup’s website, “Caballo Blanco, Goldgroup’s 100%-owned advanced stage flagship gold project, is located 65km northwest of Veracruz, Mexico’s largest port city. The project consists of two large areas of epithermal gold mineralization: Northern Zone, where the main La Paila Zone is located, and the Highway Zone. In 2011, Goldgroup…
-
Update from Johannesburg: It’s all about ‘how’ the RTW is implemented
After five years of struggle, activists from Phiri, Soweto, lost their legal case, Mazibuko and Others v. City of Johannesburg, at the Constitutional Court in October 2009. They had made the case that prepaid meters were unconstitutional and that the six kilolitres of free basic water must be increased and allocations made per […]
-
UPDATE: World’s water footprint linked to free trade
Katherine Rowland writes in Nature.com, “More than one-fifth of the world’s water supplies go towards crops and commodities produced for export, a new study reports. As developed nations import water-intensive goods from overseas, they place pressure on finite resources in areas where water governance and conservation policies are often lacking.” A University of Twente media…
-
NEWS: The ‘Indignados’ take aim at the World Water Forum, March 12-17
The Inter Press Service reports, “Still going strong in over 1000 cities around the world from the Occupiers to the Arab Spring activists, the persistence and successes of each movement seem to fuel the others. The next issue the indignados plan to fight is the privatisation of water, at the next World Water Forum in…
-
NEWS: Catarina de Albuquerque to visit Uruguay, Feb. 13-17
A United Nations media release has announced, “Special Rapporteur Catarina de Albuquerque will visit Uruguay from 13 to 17 February 2012, in what will be the first official mission to the country by an independent expert charged by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on the realisation of the human right to…
-
UPDATE: Council expresses solidarity with ‘The March for Water’ in Peru
Prensa Latina reports, “The March for Water, which started in Cajamarca, confirmed it will be arriving in Lima on Thursday, and participants are scheduled to attend a forum on water resources. …The march is demanding a ban on the use of mercury and arsenic in mining, to stop mining in the basin headwaters and the…
-
Historic pilgrimage of the Wixárika
The threat of loosing their most sacred place to Canadian mining has brought together the Wixárika (Huichol) from different States of Mexico for a unprecedented collective prayer in Wirikuta. The Huffington Post reports: “The Wixarika… hope to gain some insights in a historic “spiritual consultation” regarding the threats to their most sacred site, Wirikuta. The…
-
NEWS: Canadian mining company’s plans in Argentina stopped over water concerns
Mexico City-based Blue Planet Project organizer Claudia Campero Arena notes that Montreal-based Osisko mining corporation’s proposed Famatina gold mine project in Argentina has been stopped due to widespread concern over water consumption and pollution. Protests against the proposed mine included a demonstration of more than 300 people in front of the Canadian embassy in Buenos…
-
NEWS: Thousands to ask Peruvian Congress to recognize the human right to water, Feb. 10
Fox News reports, “Civil society groups in Peru plan to begin a national march on Thursday (Feb. 2) to pressure lawmakers to ban mining in the headwaters of river basins, a contentious issue in one of the world’s top sources of base and precious metals. Supporters of the march also want Peru’s constitution to recognize…