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INTENTION : |
That all peoples may have access to water and other resources needed for daily life.
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In 2010, the United Nations declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right, "essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights". Without water, no human being can survive for more than a few days. Lack of access to water kills more children annually than AIDS, malaria and measles combined, while the lack of sanitation affects 40 per cent of the global population. http://www.righttowater.info/
But the challenge to access safe drinking water is not just a problem of people in developing countries. In many developed countries around the world, drinking water becomes expensive when public water sources are being sold by the government to big companies, who then sell that water for a profit, making it subject to market forces. Bottled water also adds a huge amount of plastic bottles to landfills, where they take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
Taking up these concerns, Benedict XVI, in an address at the World Expo in Zaragoza, Spain, in 2008, said that the right to water "is founded on the dignity of the human person; it is necessary in this perspective to examine attentively the approach of those who consider and treat water merely as an economic commodity. Its use must be rational and supportive, the result of a balanced synergy between the public and private sectors."
The indirect use of water for food production raises serious questions about the lifestyle in developed countries. The production of one kilogram of beef requires on global average 16,000 litres of water. To produce one cup of coffee takes on average 140 litres of water. We are all aware of the fact that people in developing countries consume less water, but we should also take into account that the more developed a country is, the more it tends to "import" its water consumption at the expense of other countries. For example, many flowers sold in European markets come from Kenya, where they drain local water resources while Europeans can keep "swimming"; and 65% of Japanese water consumption comes from outside the country, in the form of rice, meat and other goods and services. (http://www.waterfootprint.org/)
In principle, a simple change in attitude can motivate us to save water every day: to be reverent and appreciative of water, remembering it is a gift from God, not to be wasted. At home, we can show this reverence every time we close the tap while brushing our teeth, when we take a shower rather than a bath, when we fix a leaking tap or faucet, or when we have a vegetarian meal instead of meat. Outside the home, we can be aware of issues around bottled water, buy from local rather than multinational companies in places where tap water is not safe to drink, and get involved in local or national campaigns against the privatisation of water. This year, we are invited to pray for the success of the 5th World Water Forum from 12th to 17th March 2012 in Marseille, France and to organise a prayer service for World Water Day on 22nd March. (http://www.worldwaterforum.org/)
"The water issue is truly a right to life issue."
(Holy See delegation at the 4th World Water Forum, Mexico City, 2006)
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