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Ensuring the human right to water requires monitoring at national or subnational levels, but few comprehensive frameworks exist for industrialized contexts. This paper introduces a subnational-level framework – known as the California Human Right to Water Framework and Data Tool (CalHRTW) – developed by the authors at the California EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. This paper has two objectives: (1) to present the theoretical foundations and methodology used to develop the first version of CalHRTW (CalHRTW 1.0) and (2) to showcase how results can be used. CalHRTW 1.0 measures three components of the human right to water: drinking water quality, accessibility and affordability for community water systems in California. Nine individual indicators grouped by component, and three indices that summarize component-level outcomes are used to quantify system-level results. CalHRTW allows users to: (1) summarize system-level conditions statewide and identify challenges, (2) explore social equity implications and (3) centralize information for planning. CalHRTW draws on approaches from existing international monitoring efforts and complements existing California efforts by being the first US effort to comprehensively and explicitly monitor the HRTW under one umbrella. This work offers other US states and countries a model to build monitoring efforts to realize the human right to water. HIGHLIGHTS CalHRTW is the first effort to comprehensively monitor the human right to water in California.; We develop a monitoring framework and tool track the human right to water in California.; Nine indicators and three component-level indices allow users to track water system-level conditions and screen for challenges, explore social equity implications and centralize information.; The approach and application offers a model for other subnational locales.

Un peu moins de dix ans après sa création et au lendemain de l’arrivée des trithérapies, Act Up-Paris, association de lutte contre le sida issue de la communauté homosexuelle, se dote en 1997 d’un groupe interne dédié à la gestion de ses archives et autres ressources documentaires. Enquêter sur le dispositif mis en place par ce groupe amène à réfléchir aux différentes fonctions que peuvent revêtir l’archivage et la mémoire en contexte militant. L’Archive est une mémoire des morts, le lieu centralisant les traces d’actions passées qui témoignent des rapports de force face aux pouvoirs publics, espace d’apprentissage pratique et politique, facteur de continuité et de transmission entre générations. Jusqu’à ce que ce processus d’accumulation ne devienne un véritable « problème »… matériel. En 2013, Act Up-Paris est placée en redressement judiciaire. Face à la menace de sa disparition, le choix est fait de confier ses archives aux institutions étatiques. Or, ce sauvetage patrimonial n’est pas dépourvu d’ambivalence quant à son sens et à ses effets. Revenir aux manières de concevoir l’archive et la mémoire des militants et militantes d’Act Up-Paris permet justement de percevoir, au fil du temps, les transformations et les tensions dans lesquelles elles sont prises. In 1997, a little less than a decade after its founding, and just after the arrival of triple combination therapies, Act Up-Paris, an association created within the homosexual community to fight against AIDS, created an internal group for the management of its archives and other documentary resources. Investigating the set-up developed by the group raises questions about the different functions archiving and memory can serve in an activist context. The Archive became the memory of the dead, a place centralizing the traces of past actions that expressed the power relations with public authorities, a space for practical and political education, and a factor of continuity and inter-generational transmission. At least until this process of accumulation became a real material ‘problem’. In 2013, Act-Up Paris was near bankruptcy. Faced with the threat of its disappearance, the association chose to transfer its archives to public institutions, but the meaning and impact of this rescue of a cultural heritage remain ambivalent. Reviewing the ways the archive and the memory of the activists of Act-Up Paris were conceived allows us to perceive the transformations and tensions accompanying them over time.

Dans quelle mesure la mobilisation de la notion de générations futures, dans les domaines de la science, du politique ou encore des médias, contribue-t-elle paradoxalement à occulter les enfants et les jeunes d’aujourd’hui, en tant qu’acteurs de chair et d’os et dotés d’agentivité ? En quoi interroge-t-elle le rapport au patrimoine, et plus particulièrement la patrimonialisation comme processus d’appropriation et de transmission ? Après avoir situé les notions d’enfance et de génération, l’analyse de deux études de cas ethnographiques, fondées sur des travaux de terrain menés au Mexique et en France avec des enfants et des jeunes, permettra de confirmer notre hypothèse selon laquelle la notion de générations futures relève d’un discours a-historique à visée performative et sous-tendu par plusieurs présupposés conduisant à minorer la place et le rôle des enfants et des jeunes dans la patrimonialisation. To what extent does the use of the notion of ‘future generations’, in the areas of science, politics or the media, paradoxically help to eclipse today’s children and youth as flesh-and-blood actors endowed with agency? How does it question the relationship to cultural heritage, and more specifically, to the designation of that heritage as a process of appropriation and transmission? After preliminary remarks situating the notions of childhood and generation, we analyse two ethnographic case studies based on fieldwork with infants and young people in Mexico and France. These studies confirm our hypothesis that the notion of future generations stems from an ahistorical discourse with a performative aim and presuppositions that lead to reducing the place and role of children and young people in the process of heritage creation.

Ce texte issu de deux entretiens avec Michel Manson retrace son parcours d’historien de l’enfance. Il explique que, malgré les travaux de Philippe Ariès, les enfants restaient encore, au commencement de sa carrière dans les années 1970, singulièrement absents des préoccupations historiques. De l’Antiquité à nos jours, sont considérées les trois grandes thématiques auxquelles il s’est plus particulièrement intéressé, à savoir le jeu et le jouet, la littérature pour la jeunesse et les sucreries (les bonbons). Lors de ces entretiens, des photographies sur des trouvailles archéologiques, sur des objets, sur des peintures (Pierre Bruegel, Lucas Cranach…) ont été soumises à sa sagacité pour recueillir ses réflexions sur les osselets, les poupées, le cheval-bâton, la représentation de l’enfance et de ses jouets dans l’histoire de l’art, le passage du jouet écologique au jouet industriel, les scénographies des musées du jouet. This text, based on two interviews with Michel Manson, retraces his experience as a historian of childhood. He explains that at the beginning of his career in the 1970s, in spite of the pioneering studies of Philippe Ariès (1914-1984), children were still strangely absent from historical preoccupations. The three major themes which have particularly interested him are games and toys, literature for children and sweets, from Antiquity to the present day. During these interviews, he was shown photographs of archaeological finds, objects and paintings (by Bruegel the Elder, Lucas Cranach and others) in order to elicit his thoughts on knucklebones, dolls, the hobby horse, the representation of childhood and toys in the history of art, the passage from the ecological toy to the industrial toy and scenography in toy museums.

Qu’il s’agisse de sections mises en place au sein d’institutions muséales existantes (Muséum national d’histoire naturelle, Cité des sciences et de l’industrie, Historial de la Vendée) ou d’établissements entièrement conçus pour le jeune public (le Musée en Herbe, le Préau des Accoules, etc.), les musées pour enfants fleurissent aussi timidement que tardivement dans l’Hexagone, à considérer leur multiplication outre-Atlantique, et ce, dès la toute fin du xixe siècle. À l’heure où se forge le concept s’en distinguent en France les musées d’éducation ou musées pédagogiques, plus anciens, qui s’adressent quant à eux prioritairement aux enseignants, tandis que s’en rapprochent les musées scolaires. Ce faisant, l’étanchéité des modèles ne recouvrant pas celle des réalisations, les frontières se brouillent permettant l’émergence à Paris, au sein du Musée pédagogique, d’un musée des Poupées que fréquentent les enfants et où s’exposent, en miniatures, l’histoire et la géographie de la diversité costumière. Confrontant cette expérience singulière, dont le dénouement s’avère loin d’être prémédité, à celles menées concomitamment au Brooklyn Children’s Museum, premier du genre, l’analyse met en exergue l’enfance d’un certain sens du patrimoine, faisant la part belle à la participation et à l’expérience. Compared with the spread of children’s museums in North America – a phenomenon dating back to the very end of the 19th century – France’s initiatives, whether the special sections set up within existing museum structures (the Museum national d’Histoire naturelle and the Cité des sciences et de l’industrie in Paris, the Historial de la Vendée in the Loire region) or new institutions entirely conceived for young visitors (the Musée en Herbe in Paris, le Préau des Accoules in Marseilles, etc.) have been slow in coming. When the concenpt first emerged, educational museums, which were older and mainly addressed at teachers, were distinguished from the slightly later school museums created by pupils in class. These hermetically separate models did not necessarily correspond to the end results, however, and the blurring of the borders permitted, for example, the creation of a doll museum within the Musée Pédagogique in Paris, where children could discover in miniature form the history and geography of clothing styles. By comparing this singular experiment and its unanticipated outcome with those carried out at the pioneering Brooklyn Children’s Museum in New York, this analysis highlights the ‘childhood’ of a certain approach to cultural heritage that favours participation and direct experience.

Le 15 avril 2019, l’incendie de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris provoque une émotion internationale. En France, cet événement surgit à l’intérieur d’un autre, tout aussi brûlant : le mouvement social inédit des Gilets jaunes qui bat son plein depuis cinq mois déjà. Le soir de l’incendie, une allocution présidentielle devait clore le « grand débat national » censé répondre à la contestation. L’incendie reporte l’allocution et importe l’émotion patrimoniale au cœur de la mobilisation sociale. L’émotion est d’emblée polémique et politique. Sur les réseaux sociaux puis dans la rue ou sur les ronds-points, les Gilets jaunes doivent réagir à l’événement et le prendre en charge dans leur agenda depuis leur position spécifique. Ces diverses réactions et actions illustrent l’inventivité propre au mouvement tout en offrant un observatoire sur les enjeux politiques contemporains du patrimoine. On 15 April 2019, the fire that ravaged the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris provoked great emotion worldwide. In France, however, this event emerged within another one: the unprecedented gilets jaunes (‘yellow vests’) social movement that had been in full swing for five months. The evening of the fire, a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron was scheduled to close the ‘great national debate’ organised in response to the protests. The fire put the speech on standby and put heritage emotion at the centre of the social mobilisation. This emotion was immediately polemical and political: on the social networks, and then in the streets or at the roundabouts, the gilets jaunes had to react to the event and integrate it into their own specific agenda. These different reactions and actions illustrate the movement’s particular inventiveness but also offer an observation post for analysing the contemporary political stakes of the cultural heritage.

« Il est difficile de travailler dans une école qui n’a pas de mémoire. » Ces propos de Philippe Durey, qui dirigea l’École du Louvre avant de consacrer plusieurs années de recherches et d’écriture à ce livre éclairent le projet qui a été le sien et permettent de penser que la tâche de ses successeurs sera plus aisée, tant son ouvrage vient, de manière fort heureuse, combler un manque et donner une histoire à l’École du Louvre tout en lui rendant la mémoire. Certes, tout n’était pas inconnu ...

L’article considère le « frémissement patrimonial » que peut causer l’évocation des « parties de sonnette » (le jeu qui consiste à sonner à une porte, puis à déguerpir). De nombreux matériaux (petits films contemporains réalisés par les enfants eux-mêmes, évocations littéraires anciennes, dessins humoristiques d’albums pour la jeunesse, témoignages…) sont mobilisés pour considérer comment les enfants se jouent des adultes. Attesté depuis le xixe siècle, ce jeu a suivi les transformations des dispositifs sonores associés au seuil (heurtoir, cordon, sonnette électrique). Il n’est pas exempt de dangerosité (réelle ou symbolique), car c’est le piment de ce jeu d’enfants que de savoir que les « victimes » adultes peuvent s’exaspérer d’être dérangées. Par son ancienneté, par l’émotion qu’il suscite, ce jeu pourrait presque relever du « patrimoine » de l’enfance ; des romans régionalistes, des fêtes locales et des sites Internet de villages du Sud-Ouest, mettent d’ailleurs en avant la « tradition » équivalente du « tustet » ou du « martelet ». Plusieurs éléments concourent néanmoins pour que ce tout petit jeu n’accède jamais à une « inscription » patrimoniale. This article considers the ‘heritage quiver’ that can be caused by the mention of « ding, dong, ditch » (a game that consists of ringing at someone’s door and running off). Various materials – little films from the present day made by the children themselves, literary citations from the past, children’s cartoons, testimonies – are used to explore how children tease adults. Attested since the 19th century, this prank has followed the transformation of sound devices associated with the doorstep (knocker, string, electric doorbell). It contains its share of danger, whether real or symbolic, because children thrive on the knowledge that the adult ‘victims’ they disturb can loose their tempers. In its long history and the emotion it arouses, this game is almost part of the ‘cultural heritage’ of childhood. Indeed, regionalist novels, local celebrations and websites of villages in southwestern France highlight the equivalent ‘tradition’ of the « tustet » (with a door knocker). That said, several elements contribute to keeping this tiny little game from obtaining a place in the cultural heritage.

À partir des données d’une enquête menée sur les visites muséales enfantines, cet article avance l’hypothèse que le regard porté sur l’enfance constitue l’un des rouages non seulement de la mise en patrimoine mais aussi, et plus largement, d’une définition même de la patrimonialité comme outil politique d’une cosmologie occidentale. La mise en perspective de la visite de La Fabuloserie, musée d’art brut, et de celle du château de Versailles par des enfants de moins de 7 ans permet, à travers deux cas contrastés, d’envisager les conditions d’accès à la culture savante et la façon dont les adultes en intériorisent la valeur. Grâce aux tout-petits, destinataires de l’intention patrimoniale de parents, enseignants ou professionnels de la culture, apparaissent des formes de médiations spécifiques qui révèlent plus largement la place de l’enfance dans la mécanique de production de la valeur culturelle. Drawing on data from an enquiry on children visiting museums, this article suggests that childhood representations contribute to the identification of cultural heritage. More broadly, it considers heritage as a political tool of western cosmology. Comparing children under 7 years of age visiting museums – La Fabuloserie, a private museum in the French countryside devoted to Art Brut, and the royal Versailles palace – this paper observes conditions of children’s access to high culture and the way it is internalised by adults. Parents who expect their children to gain cultural knowledge, teachers who organize school visits, and culture professionals guiding them through a museum, thus allow us to discern specific forms of public outreach that reveal how childhood deals with mechanisms of producing cultural value.

Dans cet entretien mené par Sarah Gensburger, Monica Eileen Patterson met en avant un courant émergeant parmi les pratiques curatoriales que de plus en plus de musées, partout dans le monde, sont en train d’encourager : la curation par les enfants. Donner l’occasion aux enfants d’organiser des expositions profite de multiples façons aux musées qui cherchent à rendre leur offre plus vivante et stimulante, car le jeune public est expert en matière d’innovation, de créativité et d’interactivité. En prenant part de manière critique aux expositions organisées par les enfants, les universitaires, et de façon plus large les membres de la société, peuvent trouver un précieux aperçu de comment les enfants voient et vivent les choses. En tant qu’importants acteurs sociaux et détenteurs de savoir, les enfants ont beaucoup à apprendre au monde qu’ils habitent, pour peu que les adultes autour d’eux les écoutent. Dans cet entretien, Monica Eileen Patterson présente sa vision d’une nouvelle muséologie critique par les enfants, et le rôle essentiel que joue le curatoriat mené par les enfants dans ce domaine. Elle explique comment s’est développé son intérêt pour le sujet, les contributions que les enfants curateurs peuvent apporter à la pratique muséologique, et les défis rencontrés par les enfants et les musées lorsqu’ils s’engagent dans cette démarche. In this interview by Dr. Sarah Gensburger, Dr. Monica Eileen Patterson discusses an emerging subfield of curatorial practice being facilitated by more and more museums around the world: child curating. Creating opportunities for children to curate exhibitions offers many benefits to museums seeking to animate and enliven their offerings, for children are experts of innovation, creativity, and interactivity. By critically engaging with exhibitions curated by children, scholars and members of society more broadly can gain valuable insights into young people’s perspectives and experiences. As important social actors and knowledge-bearers, children have much to teach the world they inhabit, if only the adults around them will listen. In this interview, Patterson lays out her vision for a new, critical children’s museology and the crucial role of children’s curating within it. She shares how her interest in this field developed, the contributions child curators can make to museological practice, and the challenges children and museums face in taking this work forward.

Depuis un quart de siècle, l’École nationale des chartes a fait l’objet d’un grand nombre de publications, toutes collectives, issues pour certaines de colloques et journées d’études. Il est à noter que toutes sont, sans exception, liées à l’École de manière plus ou moins formelle, soit qu’elles aient été éditées directement par elle, soit que les directeurs d’ouvrage y soient en poste, ou, à tout le moins, en soient issus. En outre, leur rythme s’est accéléré ces derniers temps, à mesure qu’...

Bénéficiaires de la médiation, mis en situation de jouer les médiateurs, éventuellement producteurs de patrimoine, et eux-mêmes (ou du moins leur culture) susceptibles d’être patrimonialisés, les enfants participent d’une manière ou d’une autre des principales étapes du processus d’institution patrimoniale. L’intérêt porté à ces différentes postures suppose des angles d’approche, des problématisations, des objets, sensiblement différents, mais dans tous les cas une attention dédoublée, dirigée tout à la fois vers les rôles assignés par les adultes et vers l’initiative enfantine. Décentrer ainsi le regard pour le tourner vers cet acteur plus ou moins autonome qu’est l’enfant, c’est se donner l’opportunité, du moins en fait-on le pari, d’appréhender autrement notre présent du patrimoine. In one way or another, children participate in the main steps of the heritage creation process, whether they benefit from mediation, are placed in the mediator’s role, possibly become heritage producers or are themselves (or at least their cultures) likely to become part of the cultural heritage. The investigation of these varied roles presumes considerably different approaches, subjects and formulations of the issues, but in every case, it calls for a twofold vision that is directed at once towards the roles assigned by adults and the children’s own initiatives. Decentring the gaze in this way in order to focus on the child as a more or less autonomous player constitutes – in our view at least – an opportunity to understand the present of our cultural heritage in other ways.

In this interview by Dr. Sarah Gensburger, Dr. Monica Eileen Patterson discusses an emerging subfield of curatorial practice being facilitated by more and more museums around the world: child curating. Creating opportunities for children to curate exhibitions offers many benefits to museums seeking to animate and enliven their offerings, for children are experts of innovation, creativity, and interactivity. By critically engaging with exhibitions curated by children, scholars and members of society more broadly can gain valuable insights into young people’s perspectives and experiences. As important social actors and knowledge-bearers, children have much to teach the world they inhabit, if only the adults around them will listen. In this interview, Patterson lays out her vision for a new, critical children’s museology and the crucial role of children’s curating within it. She shares how her interest in this field developed, the contributions child curators can make to museological practice, and the challenges children and museums face in taking this work forward.

Depuis 2010, Arles est début décembre le théâtre d’une manifestation singulière célébrant une cinquantaine de fillettes arborant pour la première fois la vêture traditionnelle des jeunes filles de la Belle Époque. Ces enfants deviennent, à l’issue d’une présentation solennelle assortie d’un défilé et d’un spectacle, des Mireillettes, des petites « Mireilles ». Une référence à l’héroïne du poème en langue provençale de Frédéric Mistral (1830-1914). Désignée d’emblée par son initiatrice comme une invention de la tradition, cette fête est surinvestie de références et s’inspire des nombreuses cérémonies régionalistes initiées dès la deuxième moitié du xixe siècle. Cependant, en s’adressant à un jeune public, elle se veut le premier rite de passage d’un itinéraire costumier de la tradition scandant, selon les groupes folkloriques et les érudits locaux d’aujourd’hui, les âges de la vie. Organisée par l’association Festiv’Arles, cette cérémonie théâtralisée dépasse, cependant, la simple transmission de codes vestimentaires d’autrefois ; elle renvoie aux enjeux qui traversent la communauté des « gens du costume traditionnel ». Elle éclaire la démarche identitaire telle que la formulent ces adultes et offre potentiellement un renouvellement générationnel de cet entre-soi fondé sur une interprétation du passé dont le costume traditionnel est le témoin. Elle se présente également comme un lieu de transmission où les acteurs de la tradition partagent un corpus inédit de savoirs relatifs à la Provence et à son histoire. Enfin, cette fête des Mireillettes offre une tribune privilégiée pour affirmer le présent des valeurs mémorielles du territoire arlésien. Une manière de revendiquer une juste place dans la cité pour ce patrimoine de la tradition, un patrimoine immatériel qui conjugue savoir-faire et représentations mentales, et reconstruit un passé toujours en devenir. Every December since 2010, the city of Arles has been the setting of a singular event celebrating some fifty little girls dressed for the first time in the traditional costume of young women of France’s Belle Epoque. At the end of a formal ceremony accompanied by a parade and a performance, these children become ‘Mireillettes’, or ‘little Mireilles’, a reference to the heroine of a poem written in the Provençal language by Frédéric Mistral (1830-1914). As its founder recognises, this festival is an invention of tradition; abounding in local references, it draws on many regionalist ceremonies introduced in the second half of the 19th century. By addressing itself to a young audience, however, it aspires to be the first rite of passage along the itinerary of clothing traditions that, for today’s folklore groups and local experts, mark the steps of life. But this carefully orchestrated ceremony, organised by the association Festiv’Arles, goes beyond the simple transmission of the dress codes of another era. It touches on questions that are shared by those who consider themselves the ‘People of the Traditional Costume’ and thus sheds light on the adults’ own approach to identity. It potentially opens the way for a generational renewal of their self-segregation that is based on an interpretation of the past through the traditional costume. It is also a locus of transmission, where the protagonists of the tradition share the unfamiliar corpus of knowledge about Provence and its history. And ultimately, the festival provides a singular tribune for affirming the memorial values of the territory known as the Pays d’Arles. It is a way of claiming a just place in the society for this traditional heritage, an intangible culture that combines know-how and mental representations to reconstruct an ever-evolving past.

Dans le Haut Vallespir, les adultes organisent depuis plusieurs décennies des versions enfantines des fêtes de l’Ours qu’ils considèrent comme un trésor culturel dont ils veulent assurer la pérennité. Si les fêtes des adultes reposent sur une vision très genrée des relations sociales, cette dimension est en revanche totalement absente des fêtes destinées aux enfants auxquels les connotations sexuelles des pratiques ne sont pas transmises. L’article explore la façon dont cette désexualisation transforme en profondeur non seulement la fête des enfants et la répartition des rôles entre hommes et femmes, mais également celle des adultes, la fête des petits fonctionnant comme une sorte de laboratoire des évolutions possibles. In the Haut Vallespir (Pyrénées Occidentales department), adults have been organising children’s versions of the Festes de l’Os, the ‘Bear Festivals’ which they hold to be a cultural treasure that they seek to preserve. While the adults’ festivals are rooted in a highly gendered vision of social relations, this dimension is totally absent from the festivals for children, where the sexual connotations of the practices are not transmitted. This article explores the way such a desexualisation profoundly transforms not only the children’s festival and the division of roles between men and women, but the adults’ festival as well, insofar as the youngsters’ event functions as a kind of laboratory for possible changes.

In this research, a comprehensive analysis of the literature has been conducted to show the value of good water governance. Pressures and challenges for population growth and environmental degradation have been analysed. Characteristics and dimensions of water governance have been examined to adequately address these challenges. Integrated management of water resources has been looked at as a widely accepted method of water governance. The research also covers transboundary waters and aquifers, as well as international water law. The Sustainable Development Goals and human rights to water were discussed as a key strategies for achieving water quality and quantity. Ecological processes and water supply, as well as water-related ecosystems, their benefits, challenges, and solutions, have all been thoroughly discussed.

La presente propuesta tiene como objetivo mejorar el acceso a los servicios básicos de agua potable de una comunidad de unas 1500 personas, correspondiente a la población de Bumpeta, en la costa noroeste de la isla de Idjwi, en lago Kivu, República Democrática del Congo. Para ello, se plantea el diseño de una red de abastecimiento que tome agua, mediante obra de captación, de un manantial en la zona interior de la isla. Desde dicha obra de captación, el agua será conducida por tubería de polietileno y mediante la acción de la gravedad hasta un depósito de 50 m3. Se trata de un agua con una calidad presumiblemente apta para el consumo humano, por lo que no se propone sistema de tratamiento ni de desinfección. Sin embargo, ante el posible arrastre de sólidos en la corriente de agua, se diseña el depósito de abastecimiento de manera que favorezca la separación de los sólidos por decantación y así evitar las consecuencias de la sedimentación de las partículas sólidas en la línea de abastecimiento. Desde el depósito, el agua caerá por acción de la gravedad y a través de tubería de polietileno de diferentes diámetros hasta los distintos puntos de consumo, entre los cuales destacan varias escuelas, una iglesia y un centro social. A lo largo de la red de abastecimiento, se instalarán tres cámaras de rotura de presión, para evitar las elevadas presiones que ocasionaría en las tuberías la diferencia de alturas entre las cotas. Se determina también la valvulería e instrumentación necesaria para mantener la seguridad y control de la red. Toda la propuesta de diseño se plantea atendiendo a las limitaciones económicas y técnicas que supone un proyecto como este en un entorno de estas características, y entendiendo que el planteamiento inicial puede sufrir modificaciones durante su ejecución en terreno., The aim of this proposal is to improve access to basic drinking water services for a community of around 1,500 people, corresponding to the population of Bumpeta, on the northwest coast of the island of Idjwi, in Lake Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo. To this end, a water supply network is to be designed to take water from a spring in the interior of the island. The water will be taken from the spring by means of a polyethylene pipe and gravity-fed to a 50 m3 tank. The quality of the water is presumably suitable for human consumption, so no treatment or disinfection system is proposed. However, in view of the possible entrainment of solids in the water flow, the supply tank is designed in such a way as to favour the separation of solids by decantation and thus avoid the consequences of sedimentation of solid particles in the supply line. From the tank, the water will fall by gravity and through polyethylene pipes of different diameters to the different consumption points, including several schools, a church and a social centre. Three break pressure tanks (BPT) will be installed along the supply network to avoid the high pressures that would be caused in the pipes by the difference in height between the different levels. The valves and instrumentation necessary to maintain the safety and control of the network are also determined. The entire design proposal is based on the economic and technical limitations of such a project in an environment of these characteristics, and on the understanding that the initial approach may undergo modifications during its execution on site., Máster Universitario en Hidrología y Gestión de Recursos Hídricos (M173)

This article analyses Mexico’s 2012 constitutional guarantee of the human right to water and the new General Water Law that is required to implement it. Mexico has struggled to find consensus regarding a new law, but none has as yet been adopted. We examine three key questions regarding the 2012-2019 period: How is the human right to water defined in the Mexican context? What is the legal and institutional framework for implementing it? What are the opportunities and challenges involved in institutionalising it in light of the proposed water legislation? This research is based on a literature review, participation and observation at public forums, and in-depth interviews with key actors. Two principal legal proposals emerged in 2015, contrasting a technocratic approach with a socially inclusive one; neither was adopted but both remain relevant to the current discourse. The 2018 election re-energised social mobilisation around the right to water, and the government launched a new process for developing legal proposals. Using legal geography and political ecology as theoretical framings, we find that the new law creates opportunities for transforming access to water for marginalised communities, yet faces social, political and structural obstacles. Despite the challenges, the constitutional guarantee of the right to water is a positive foundation for democratising water governance in Mexico.

This article seeks to assess the role of the human right to water in realising water rights in the scenario of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). In particular, it seeks to answer the question of the extent to which the human right to water protects Palestinians’ water rights in the OPT. In doing so, the article will start by analysing the human right to water and the related obligation it imposes on states in protecting water rights. In addition, the article will examine the applicability of the human right to water to the OPT and to what extent Israel is committed to realise it.

There is a long-standing dispute between Iran and Afghanistan over the Helmand River. In recent years, between 2002 and 2013, the access to water of the population living in the river basin in Iran has been adversely affected. As the human right to water is recognized at the international level, this paper aims to study the national implementation of the human right to water in both countries. It analyzes Afghanistan’s and Iran’s legislation, regulation, adopted strategies and policies at the national level. It further assesses if there is an extraterritorial obligation for both countries to respect, protect, and fulfill the human right to water. Finally, it to proposes solutions that would contribute to the fulfillment of the human right to water.

Las problemáticas sociales y ambientales del mundo actual plantean el desafío de cambiar la mentalidad frente a la relación existente entre el ser humano y la naturaleza. Esto implica la necesidad de pensar en una “actualización” de lo formulado desde el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos (DIDH) como el “derecho humano al agua”. Una realidad que evidencia la necesidad de actualizar dicho contenido son los diferentes escenarios de escasez hídrica en el mundo, ocasionados, no solo por el deterioro medioambiental, sino por deficiencias en los modelos de prestación del servicio de suministro de agua. Los múltiples casos de remunicipalización de los servicios de agua y saneamiento ocurridos en todo el mundo en los últimos 20 años (poco más de 300 casos) son prueba de ello. Estas situaciones lanzan un cuestionamiento sobre la postura que se ha venido sosteniendo oficialmente desde el DIDH a propósito de los modelos de prestación del servicio de suministro de agua, la cual ha sido, hasta hace poco, de neutralidad. El presente texto se encamina hacia la identificación del contenido normativo del derecho humano al agua tal cual como se ha definido desde el DIDH, al reconocerlo como un aporte de gran valor para los derechos humanos en general, enfatizando en la interrelación e interdependencia entre el derecho humano al agua, el derecho a la vida y la protección ecológica de la naturaleza como fuente de los elementos que hacen posible la realización del derecho a la vida. Luego se pasa a la elaboración de un marco conceptual para comprender los elementos del contenido normativo del derecho en cuestión; marco que le permite a dichos elementos integrarse en el plano teórico para elaborar una fundamentación del derecho humano al agua. Dicho marco estará basado en la integración de ciertos elementos: el primero, el biopoder, el cual permite entender el poder sobre el agua como una forma de poder sobre la vida. El segundo, la definición de la vida biológica como autopoiesis, que proponen los biólogos Humberto Maturana y Francisco Varela, definición que permite delimitar una esfera de procesos autónoma de autoproducción de la vida, que en el ser humano está representada por el humano biológico. Este marco teórico se refuerza con la introducción del principio bioético de la vulnerabilidad humana, entendida aquí como vulnerabilidad biológica: la vulnerabilidad del humano biológico representada en la no-libertad del humano frente a los procesos que hacen posible su supervivencia, como fundamento de la norma bioética de la no explotación de esa vulnerabilidad por parte de terceros. Del marco conceptual anteriormente esbozado, se deduce la conclusión de que el contenido normativo del derecho humano al agua, definido desde el DIDH, es incompleto, y puede ser ampliado y completado con la introducción de una postura clara (y no ambigua, como lo es hasta ahora) frente a la definición de la lógica de acción que debe orientar la gestión del agua en tanto derecho humano. En este contexto, el derecho en cuestión es, antes que nada un derecho de la naturaleza, lo que permite entenderlo adecuadamente como un derecho humano, en sus interrelaciones e interdependencias con otros derechos humanos y de la naturaleza. The social and environmental problems of today's world pose the challenge of changing the mentality in the face of the existing relationship between human beings and nature. This implies the need to think about an "updating" of what is formulated from the International Law of Human Rights (IHRL) as the "human right to water". A reality that demonstrates the need to update said content are the different scenarios of water scarcity in the world, caused not only by environmental deterioration, but also by deficiencies in the models for providing the water supply service. The multiple cases of remunicipalization of water and sanitation services that have occurred throughout the world in the last 20 years (just over 300 cases) are proof of this. These situations call into question the position that has been officially held by IHRL regarding the models for providing the water supply service, which has been, until recently, one of neutrality. The present text is directed towards the identification of the normative content of the human right to water as it has been defined from the IHRL, by recognizing it as a contribution of great value for human rights in general, emphasizing the interrelation and interdependence between the right human rights to water, the right to life and the ecological protection of nature as a source of the elements that make the realization of the right to life possible. Then it is passed to the elaboration of a conceptual framework to understand the elements of the normative content of the right in question; framework that allows these elements to be integrated into the theoretical plane to elaborate a foundation of the human right to water. Said framework will be based on the integration of certain elements: the first, biopower, which allows understanding power over water as a form of power over life. The second, the definition of biological life as autopoiesis, proposed by the biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, a definition that allows delimiting a sphere of autonomous processes of self-production of life, which in the human being is represented by the biological human. This theoretical framework is reinforced with the introduction of the bioethical principle of human vulnerability, understood here as biological vulnerability: the vulnerability of the biological human represented in the non-freedom of the human in the face of the processes that make his survival possible, as the foundation of bioethical rule of non-exploitation of that vulnerability by third parties. From the conceptual framework outlined above, the conclusion is deduced that the normative content of the human right to water, defined from the IHRL, is incomplete, and can be expanded and completed with the introduction of a clear position (and not ambiguous, as it has been until now). ) against the definition of the logic of action that should guide the management of water as a human right. In this context, the right in question is, above all, a right of nature, which allows it to be properly understood as a human right, in its interrelationships and interdependencies with other human rights and those of nature. Facultad de Jurisprudencia, Universidad del Rosario

Water is indispensable to human life. From references to water in numerous international treaties to ultimately, the adoption of United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly resolutions emphasising separate recognition of the “right to water” in 2010, we now have a freestanding human right to water. In this paper, I review the constitutional and legal framework underlying the right to water in India, and present a comprehensive analysis of judicial decisions that have enforced this right, based on insights from two original datasets. The first dataset is a compilation of all water laws, and the second is a compilation of all High Court and Supreme Court judicial decisions on the right to water. My review of the articulation of the “right to water” in India shows that this articulation has occurred largely oblivious of the international human rights movement on water. Apart from the mainstream articulation of the “right to water”, I also describe specific articulation of the right by two marginalised groups, namely Dalits and Adivasis. In so doing, I show how the articulation of the “right to water” has strengthened the claims of the former, but not those of the latter group.

In 2013 the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘Right2Water’ collected 1.9 million signatures across Europe against water privatization. It became the first ever successful ECI and has built a Europe-wide movement. Right2Water sought for Europe’s legal enforcement of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS) as a strategic political tool to challenge European Union market policies. The paper examines the ECI from a social movement perspective. Although the European Commission subscribed that ‘water is a public good, not a commodity’, its implementation is subject to continuing politics and socio-political struggle, with growing urgency in times of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis.

The Drinking Water Tool (DWT) is a community-driven online tool that provides diverse users with information about drinking water sources and threats to drinking water quality and access due to drought. Development of the DWT was guided by the Community Water Center (CWC) as part of the Water Equity Science Shop (WESS), a research partnership integrating elements of community-based participatory research and the European Science Shop model. The WESS engages in scientific projects that inform policy change, advance water justice, and reduce cumulative exposure and disproportionate health burdens among impacted communities in California. WESS researchers conducted qualitative analysis of 15 stakeholder interviews regarding the DWT, including iterative feedback and the stakeholder consultation process as well as stakeholder perceptions of the tool’s impact on California water policy, organizing, and research. Results indicate that the DWT and the stakeholder engagement process which developed it were effective in influencing policy priorities and in promoting interagency coordination at multiple levels to address water equity challenges and their disproportionate burdens, particularly among rural and low socioeconomic status areas and communities of color.

Objetivo: estudiar desde la perspectiva de género el consumo de agua embotellada en el contexto del desastre ambiental que provocó el derrame de 40 000 m3 de lixiviados de cobre en el río Sonora. Metodología: se realizaron 40 entrevistas, un taller y se aplicaron 28 cuestionarios en distintas localidades de la cuenca. Resultados: el agua embotellada de distintas marcas y precios se ha convertido en un elemento de diferenciación entre las mujeres. Limitaciones: se requiere ampliar la muestra y realizar análisis biomédicos para profundizar en el estudio. Valor: se contribuye a explicar los factores que intervienen en la sustitución del agua de la llave por la embotellada en la cuenca del río Sonora. Conclusiones: el enfoque de género ayuda a entender las decisiones que toman las mujeres en relación con el agua para consumo humano.

The aim of this chapter is, first, to get a better understanding of ‘sustainability’ by looking at what it is, what it means, and how it relates to terms with which it shares a family resemblance, such as ‘sustainable development’. Then, suggestions are made on how it is – or could be – linked to the most fundamental principles of international water law, that is, the equitable and reasonable utilisation principle and the no harm principle. Finally, the link with the human right to water is analysed briefly.

The aim of this chapter is, first, to get a better understanding of ‘sustainability’ by looking at what it is, what it means, and how it relates to terms with which it shares a family resemblance, such as ‘sustainable development’. Then, suggestions are made on how it is – or could be – linked to the most fundamental principles of international water law, that is, the equitable and reasonable utilisation principle and the no harm principle. Finally, the link with the human right to water is analysed briefly.

A partir de un análisis de la naturaleza de los servicios urbanos y de los límites económicos de los derechos sociales, enmarcado en una política de gasto social focalizado, este artículo muestra cómo la jurisprudencia constitucional colombiana reconoce un derecho humano al agua restringido por criterios económicos, favoreciendo así los intereses de las empresas. Le présent article analyse les services urbains et les limites économiques des droits sociaux, dans le cadre d’une politique de dépenses sociales ciblées, pour montrer comment la jurisprudence constitutionnelle colombienne reconnaît un droit humain à l’eau potable limité par des critères économiques favorables aux intérêts des entreprises. This article analyzes public utilities and the economic limits of social rights, in the context of a policy of targeted social expenditure, in order to show how Colombian constitutional jurisprudence recognizes a human right to water, limited by economic criteria which favor the interests of the water companies.

Aiming to advance our understanding of the transformative potential of remunicipalisation, this paper looks at the uncertain and unequal struggle for water remunicipalisation in Jakarta over the last 20 years, and offers an ontological account of the discourse on the human right to water as a catalyst for progressive policy change. A first, formal definition of transformative remunicipalisation is herein offered. This is defined as an ideal type of water remunicipalisation whose institutional legitimacy rests on the moral advocacy of emancipatory insurgency and whose implementation offers concrete possibilities of progress towards emancipatory objectives. With regard to moral advocacy and collective action, the hybridisation of emancipatory discourse enables transcendence of the limitations of the Western concept of the human right to water. By drawing on cross-cultural principles like 'water as life' and the primacy of human flourishing, the proponents of transformative remunicipalisation may turn the human right to water into a powerful discursive resource responding to Southern, if not universal, logics of appropriateness. While water justice is the terrain of inevitable contestation, the tensions between the normative ideals of collective action and the practice of advocacy require the constant reinterpretation of these ideals. This is why water justice, and indeed transformative remunicipalisation, will not be televised.

Granting safe water access worldwide is a major objective of the Sustainable Development Goals. Water access is a manifold concept that encompasses collection time, distance from the household, water quality, affordability, and reliability of water sources, among other factors. GIS-based methods can be particularly useful in improving water access estimates, particularly in rural areas of developing countries. Based on an extensive water point database (n = 770), this paper explores the main challenges involved in mapping water access in two rural communes of Burkina Faso. Water access is estimated in terms of coverage per surface area. Coverage is filtered into four distinct categories of improved water sources, namely existing infrastructures, operational infrastructures, permanent infrastructures, and permanent infrastructures that provide safe water. The outcomes suggest that the study area is better endowed with water access than rural Burkina Faso and the remainder of the African continent, although there are important questions regarding groundwater quality. The outcomes highlight the conceptual differences between coverage and access, as well as some of the practical difficulties involved in estimating water access beyond standard ratios. The shortcomings include the absence of continuous monitoring of infrastructure functionality and water quality, as well as water affordability, among others. Enhancing national borehole databases with items aligned with the United Nations’ definition of water access is recommended.

El agua es un recurso natural finito y en su forma potabilizada es vital para la existencia y subsistencia de los seres humanos. El derecho fundamental al agua potable en el sistema jurídico colombiano no corresponde a un principio constitucional consagrado taxativamente, pero tiene su reconocimiento por parte de diversos pronunciamientos en los cuales se le asigna tal categoría. Estas decisiones se fundamentan principalmente en tratados internacionales que, si lo reconocen de forma taxativa; los principios constitucionales como lo son la vida y la dignidad humana; y la tesis de la conexidad de derechos fundamentales según la cual son aquellos que se relacionan de forma estrecha con derechos reconocidos de forma taxativa por el texto constitucional. El derecho al agua como derecho fundamental autónomo es un tema que aún no se ha resuelto en forma consolidada en el ordenamiento jurídico del Estado colombiano, porque existe legislación y jurisprudencia, orientado hacia diferentes niveles que difuminan u ocultan las verdaderas responsabilidades por la vulneración o violación de éste derecho humano; en especial por la delegación de responsabilidades a las Empresas Prestadoras de Servicios Públicos domiciliarios de agua y saneamiento básico; aunado con una serie de conexidades que afectan otros derechos inherentes a la gestión del recurso desde lo ambiental o del consumo humano desde de salud pública e incluso sobre la afectación al medio ambiente el daño ecológico causado. Se realizó un extenso y detallado estudio sobre el estatus jurídico que ostenta el derecho fundamental al agua en Colombia, a partir del concepto derecho al agua, pasando por los DDHH internacionales, los compromisos del bloque de constitucionalidad y la prospectiva de la gobernanza del agua; posteriormente se realiza el análisis normativo y jurisprudencial referidas al DFA, así como las principales normas deberes y obligaciones que se derivan de ese derecho; para concluir con el análisis de contenido sobre la jurisprudencia de la Corte Constitucional y el Consejo de Estado respecto al daño, título de imputación y responsabilidad del Estado. En la investigación se obtuvo que a pesar de coexistir normas, doctrina y jurisprudencias para proteger a plenitud el Derecho Fundamental al Agua, existe Responsabilidad del Estado por daño antijurídico causado a los colombianos, a título de falla generalizada del servicio. Water is a finite natural resource and in its purified form is vital for the existence and subsistence of human beings. The undamental right to drinking water in the Colombian legal system does not correspond to a constitutionally established principle, but it is recognized by various pronouncements in which it is assigned such a category. These decisions are based mainly on international treaties which, if they are exhaustively recognized; constitutional principles such as life and human dignity; and the thesis of the connectedness of fundamental rights according to which they are those that are closely related to rights exclusively recognized by the constitutional text. The right to water as an autonomous fundamental right is an issue that has not yet been resolved in a consolidated way in the legal system of the Colombian State, because there is legislation and jurisprudence, oriented towards different levels that blur or hide the true responsibilities for the violation or violation of this human right; especially for the delegation of responsibilities to the companies that provide residential public services for water and basic sanitation; coupled with a series of connections that affect other rights inherent to the management of the resource from the environmental point of view or of human consumption from the public health point of view and even the ecological damage caused to the environment. An extensive and detailed study was carried out on the legal status of the fundamental right to water in Colombia, based on the concept of the right to water, through international human rights, the commitments of the constitutionality bloc and the prospects for water governance; subsequently, the normative and jurisprudential analysis referred to the DFA is carried out, as well as the main rules, duties and obligations that derive from that right; to conclude with the content analysis on the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court and the Council of State regarding the damage, title of imputation and responsibility of the State. The investigation found that despite the coexistence of norms, doctrine and jurisprudence to fully protect the Fundamental Right to Water, there is State Responsibility for unlawful damage caused to Colombians, as a generalized failure of the service. Magister en Derecho Administrativo Maestría

One of the most crucial discussions within water resource management is the debate between those who defend the concept of economic efficiency and those who privilege notions of social equity. This tension is located at the core of binary categories that currently constitute the public debate within comparative water law and policy. These categories are commodity/human right, private property/common property, free-market/state regulation, and market value/community value. This paper explores this tension by studying how neoclassical economics understands efficiency and tracing its rise as a key hegemonic principle for water resource management. I also present equity as a conceptual opposition to efficiency and describe its institutionalization through the human-right-to-water frame. A problematization of both the equity approach and the human-right-to-water frame follows. Finally, I propose a political ecology approach to better understand the tension between efficiency and equity and offer recommendations for informing the water research agenda on efficiency/equity.

Access to drinking water in the State of Guanajuato, Mexico, is an unresolved issue, especially in the State’s rural communities far from the centers of development. As an option to the strategy of piped water, which requires high levels of investment to guarantee the supply to the population, rainwater catchment has become an institutional alternative that intends to partially address this social debt. The objective of this article is to show the virtues of this practice in homes that have benefited with a rainwater catchment system provided by the State government. The paper is based on research that used interviews and non-participant observation for information gathering. Among the results obtained is a positive social perception linked to the multiple benefits associated with the collection systems. It is concluded that it is necessary to expand the scale of replication of said systems accompanied by information, training (environmental education and technical notions of the catchment system) and monitoring to consolidate among households a practice that offers social, environmental and economic benefits.

Access to water has been recognized as an international human right at least since 2010, when both the United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Council adopted resolutions to this effect. The no significant harm principle can be found in the UN Watercourses Convention, and in numerous other global, regional, and watercourse-specific treaties. This paper provides an explanation of how the no significant harm principle and the human right to water supplement each other, by jointly protecting both the State and the individual from significant harm done, by another State, to a watercourse on which they depend. The dispute between Chile and Bolivia relating to the status and use of the Silala waters is used as a case study, to illustrate the way in which these two international legal regimes (international water law and international human rights law) supplement each other.

Resumen Desde 2010, la ONU reconoce el derecho humano al agua y al saneamiento, siendo una minoría los países de la región latinoamericana, los que han procedido a recoger este derecho en sus textos constitucionales, mientras que mayoritariamente el resto habría adoptado su existencia tácitamente en alusión a otros derechos previamente reconocidos, como son la salud o la protección del medio ambiente. Chile, a través de su legislación, representa un caso único para el conjunto latinoamericano lo que nos lleva a examinar si el reconocimiento internacional de este derecho es compatible con su ordenamiento jurídico. Abstract Since 2010 UN recognizes human rights to water and sanitation. A minority of countries in Latin America have adopted this right in their constitutional texts, while the mayority of the countries in the region have tacitly recognised their existence. Chilenean legislation represents a unique case in Latin America, leading us to a study about if the international recognition of this right is compatible with its legal system.

In Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6), also known as the ‘water goal’, one finds various (implicit) references to the internationally recognized human right to water. The aim of this paper is to further explore those linkages. More specifically, the main research question is the following: in what way does SDG6 facilitate local level implementation of the international human right to water, and does SDG6 call for a more sustainable interpretation of that human right? First, a brief overview is provided of the drafting process of SDG6, which took place in the period from 2013 to 2015, with a focus on suggested insertions into that SDG, of references to the human right to water and to local implementation. Then, the actual text of SDG6, as finally adopted in 2015, is analyzed in more detail. SDG6 is subjected to a textual analysis, in which the language of SDG6 is compared with authoritative codifications of the human right to water in the sources of international law, primarily treaties. This is followed by a brief and preliminary analysis of the monitoring and implementation process of SDG6, which began after its adoption in 2015, and will continue until the SDGs reach their expiration date in 2030. The paper ends with a conclusion.

This Special Issue on Localising the Sustainable Human Right to Water begins with contributions focused on a global and more general perspective. These contributions provide a general introduction to the topic of the sustainable human right to water. It then shifts perspective to provide regional contributions, and finally zooms in to contributions focused on the implementation of this right at the national level.

Nigeria’s water sector is characterised by abysmal network coverage despite significant natural water resources potential. Most of the water sector reforms across the country encourage private sector participation in service delivery, to improve quality and efficiency. Early attempts at water privatization in Lagos State, a pioneer for water sector reforms in Nigeria, have met with stiff opposition from local water justice advocates, mostly on human rights grounds. Similar opposition has followed water reforms and privatization efforts in other parts of the country as well. Hence, this paper uses Lagos State as a case study to examine the prospects for the localisation of the human right to water within the context of private sector participation in the water sector. The findings suggest that: (a) private sector participation solely cannot account for the failure to localize the human right to water and the legal framework regulating the water sector plays an important role in determining the outcome; (b) the extant water sector law in Lagos State entrenches various forms of inequality in water access for personal and domestic uses; and (c) there is need for further legal reforms to elevate access to safe drinking water services beyond the contractual obligation on consumers to pay for services to a human right.

First published online: 30 October 2020 This article analyses the implementation of the human right to water in Tunisia, focusing on the procedural indicator on ‘participation’. The article looks at the functioning of local Water User Associations as the lowest institutional level of water management and reviews the performance criteria for participation within these associations as applied by the Tunisian government against the background of the legal norms for the human right to water and the indicator on participation within Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation, i.e. SDG 6.b.

Costa Rica needs to improve the drinking-water supply service of an important part of the po- pulation, aiming to ensure the access to this vital resource considered as a human right. [Objective]: This study evaluated the perception of the population of four cities of the province of Cartago (Alvarado, Jiménez, Oreamuno, and Turrialba) about the public drinking-water supply service they receive in their communities. [Methodology]: The analysis considered both the geographic location of the population and the type of service provider to show the similarities and contrasts found in each case. Through surveys, the opinion of 2,194 users of the drinking water systems of these localities was collected. [Results]: It was found that there are considerable asymmetries between many of the existing systems, with some problems at the level of service continuity and organoleptic propertiesof the liquid. The study identified a strong dependence between the variables of i) level of user satisfaction, ii) problems identified in the system, and iii) actions implemented by users to mitigate these shortcomings. [Conclu- sions]: The experience resulting from this study of evaluating the water supply service in a community through the perception of its users complements the traditional service indicators. The experience also has a high potential to be replicated in other communities of Costa Rica and other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. En Costa Rica existe la necesidad de mejorar la calidad de la prestación del servicio de agua potable de una parte importante de la población, lo que garantiza el Derecho Humano a este recurso vital. [Objetivo]: Este estudio evaluó la percepción de la población de cuatro cantones de la provincia de Cartago (Alvarado, Jiménez, Oreamuno y Turrialba), en relación con el servicio público de agua potable que reciben en su comunidad. [Metodología]: El análisis realizado contempló tanto la ubicación geográfica de la población como el tipo prestatario del servicio, con el fin de evidenciar las similitudes y contrastes que se generan en cada caso. Por medio de encuestas, se obtuvo la opinión de 2 194 personas usuarias de los sistemas hídricos en esas localidades. [Resultados]: Se determinó que existen asimetrías considerables entre varios de los sistemas existentes, con algunos problemas en el nivel de continuidad del servicio y de propiedades organolépticas del líquido. El estudio permitió identificar una fuerte dependencia entre las variables de i) nivel de satisfacción de la persona usuaria, ii) problemas identificados en el sistema y iii) acciones que se implementan en las casas para mitigar esas falencias. [Conclusiones]: La experiencia resultante de este estudio, que evalúa el servicio a través de la percepción de las personas usuarias complementa los indicadores de calidad del servicio tradicionales y presenta un elevado potencial para ser replicado en otros sistemas de Costa Rica y en otros países de América Latina y el Caribe. Universidad de Costa Rica UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ingeniería::Facultad de Ingeniería::Escuela de Ingeniería Civil

This article sets the global scene for the regional and local levels elaborated upon by articles later in this special issue by addressing the following research question: What is the impact of a human right to water on the sustainable balance of water uses under the customary international water law principle of equitable and reasonable utilization as codified in the UN Watercourses Convention? In order to answer this question, first, both a human right to water and vital human needs are introduced. Second, the position of a human right to water under the UN Watercourses Convention is reviewed, focusing on vital human needs that require special regard in order to reach equitable and reasonable utilization of freshwater resources. Third, various water uses to be taken into account when aiming for a sustainable balance are considered. Finally, the shift in balance by the coming into existence of a human right to water is concluded upon: It is argued that the impact of the human right to water results in effective priority of water uses for vital human needs in the application of the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization of international watercourses, reinforcing the human right to water beyond borders in return. This article contributes to the legal discourse by linking the general principles of international water law to the human right to water, which are foremost dealt with separately in existing literature, and clarifies the position of this right in the balance of water uses in cases of transboundary water allocation.

This publication belongs to Volume 6, No 2, of the WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network Working Papers Series (http://waterlat.org/publications/working-papers-series/) In Mexico, the State does not guarantee the right to water and sanitation. As a result, many communities rely on their own knowledge of water access and management, and often weave networks with non-governmental actors in this endeavor. Here I analyze an experience of water quality monitoring carried out with a marginalized community in Morelia, Mexico, an experience that is part of their strategy to guarantee their right to water. My research on such community experiences, in the context of marginalized communities in the Global South, is guided by two questions: (1) Can they be considered forms of citizen science? and (2) Is such conceptualization relevant in academic and social terms? My analysis suggests an affirmative answer in both cases. However, I argue that in contexts like this in Latin America it would be necessary to theorize about citizen science departing from critical literature on science developed by civil society, as well as on the production of knowledges and ecologies of knowledges, as proposed in various epistemologies of the South.

RESUMEN La introducción de la gobernanza del agua en el ordenamiento colombiano y la alta conflictividad socioecológica motivan los análisis que vinculan la naturaleza con los derechos humanos. Desde una investigación de corte dogmático descriptivo y analítico, este artículo propone el relacionamiento de la gobernanza del agua con los derechos humanos por medio de la integración de una serie de estándares jurídicos vinculados al Acuerdo de Escazú y al derecho humano al agua. Entre los hallazgos se identificaron: la deficiente reglamentación de la participación y del acceso a la información, la falta del financiamiento público, la limitación de la deliberación, la desmotivación de la concertación y la falta de integración efectiva de los grupos en condición de vulnerabilidad. Los objetivos de la gobernanza del agua, materializados en los Consejos de cuenca, se relacionan con los estándares jurídicos integrados y los hallazgos obtenidos. ABSTRACT The introduction of water governance to the Colombian ordering and the high sociological potential for conflict are the foundation of those analyses which links nature with human rights. From a dogmatic-descriptive and analytical research perspective, this articles proposes a link between water governance with human rights via the integration of a series of law standards linked to the Escazú Agreement and the human right to water, Among the findings, the research identified: a deficient ruling of participation and information access, a lack of knowledge from the public, some limitation on deliberation and demotivation for agreements, as well as a lack of effective integration of groups in vulnerable condition. The objectives of governance of water materialized in the basin councils, are related to integrated law standards and the research findings. RESUMO A introdução da governança da água no ordenamento colombiano e a alta conflitividade socioecológica motivam as análises que vinculam a natureza com os Direitos Humanos. A partir de uma pesquisa de corte dogmático descritivo e analítico, este artigo propõe a relação da governança da água com os Direitos Humanos por meio da integração de parâmetros jurídicos vinculados ao Acordo de Escazú e ao Direito Humano à água. Entre os achados, foram identificadas: a deficiente regulamentação da participação e do acesso à informação, a falta do financiamento público, a limitação da deliberação, a desmotivação do acordo e a falta de integração efetiva dos grupos em condição de vulnerabilidade. Os objetivos da governança da água, materializados nos Conselhos de Bacia, estão relacionados com os parâmetros jurídicos integrados e os achados obtidos.

Το αν υφίσταται ένα ανθρώπινο δικαίωμα στο νερό θεωρητικά αλλά και κανονιστικά καθώς και αν θεσπιζόμενο ένα τέτοιο δικαίωμα και προστατευόμενο από Διεθνείς Συνθήκες αλλά και από το εσωτερικό δίκαιο των κρατών έχει και πρακτική εφαρμογή, αποτελεί ένα από τα σημαντικά θέματα συζήτησης στην περιβαλλοντική βιοηθική και πιο συγκεκριμένα στην περιβαλλοντική δικαιοσύνη. Οι ομάδες πολιτών, οι συνδικαλιστικές οργανώσεις, και τα διάφορα κοινωνικά κινήματα νερού υποστηρίζουν σθεναρά ένα τέτοιο δικαίωμα, το οποίο μπορεί να βελτιώσει την ποιότητα ζωής και να ενισχύσει την ευημερία όλων των ανθρώπων ανεξαιρέτως στα ζητήματα του νερού. Σε μια εποχή που στην Ευρώπη προωθείται η ιδιωτικοποίηση των δημοσίων υπηρεσιών κοινωνικής ωφελείας, η ανάγκη για προσεγγίσεις τέτοιων ζητημάτων με βάση τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα γίνεται και πιο επιτακτική. Ευθυγραμμισμένη με την ανάγκη αυτή είναι και η Ευρωπαϊκή Πρωτοβουλία Πολιτών (ECI) η οποία με την δράση της στοχεύει με νομοθετικές προτάσεις προς την Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή να εξασφαλίσει ασφαλές οικονομικό και προσβάσιμο νερό για όλους.Με το παρόν δοκίμιο θα προσπαθήσουμε να διερευνήσουμε αν η Ευρωπαϊκή Πρωτοβουλία Πολιτών εκπλήρωσε τους στόχους που είχε για την εφαρμογή του ανθρώπινου δικαιώματος στο νερό στην Ευρωπαϊκή Νομοθεσία, καθώς και αν η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή ανταποκρίθηκε αρκούντως στα αιτήματά της., Whether there is a human right to water theoretically or in a normative context and whether such a right when legislatively established and protected via International Treaties and the National Law of States has practical application, constitutes one of the important topics of public discourse in environmental bioethics and more specifically in environmental justice. Citizens’ groups, trade unions and various social movements strongly support such a right, which can improve – without exception - the quality of life and enhance the well-being of everyone, regarding water issues. At a time when Europe promotes the privatization of public social services, the need for managing such issues through a rights-based approach becomes more and more urgent. Aligned with this need is the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) whose action aims to ensure affordable, safe and accessible water to all, through legislative proposals to the European Commission.In this essay, we will make an effort to examine whether the European Citizens’ Initiative met its set objectives regarding the implementation of the human right to water in the EU legislation and whether the European Commission has responded adequately to its demands.

Groundwater is widely acknowledged to be an important source of drinking water in low-income regions, and it, therefore, plays a critical role in the realization of the human right to water. However, the proportion of households using groundwater compared with other sources is rarely quantified, with national and global datasets more focused on facilities&mdash, rather than resources&mdash, used. This is a significant gap in knowledge, particularly in light of efforts to expand water services in line with the inclusive and integrated agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals. Understanding the prevalence of groundwater reliance for drinking is critical for those involved in water services planning and management, so they can better monitor and advocate for management of water resources that supports sustainable services for households. This paper contributes data that can be used to strengthen the integration of resource considerations within water service delivery and inform the work of development partners supporting this area. We approach this issue from two perspectives. Firstly, we collate data on the proportion of households using groundwater as their primary drinking water source for 10 Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, finding an average of 62% (range of 17&ndash, 93% for individual countries) of households in urban areas and 60% (range of 22&ndash, 95%) of households in rural areas rely on groundwater for drinking. Together, these constitute 79% of the total population across the case study countries. Secondly, we review current and emerging groundwater resource concerns within each country, using a systems thinking approach to assess how groundwater resource issues influence household water services. Findings support the case for governments and development agencies to strengthen engagement with groundwater resource management as foundational for achieving sustainable water services for all.

Los indicadores de derechos humanos surgen con el objetivo de entender en qué medida un derecho está siendo de facto garantizado. Es a partir de los años 70, dos décadas después de la proclamación de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, cuando emergen una multitud de iniciativas para medir la realización de estos derechos. Sin embargo, tales esfuerzos no llegaron a ofrecer una respuesta definitiva, los indicadores son parte de un campo reciente que aún está siendo desarrollado. A pesar de sus limitaciones, los indicadores proporcionan un monitoreo del acatamiento por parte de los Estados de los deberes que emanan de los textos internacionales ratificados. El propósito de este artículo es aproximarse al estado general de la cuestión, discutiendo el concepto de indicador de derechos humanos, y utilizando el ejemplo de los derechos sociales, y en particular del derecho al agua, para demostrar la importancia de este campo y de su constante evolución Human rights indicators are created with the aim of understanding to which extent a right is being de facto guaranteed. It is from the 70s, two decade after the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, when a multitude of initiatives to measure the realization of these rights emerge. However, such efforts fail to offer a definitive answer. In fact, human rights indicators are part of a recent field that is still under development. Despite its limitations, indicators monitor the compliance by States with the duties that emanate from the international texts they have ratified. The purpose of this article is to assess the general state of the issue, discussing the concept of a human rights indicator, and using the example of social rights, and in particular the right to water, to demonstrate the importance of this field and of its constant evolution. Este artículo fue realizado en el marco del proyecto de investigación “Transformaciones de la justicia. Autonomía, inequidad y ejercicio de derechos”, referencia DER2016-78356-P, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y del programa de investigación GRISOLIA (Ref. 2016/098), también de financiación autonómica.

La creciente demanda de los individuos sobre el agua, ha aumentado de manera significativa las presiones ejercidas sobre su uso. Por tal razón, la capacidad de acción colectiva y autogestión que se desarrolle entorno a este recurso de uso común – RUC, es determinante para su protección y sostenibilidad, y generalmente está influenciada por las decisiones políticas, económicas y culturales, toda vez que sus lineamientos garantizan o no el cumplimiento del derecho humano al agua potable en un territorio específico. Esta investigación analiza el caso particular del municipio de Maicao en La Guajira a la luz de tres enfoques teórico – metodológicos: la teoría de la acción colectiva de Elinor Ostrom, el enfoque basado en los derechos humanos y la tipología de investigación conocida como práctica basada en diagnóstico, que permitirán entender, no sólo las fallas de coordinación entre los habitantes de la comunidad y las organizaciones competentes para la preservación y aprovechamiento adecuado del líquido, sino entender que se requiere de mayores esfuerzos colectivos para transformar las instituciones tradicionales, y así superar parcialmente la problemática, asociada a la no garantía del derecho humano al agua en el municipio estudiado. The shortage of water in the world corresponds to one of the greatest environmental and ecological challenges that humanity faces nowadays. For this reason, the capacity of collective action and self-management that involved this common pool resources – CPR, is determinant for its protection and sustainability, and is generally influenced by political, economic and cultural decisions, since its guidelines guarantees or not the fulfillment of the human right to water in a specific territory. This research analyzes the particular case of the municipality of Maicao in La Guajira that includes three theoretical - methodological approaches: the theory of collective action of Elinor Ostrom, the approach based on human rights and the type of research known as practice based in diagnostics, which will make possible to understand not only the implications of the failures of coordination between the inhabitants of the community and the competent organizations for the preservation and adequate use of the water, but to understand that greater collective efforts are required to transform the traditional institutions, and in this way partially overcome the problem that is associated with the non-guarantee of the human right to water in the municipality that is studied. Magíster en Gobierno del Territorio y Gestión Pública Maestría

Los indicadores de derechos humanos surgen con el objetivo de entender en qué medida un derecho está siendo de facto garantizado. Es a partir de los años 70, dos décadas después de la proclamación de la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos, cuando emergen una multitud de iniciativas para medir la realización de estos derechos. Sin embargo, tales esfuerzos no llegaron a ofrecer una respuesta definitiva, los indicadores son parte de un campo reciente que aún está siendo desarrollado. A pesar de sus limitaciones, los indicadores proporcionan un monitoreo del acatamiento por parte de los Estados de los deberes que emanan de los textos internacionales ratificados. El propósito de este artículo es aproximarse al estado general de la cuestión, discutiendo el concepto de indicador de derechos humanos, y utilizando el ejemplo de los derechos sociales, y en particular del derecho al agua, para demostrar la importancia de este campo y de su constante evolución Human rights indicators are created with the aim of understanding to which extent a right is being de facto guaranteed. It is from the 70s, two decade after the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, when a multitude of initiatives to measure the realization of these rights emerge. However, such efforts fail to offer a definitive answer. In fact, human rights indicators are part of a recent field that is still under development. Despite its limitations, indicators monitor the compliance by States with the duties that emanate from the international texts they have ratified. The purpose of this article is to assess the general state of the issue, discussing the concept of a human rights indicator, and using the example of social rights, and in particular the right to water, to demonstrate the importance of this field and of its constant evolution. Este artículo fue realizado en el marco del proyecto de investigación “Transformaciones de la justicia. Autonomía, inequidad y ejercicio de derechos”, referencia DER2016-78356-P, financiado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y del programa de investigación GRISOLIA (Ref. 2016/098), también de financiación autonómica.

At the end of the 1980s, development and human rights were treated as separate issues, with distinct and divergent strategies and goals. After two decades, our understanding of the issue has evolved, and it has become clear that there is no way to separate the two issues. Currently, interest in human rights is increasing, and is focusing particularly on developing a consensus based upon international standards in order to promote and protect such rights. In this context, after numerous negotiations, the right to access potable water has come to be understood as a human right. This paper discusses the issue of water as a human right based upon the analysis of the World Water Forum which has existed since 1997 and involves the public, private and scientific sectors. The qualitative textual analysis was based upon documentation of these events.

Purpose – This paper aims to review the regulation of the water market in Chile, which is based on a market for buying and selling water rights, together with the criticisms that have recently been made on that matter. Methodology/approach/design – The pro market positions seeking moderate transformations will be studied on par with the more reformist ones flourishing in social activism. This paper compares these two strands. In order to find similarities among them, this paper tackles Ostrom's ideas about self-management of common goods and Croley's administrative process theory. Findings – From these theoretical approaches, it is drawn the conclusion that they converge in the institutional improvement of the Directorate General of Water and the regulation of legal bodies, alongside ideal representations of waters rights market and the human right to water.