Andreas Schwaiger
Water – a public good
Nothing to be taken for granted
While clean water from the tap is taken for granted in Switzerland, 663 million people worldwide still lack access to water. Poor and disadvantaged people are those most affected by this shortcoming.
Their access to clean water is being threatened by the diversion of rivers to provide irrigation for single-crop farming, for dam projects and mining projects, or as a result of extensive water pollution by pesticides. Wherever there is a shortage, there will invariably be people trying to make a profit. Big corporations view water as a valuable economic asset and are promoting the privatization of water resources.
Annette Boutellier
Water – a human right
In 2010 the UN declared access to water a human right. The «Declaration on the rights of peasants» adopted by the UN General Assembly at the end of 2017 also unequivocally grants rural population groups the right of access to water. The affected people themselves represent the most significant force for implementing the human right to water. The fact is that well-informed people are empowered to defend and claim their rights.
HEKS/EPER assists them in this regard. For years we have been striving, through our project work in Africa, Asia and Latin America, to improve and secure access to water, for example by building or repairing drinking water wells and agricultural irrigation systems. HEKS/EPER also secures drinking water supplies in the wake of natural disasters or in refugee camps.
Walter Imhof