Suchergebnisse

1 Urban water conflicts: Background and conceptual framework 1.1 UNESCO-IHP Taskforce on Urban Water Conflicts 1.2 Socioeconomic and institutional aspects of urban water management 1.3 Definition of urban water: an impure public good 1.4 A few methodologies for analysing urban water conflicts 1.5 Conclusions 2 Urban water conflicts in recent European history: Changing interactions between technology, environment and society 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Governments intervene to provide long distance supply of clean water2.3 From quantity at a distance to quality close at hand 2.4 The crisis of municipa

Urban water conflicts manifested first in Europe in the 19th century and are observed nowadays in various forms throughout the world; in particular, in developing countries. Main causes of these conflicts are characterized by complex socioeconomic and institutional issues related to urban water management. The debate about public water services versus private water supplies is frequently associated with conflicts over water price and affordability. On the other hand, the issue of centralization versus decentralization of water utilities is also often discussed in the context of institutiona.

On veut ici essayer de clarifier ce qu'on entend par « bien commun » : après avoir montré qu'on mobilise inutilement ce terme lorsqu'on veut remunicipaliser les services publics, on rappelle la répartition des biens en quatre catégories dans l'économie institutionnelle, où les biens communs sont ceux où il y a rivalité mais difficulté d'exclusion, ce qui s'applique à une partie des ressources en eau. Puis on montre que la gestion par bassins faisant appel à la démocratie participative, reste difficile en France contrairement à ce qui se passe aux Pays-Bas et dans la Ruhr, du fait des restrictions de la Constitution. Mais ce qui n'est pas possible pour les agences de l'eau peut-il s'envisager à l'échelle des EPTB ?

After recalling that European public Water Services are of high quality, this paper studies the emerging threats to their sustainability : decrease of volumes used, multiplication of drinking water criteria, growing disputes about the price. Yet the search for individual solutions, amined at reducing the ecological footprint, might not be sustainable, because it would further reduce the equilibrium of public services.