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Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | PositioningpaperWater Equity in Tourism: Vital to a Green EconomyBy Rachel NobleThe right to water constitutes one of the most fundamental human rights. However, for manycommunities, particularly in the global South, this right is being compromised by tourism.The inequities of water access and consumption between tourist resorts and localcommunities are starkly played out in holiday destinations in some of the world’s poorestcountries. Tourism development is concentrated in coastal areas and on islands, where potablewater is scarce, while peak tourist seasons coincide with the driest months of the year.However, while larger tourism businesses have the money and resources to ensure their guestsenjoy several showers a day, swimming pools, a round of golf, and lush landscaped gardens,neighbouring households, small businesses and agricultural producers may regularly facewater scarcity.The depletion and inequitable appropriation of freshwater resources by tourism is hamperingits potential to contribute to poverty eradication and sustainable development, both of whichform facets of a "green economy" – one theme of the 2012 UN Conference on SustainableDevelopment. Weak and poorly integrated tourism and water governance at local and globallevels must also be rectified in order to build institutional frameworks for sustainabledevelopment – the second theme of this year’s conference.A precious global resourceJust three per cent of the Earth’s water is fresh and some 70 percent of this is frozen in thepolar icecaps. Meanwhile, water demand has tripled in the last 50 years due to populationgrowth, intensive agriculture and other water-hungry industries (Stockholm InternationalWater Institute, 2010). Climate change is causing seawater levels to rise, while triggering shiftsin rainfall patterns. Many regions are experiencing more prolonged periods of drought as aresult, which subsequently increase the risk of flooding. These factors, combined with highrates of deforestation and urbanisation, are placing unprecedented pressure on this preciousresource (ibid).Water is intrinsically connected to life and health, food production, livelihoods, and ourdignity as humans. Nevertheless, some 884 million people are without access to safe water(UNGA, 2010), while two million people – most of them children – die from diarrhoearelateddiseases annually (WHO, 2011). In fact, more children lose their lives from insufficientaccess to water and sanitation than die from HIV/Aids, malaria and measles combined(UNGA, 2010).More often than not, water scarcity is not due to an environmental absence of water, but israther caused by inadequate infrastructure, pollution, and a lack of economic resources,underscored by lack of political will and government capacity. Furthermore, the physicallyburdensome and time-consuming task of collecting water usually falls to women. Thisprevents them for engaging in other socioeconomic activities that could help lift themselvesand their families out of poverty.Breaking this vicious cycle in the interests of sustainable development has long been identifiedas a priority by the international community. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)aim at halving the proportion of the population without access to water and sanitation by2015 27 , while Agenda 21 sets out a range of water-related targets 28 . The right to water is27See www.un.org/millenniumgoals/environ.shtml42
Beyond Greening: Reflections on Tourism in the Rio-Process | Positioningpaperenshrined within international human rights standards, many of which are legally binding onStates 29 . In 2010, the UN General Assembly (2010) and UN Human Rights Council reaffirmedthe right to water and sanitation (UN, 2011), reinforcing the obligations on states to uphold,fulfil and protect this right. In terms of the private sector, the UN Guiding Principles onBusiness and Human Rights, which were unanimously endorsed by the UN Human RightsCouncil in 2011, clearly set out the responsibility of all businesses everywhere to respecthuman rights as a global baseline norm (UNHRC, 2011).Tourism and a green economy?Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing service industries in the world, with arrivalspredicted to hit 1.8 billion by 2030 (UNWTO, 2011). The potential for tourism to generateeconomic growth through jobs and foreign exchange means it is harnessed as a developmentdriver by countries all over the world. This includes many in the global South which may lackexport industries, but are rich in coastlines and sunshine.However, new research by Tourism Concern indicates that, in many cases, tourism’sinequitable consumption of water is exacerbating poverty, curtailing socioeconomicopportunities and degrading the environment, while undermining food security, livelihoodsand wider sustainable development (Tourism Concern, 2012). Case studies from Bali(Indonesia), Goa and Kerala (South India), The Gambia (West Africa), and Zanzibar(Tanzania, East Africa), demonstrate how the water demands of tourism are directlyinfringing water rights of local communities through the over-exploitation of aquifers,lowering of groundwater tables, and contamination of freshwater by saltwater, sewage andwaste. The superior infrastructure of large resorts and hotels, such as wide pipes and powerfulelectric pumps, is enabling them to appropriate water from public supplies at the expense oflocal people, including small-scale tourism entrepreneurs. These issues are underpinned byweak tourism and water governance, rule-flouting by the industry, resource limitations, andlack of awareness of the issues and how to address them among governments, industry andtourists alike.The current scenario is leading toresentment and conflict between localpeople and the tourism sector. It isneither socially, environmentally noreconomically sustainable. Given theheavy dependency on tourism in all thecase-study destinations for livelihoodsand economic development, thissituation has to be redressed.In Nungwi and Kiwengwa in Zanzibar,community resentment is so acute thatsome hotels employ guards to patroltheir water pipelines to prevent themfrom being vandalised. "The caves thatproduce water… are the property of our village, but they are colonised by the investors andthey do whatever they want", stated one villager. As tourism has accelerated, well water has28Agenda 21 is an action plan arising from the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.29Such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).43
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