THE possibility of the sale of a North East water company added an extra edge to a conference yesterday on a worldwide water crisis.
The international event at Newcastle examined issues like the prospect of future water wars and whether water provision should be in public or private hands.
And Prof Esteban Castro, who has organised the conference, said the possible bid by the Hong Kong group CKI for Northumbrian Water was “very topical.”
CKI invests in water, energy and transport infrastructure companies internationally.
It is owned by Hong Kong-born billionaire Li Ka-shing, who is one of the richest men in the world
Prof Castro said: “One debate is who owns water? Do the people of the North East own its water? Is it private or is it public?”
Prof Castro said a problem was how people in the North East could intervene in the discussion between Northumbrian Water and CKI.
“The question is what are the implications for the people of the North East. But it has become a private matter,” said Prof Castro.
“There should be a public debate but it has been put in the private domain between private owners and it is as if the citizens of the North East have no say.”
The conference, which includes experts from Palestine, Brazil, Mexico and Finland, is part of the university’s Year of Sustainability.
Prof Castro said that there were already conflicts over scarce water supplies.
“There are 300 river basins in the world which are shared by at least two countries, while there is water scarcity and increasing demand.
“There is a water crisis in terms of supply and water equality. Some people have been openly saying that the wars of the 21st Century will be water wars.
“It’s widely accepted there is a world water crisis, but there is considerable debate surrounding the nature, causes, and more importantly the way forward to overcome it, or if it can be overcome at all.
“Big water companies who go into the developing world want to make a profit and are not there to solve social problems.” Wordlwide, 17% of the population lacks access to essential volumes of clean drinking water and 40% have no access to basic sanitation.
Prof Castro said one of the major topics for the Newcastle conference was how water supplies can be managed sustainably in the face of increasing demand and shrinking fresh water sources.
Another debate is over whether access to water and sanitation services is a public good and human right and whether water should be treated as a saleable commodity.
There is also the major task of universal access to water and sanitation services in poor countries. Management and political problems also affected access to water.
The event is being hosted by Newcastle University’s School of Geography, Politics & Sociology and the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability.
