Human Rights to Water

This chapter explores the variables that weigh most heavily in the freshwater supply problem and how they relate to water management practices in a global context. It examines the evolution of human rights to water and the challenges and advantages of such an approach to the freshwater supply problem and discusses the financial and organizational implications of human rights to water on developing nations. The chapter also explores some alternatives to a human rights based approach that recognize water as a fundamental right while simultaneously acknowledging a need for better and, in some cases, innovative management strategies to improve access. Ultimately, the freshwater problem is one of global proportions; nevertheless, the solution to the problem is unique to each watershed and is therefore limited in scope to the local and regional scales. M. Ramon Llamas applies the ethical principle of solidarity to balancing the needs of the many stakeholders involved in transboundary water disputes.