Third World Centre for Water Management
The Third World Centre for Water Management is a "knowledge-based, application oriented" global water management think tank headquartered in Mexico. [1].
Criticism of the United Nations and International Organizations' Approach to Water
The organization's founder and president, Professor Asit K. Biswas, has criticized the United Nations approach to water, claiming that water problems are caused not by physical scarcity, but by poor management, including corruption, interference by politicians and inexperience.
Professor Biswas told The Guardian that March 2010 figures from the World Health Organization about water access are "baloney."
"If somebody has a well in a town or village in the developing world and we put concrete around the well – nothing else – it becomes an 'improved source of water'. The quality is the same but you have 'improved' the physical structure, which has no impact," said Biswas. [2].
In a November 2009 interview, Professor Biswas stated that the world water "crisis" is a myth, and that the real problem is improper water resource management. According to Proessor Biswas:
"There is a fallacy the world doesn't understand. Everyone in the world has access to water. Everyone. If you didn't, you'd be dead by now. The issue is whether the water is clean, drinkable, and how convenient is it to get that water. So even in the slums of the worst cities people have access, but it's not clean, they pay through the nose and supply is very erratic. The point I'm trying to make is that everyone has access. The question is can we give them better service, and much lower cost and much higher convenience. My view is that all three are possible." [3]
Mission:
According to the Third World Centre for Water Management website, the organization's mission is to:
"Promote efficient water management and equitable water use, considering not only today's problems but also tomorrow's issues, within the overall context of international development and poverty alleviation, based on a global vision of solidarity, within the context of an era of globalisation."
References
- ↑ "About" page, Third World Centre website, accessed April 2010
- ↑ Water Pollution Expert Derides UN Sanitation Claims, The Guardian, April 25 2010
- ↑ Is There Really A Water Crisis? November 9, 2009, available at BoingBoing.net
