Water: Towards a Culture of ResponsibilityClean, fresh drinking water is essential to human and animal life. It's equally important to the world economy: it functions as a universal solvent, makes possible industrial cooling and transportation, and is necessary for all kinds of agriculture. Antoine Frerot, CEO of Veolia Water, takes us on a tour of the world's waters, of our water. Lack of clean water kills 2.2 million people every year, and nearly 1 billion people do not have reliable access to clean drinking water. Using examples that transform theory into close-to-home reality, Frerot issues a serious challenge while showing us how to ensure that all the fast-growing cities of Asia, Africa, and Latin America have enough water. He considers how climate change will cause water shortages and explains what we can do now to prevent them. We have the political, economic, and scientific means to ensure the future of water on earth: we need only the will to take action. |
Contents
| 5 | |
The Water Century | 19 |
Satisfying Growing Needs | 20 |
Preventing Further Loss of the Quality of Our Water Sources | 31 |
Europe Sets a Goal A Return to Good Water Quality | 42 |
Water The Primary Issue for Human Development | 50 |
Waters False Friends | 61 |
Climate Change and Water Disturbing Facts | 62 |
Water Is the Service Too Expensive? | 96 |
Funders Often Criticised But Indispensable | 111 |
Finding New Models | 123 |
New Resources | 127 |
New Economic and Financial Models | 141 |
Helping More the Disadvantaged | 149 |
Governance At the Root of the Problem at the Heart of the Solution | 164 |
Conclusion | 177 |
Two Misplaced Good Ideas Free Water and User Pays for All | 72 |
The Private Sector Too Much or Too Little Involvement? | 79 |
Common terms and phrases
access to water Africa agricultural aquifers areas average basic sanitation Burkina Faso CFA francs cities climate change communities consumers costs debate delegated management demand desalination developing countries development aid drinking water economic environment environmental Europe European finance FINDING NEW MODELS France free water French Development Agency global governance Grameen Bank increase infrastructures inhabitants investment less litres Millennium Development Goals Millennium Goals million nitrates organisations pollution population price of water private operators private sector problem programmes projects public authorities public service public-private partnerships rainwater reduce regions responsibility rivers safe drinking water sanitation services scarcity sea water social sources tariffs tion towns transparency UNDP urban Veolia Water waste water waste water recycling water and sanitation WATER CENTURY WATER FINDING water management water policy water price water quality water resources water services water supply WATER THE WATER WATER WATER'S FALSE WATER'S FALSE FRIENDS World Bank