Private monopolies versus public services In early 2022, Veolia completed the acquisition (hostile takeover) of large parts of the business and contracts of its main competitor, Suez. The two French giants have dominated the global private water and waste management market, far ahead of all their other competitors, for
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A Revolutionary World Water Day – FAME 2022 Opening Session and Press Conference
Each year on March 22nd the world turns their gaze to water, celebrating World Water Day. But for those suffering the daily injustices and indignities of life without access to the water they need to survive, to grow food, to exercise agency in all aspects of daily life, every day
Continue readingFinancialization, debt, and water in Africa – A Primer
Water is life, but it is also big business. Over the last 20 years activists and scholars have noted an alarming rise in the financialization of water; that is, water, and the infrastructure to manage and deliver it, is made into something that financiers can invest in to make a
Continue readingThe Real Value of Water: Valuing the Invaluable and the Threat of Pricing Water
What is the ‘value of water’? According to the World Water Day website (hosted by UN Water), “The value of water is about much more than its price — water has enormous and complex value for our households, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment.” The
Continue readingWater Financialization 101
This post is informed by the webinar ‘Water Financialization 101: Water Futures, Water Markets and Reclaiming the Global Water Commons’ organized by Food & Water Watch, the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy, the Transnational Institute, and the Blue Planet Project, held on March 24, 2021, to mark World Water
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