Water Law Poverty And Development

This monograph comprehensively examines water law regulations and reform in the present decade, going beyond a simple analysis of existing water law and regulations to encompass environmental, social, economic, and human rights aspects of water as a natural resource. Using the specific case of India and on the related international law and policy framework that directly influences water regulatory developments in India, this book offers what will be the first and only analysis of water law reforms taking place at the national level in many developing countries in their domestic and international context. On the one hand, international freshwater law remains under-developed and existing legal instruments such as the 1997 UN Convention only address a limited set of relevant issues. Yet, the international law and policy framework concerning freshwater is increasingly important in shaping up law reforms taking place at the national level, in particular in developing countries. Indeed, non-binding resolutions such as the Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development (1992) have had an immense influence on water law reforms in most developing countries. This book seeks to conceive of and analyse freshwater regulation in a broader context, and go beyond a literature that either lauds or criticises ongoing water sector reforms to provide an analytical basis for the reforms which all countries will have to adopt in the near or medium-term future.

Publisher Description

This monograph comprehensively examines water law regulations and reform in the present decade, going beyond a simple analysis of existing water law and regulations to encompass environmental, social, economic, and human rights aspects of water as a natural resource. Using the specific case of India and on the related international law and policy framework that directly influences water regulatory developments in India, this book offers what will be the first and only analysis of water law reforms taking place at the national level in many developing countries in their domestic and international context. On the one hand, international freshwater law remains under-developed and existing legal instruments such as the 1997 UN Convention only address a limited set of relevant issues. Yet, the international law and policy framework concerning freshwater is increasingly important in shaping up law reforms taking place at the national level, in particular in developing countries. Indeed, non-binding resolutions such as the Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development (1992) have had an immense influence on water law reforms in most developing countries. This book seeks to conceive of and analyse freshwater regulation in a broader context, and go beyond a literature that either lauds or criticises ongoing water sector reforms to provide an analytical basis for the reforms which all countries will have to adopt in the near or medium-term future.

The United Nations World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) is hosted and led by UNESCO. WWAP brings together the work of 31 UN-Water Members as well as 37 Partners to publish the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) series. Under the theme Water for Sustainable Development, the WWDR 2015 has been prepared as a contribution from UN-Water to the discussions surrounding the post-2015 framework for global sustainable development. Highlighting water's unique and often complex role in achieving various sustainable development objectives, the WWDR 2015 is addressed to policy- and decision-makers inside and outside the water community, as well as to anyone with an interest in freshwater and its many life-giving benefits. The report sets an aspirational yet achievable vision for the future of water towards 2050 by describing how water supports healthy and prosperous human communities, maintains well functioning ecosystems and ecological services, and provides a cornerstone for short and long-term economic development. It provides an overview of the challenges, issues and trends in terms of water resources, their use and water-related services like water supply and sanitation. The report also offers, in a rigorous yet accessible manner, guidance about how to address these challenges and to seize the opportunities that sound water management provides in order to achieve and maintain economic, social and environmental sustainability.

... Based on presentations made at the International Conference on the Human Right to Water in Berlin, Germany, 21-22 October 2005.

Natural resources such as forests and fisheries play a larger role in the national income and wealth of less developed economies. This handbook is designed to serve as a guide for champions and practitioners engaged in the task of mainstreaming poverty-environment linkages into national development planning. The handbook draws on a substantial body of experience at the country level and the many lessons learned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in working with governments — especially ministries of planning, finance and environment — to support efforts to integrate the complex interrelationships between poverty reduction and improved environmental management into national planning and decision-making

About the publication This book addresses poverty, one of the important issues confronting Africa, from a multi-disciplinary approach. With contributions from eminent scholars from diverse backgrounds, the book explores poverty from a human rights perspective. Its central message is that poverty is not necessarily a failure on the part of an individual, but rather caused by the actions or inactions of governments, which are often exacerbated by structural inequalities in many African societies. This in turn requires a more pragmatic approach grounded in respect for human rights. Exploring the link between poverty and human rights in Africa will be useful to researchers, policymakers, students, activists and others interested in addressing poverty. Table of Contents PREFACE viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS x CONTRIBUTORS xi 1. General introduction to poverty and human rights in Africa Ebenezer Durojaye & Gladys Mirugi-Mukundi 1 Introduction 2 Understanding poverty 3 Nexus between poverty and human rights 4 Significance of this book 4.1 The relevance 5 Overview of the book 5.1 Section I: Trends and incidence of poverty in Africa 5.2 Section II: Poverty and socio-economic rights 5.3 Section III: Poverty and vulnerable groups 5.4 Section IV: Poverty and access to justice 2. Integrating a human rights approach to food security in national plans and budgets: The South African National Development Plan Julian May 1 Introduction 2 Human rights and food security 3 Development planning and human rights 4 The components of budgeting for human rights 4.1 Diagnostic analysis 4.2 Identifying interventions and budget prioritisation 4.3 Estimating the financial costs of achieving food security 4.5 Estimating social and economic benefits 5 Public expenditure management for food security 5.1 Fiscal and monetary policy 5.2 Multi-year budgeting 6 Conclusion 3. Is South Africa winning the war on poverty and inequality? What do the available statistics tell us? Emmanuel Sekyere, Steven Gordon, Gary Pienaar & Narnia Bohler-Muller 1 Introduction 1.1 Income inequality in South Africa 2 Poverty and human development trends in South Africa 2.1 South African Social Attitudes Survey: Perceptions of poverty 2.2 Human development 3 Access to services 4 Addressing social inequality in South Africa 4.1 Addressing income inequality in South Africa 4.2 Addressing human development challenges 4.3 Addressing service delivery 5 Conclusion and summary of findings 4. Who really ‘state-captured’ South Africa? Revealing silences in poverty, inequality and structurally-corrupt capitalism Patrick Bond 1 Introduction 2 Inequality, the state and its ‘capture’ 3 The political economy of the capitalist state 4 World Bank inequality denialism 5 The fight between hostile brothers: The ‘Zuptas’ and ‘White Monopoly Capital’ 6 Social resistances 5. Poverty, women and the human right to water for growing food Ngcimezile Mbano-Mweso 1 Introduction 2 The human right to water 2.1 Recognition in international law 2.2 Definition and content: Is there a right to water for growing food? 2.3 Normative content of the human right to water for growing food 3 Conclusion 6. The link between environmental pollution and poverty in Africa Olubayo Oluduro 1 Introduction 2 Legal framework for the protection of the environment in Africa 3 Nature of environmental pollution in Africa 3.1 Environmental pollution in Africa: Case studies of some countries 4 Nexus between pollution and poverty 4.1 Environmental pollution leads to diversion of labour 4.2 Increased burden of disease in poor countries 4.3 Problem of food security 4.4 Right to safe drinking water 5 Protecting the environment to fight poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 6 Recommendations 6.1 Political commitment 6.2 Promotion of education and information sharing 6.3 Eliminating poverty 7 Conclusion 138 7. Alleviating poverty through retirement reforms Kitty Malherbe 1 Introduction 2 Poverty among older persons 3 Current social security provision for older persons 4 Arguments for the reform of the current retirement income system 5 Proposed retirement reforms 5.1 Comprehensive social security and retirement reform process 5.2 Reforms proposed by National Treasury 6 Constitutional principles guiding reforms 6.1 Coordinated approach 6.2 Inclusivity 6.3 Progressive realisation 6.4 Governance and accountability 6.5 Availability of resources 6.6 ‘Lifespan’ view to addressing poverty 7 Potential impact of social security and retirement income reforms 8. Disability, poverty and human rights in Africa: Opportunities for poverty reduction from the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Enoch M Chilemba 1 Introduction 2 Poverty, disability and human rights link in Africa 2.1 Persons with disabilities in Africa: Among the poorest of the poor 2.2 Poverty, disability and human rights linkage 3 Utilising the opportunities from CRPD in countering obstacles relating to disability and poverty in Africa 3.1 Fostering equality and non-discrimination to reduce poverty 3.2 Fostering inclusive education to eradicate poverty 3.3 Enhancing employment in the open labour market to eradicate poverty 3.4 Ensuring social protection to reduce poverty 4 Conclusion 188 9.The co-existence of gender inequality and poverty Nomthandazo Ntlama 1 Introduction 2 SADC’s transformative vision in eliminating gender inequalities and poverty 2.1 Reducing poverty and eliminating gender inequality: A mammoth task 2.2 Towards a transformative region: Advancing the principles of the community of nations 3 Conclusion 10. The potential of the African human rights system in addressing poverty Bright Nkrumah 1 Introduction 2 Norm creation and norm enforcement: Issues and implications 2.1 Normative framework for addressing poverty 2.2 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 2.3 Little angels: African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 2.4 Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa 3 Other instruments relating to poverty 3.1 AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (Anti-Corruption Convention) 3.2 Declaration on Employment and Poverty Alleviation in Africa 3.4 Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme 4 Institutional frameworks for addressing poverty 4.1 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights 4.2 African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child 4.3 African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights 4.4 Need for complementarity: The road not taken 5 Other related mechanisms 5.1 New Partnership for Africa’s Development 5.2 African Peer Review Mechanism 6 International best practice dealing with poverty 7 Concluding reflections 11. Realising access to justice for the poor: Lessons from working with rural communities Victoria Balogun 1 Introduction 2 What is access to justice for the poor? 3 How are non-profit organisations such as the Centre for Community Justice and Development promoting access to justice in South Africa post-1994? 4 Are there any barriers to access to justice and do they have any implication(s) for the poor in poor communities? 5 The intersection between poverty and access to justice for poor communities 6 Access to justice, the role of legal aid offices and the commitment to serve the poor in poor communities 7 Equality and access to justice for the poor 8 Conclusion 12. The role of the South African Human Rights Commission in ensuring state accountability to address poverty Rachael Adams 1 Introduction 2 Poverty and human rights 2.1 International human rights law 2.2 Poverty and human rights in South Africa 2.3 Socio-economic rights 3 What do we mean by state accountability? 3.1 State accountability 4 South African Human Rights Commission 4.1 Mandate and functions 4.2 Reporting requirements 5 Structures of accountability 5.1 Complaints 5.2 Reporting 6 Inequality and intersectional discrimination 6.1 Interdependence of rights and the role of government 7 Conclusion: The role of the South African Human Rights Commission

This text considers the issues of world poverty and global justice, addressing the ability of people in poor or developing countries to have enough food, or clean water, or access to basic healthcare. It draws on international law aimed at the protection and promotion of human rights.