Water is a commons

This publication seeks to set aside the economist's vision of urban questions as such, with their emphasis on the laws of the market, and instead opt for a more integral historical, philosophical and reflective vision of water to better stimulate radical debate. It counters all three of the more traditional perspectives on the fulfillment of water and sanitation needs: the economic vision which sees them as a problem of pricing; the political vision of water and sanitation as a problem of servicing; and even the social vision which might label them as being a problem of participation. This is a perspective based on the historical vision of the management of water as commons: neither private nor public but of equal gratuitous access to all members of a given basin, who share a common understanding towards its conservation in accordance with its limits in the given context. It seems to represent a perspective which is critical of existing development paradigms concerning water. It aims to explore which elements can contribute to the clarification of the position the Habitat International Coalition (HIC) and other interested people and organizations should assume with respect to both the protection of the environment and to people's access to the fulfilment of their fundamental living requirements, in this case for drinking water and sanitation. Although not coming up with ready made solutions, this publication attempts to suggest new perspectives to help in the resolution of the rights of access to vital basic elements such as water, land and shelter, at a time when contemporary approaches to the provision of water and sanitation are neither sustainable nor meeting the needs.