BLUE GOLD: WORLD WATER WARS ALREADY BEGAN

The water crisis has been accelerated by the effects of climate change, the excessive consumption of water, and by the contamination of surface and groundwater. All this could be called poor management of water resources. This problem has led to water ceasing to be a right to become a good, with all the implications that this has, such as water being listed on the stock market, for example.

The above-described situation has anthropogenic causes that humanity should solve. However, they are the same political and business leaders who, dragged by corruption and the desire to make money, have ignored the importance of water as an element of life.

Globalization and the logistical possibilities of moving water from one part of the world to another make this crisis less visible. Many countries that still have water resources and high biodiversity also have weak institutions and do not strategically manage their resources. This ignorance leads them to hand over control of their strategic resources to multinationals. These companies are good at maximizing profits for their investors; their interest is not in preserving the environment.

That is why the management of natural resources must receive the priority they deserve. Human beings usually react when they are in an extreme situation, which is why it seems as if nothing is happening. Environmental movements and organized communities have shown that it is possible to protect water, and cases like that in Bolivia (the case of the attempt to privatize water) demonstrated it.