Term 3 Week 2 (Blogging Assignment)

An article entitled 'The Religion of Water' was published in The Straits Times on 7 July 2011. In the article, it was mentioned that ' within countries, there is debate over whether water should be treated as a human right or as a commodity, access to which is determined by the market.' Please read the article.

Is there a difference between treating water as a human right and as a commodity? In your opinion, should water be treated as a human right or as a commodity?

Water as a right precedes water as a commodity - the intrinsic value of the Earth's fresh water precedes its utility and commercial value.

Water is essential to life and, therefore, cannot be considered a normal good. Humans are completely dependent on water for sustenance. No other good is able to take the place of water in the maintenance of human life; none fits this description. While food is a necessity for human life, all foods can be substituted by other foods. This makes water even more unique and necessary than food in the preservation of life; there is no substitute for it. As such, water has a special place in the lives of humans. It is not like other commodities. Our right to life and all other rights that are dependent on or relevant to life are dependent on access to water. Water should therefore take its rightful place as a right.

The extraction and supply of water has many externalities that need to be considered and protected against by the governments, which make it a non-normal good. Water extraction can cause serious environmental harm if done irresponsibly or carelessly, without a regard for the environment. It can lead to a large number of casualties of wildlife and human life. If water supply is done irresponsibly and no action is taken to curb or control the output, it can result in water depletion and the resulting scarcity may cause broad economic shocks.

Furthermore, the fluidity and mobility of water makes it very difficult or even impossible to stake ownership. Water reserves and resources are incredibly hard to stake ownership over. Various factors such as evaporation and river flows are natural forces that make water different from land as far as the ability to claim ownership over a certain portion goes.