Water for the People Network

Twenty seven representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) from Bangladesh, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Manipur, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Vietnam, USA and Tajikistan, representing women, peasants, agricultural workers, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples, workers, academia, environmental and support NGOs and networks gathered at the “CSO  Strategy  Meeting  on the Right  to  Water:  Challenges  and  Imperatives  for Rio+20  and  Beyond” on June  10, 2012 at  La Thanh Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam. This event was organized by Water for the People Network (WPN), IBON International and Asia Pacific  Research  Network  (APRN),  in  partnership  with  the Sustainable  Rural  Development  and  Unitarian  Universalist  Service Committee (UUSC).

With the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development convening in June in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil twenty years after the historic Earth Summit,  CSO representatives from Asia have come together to have a critical understanding of the Green Economy agenda that is being negotiated on in  Rio+20  and  its  impact  on the people’s  right  to water  (RTW);  map  and  assess  the current  CSO  advocacy  strategies in pushing for the realization of the RTW at the local, national, regional and international levels; and develop an action plan and key messages in addressing urgent water issues during and after Rio+20. The strategy meeting was preceded by Asia Pacific Research Network’s Biennial Conference, “Rio for People,” from  June 4-7, 2012.

Key presentations were given by Maria Theresa Nera-Lauron of IBON International, Nguyen Thi Diu of Vietnam Rivers Network (VRN), Erdenechimeg Dashdorj of Center for Human Rights Development from  Mongolia and Rachel Ordu Dan-Harry of UUSC.  This  was  followed  by  a  presentation  and critiquing of  the  Right   to   Water  Modules. Focused group discussions on the challenges of realizing the right to water in Asia and a plenary session to strategically plan for  the network’s next steps in the post-Rio+20 scenario were also conducted.

Download the outcome document and presentations here.

Water for the People Network (WPN) joined 4,200 water justice activists who have gathered at the Alternative World Water Forum (alternately called, Forum Alternatif Mondial de L'eau or FAME) that took place from March 14-16 at Docks des Suds in Marseille, France. Under the overarching theme, “Resistance against Neoliberal Reforms,” WPN facilitated two workshops: (i) resource grabbing through water bottling, where the session presented case studies of the ill-effects of water bottling industries in China, Indonesia, Italy and Morocco; and (ii) local struggles against water privatization and public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Chile, Spain, Ecuador, Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines, where Maria Theresa Nera-Lauron of IBON International was one of the speakers presenting the case of Manila.

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CSO Strategy Meeting on the Right to Water: Challenges and Imperatives for Rio+20 and Beyond

Hanoi, Vietnam

10 June 2012

Twenty years after Rio 1992, we are nowhere near the future that we want with respect to universal access to water. And our collective future is threatened with the further commercialization of nature. Join Water for the People Network and IBON International in a strategy session on the right to water and sustainability towards Rio+20 and beyond in Hanoi, Vietnam on June 10, 2012.

The main objectives of this meeting are:

• To provide an overview of the current state of play in Rio+20, key points of contention in the draft outcome document, and overall critique of the Green Economy architecture from the perspective of Asian CSOs with an advocacy on water;

• To map out ongoing campaign initiatives and strategies towards Rio+20 and beyond on water and identify possible areas of cooperation; and

• To determine a clear message that Asian CSOs will bring to Rio+20 in line with the right to water and sustainability and find ways to effectively communicate this inside and outside the official process.