The European Parliament has published a new study that evaluates the comparative advantages of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and public-public partnerships (PUPs) in urban water services in Africa. The study concludes that there are notable differences between what PPPs and PuPs can offer.

On 28 July 2010 a widely-expanded 192- member General Assembly adopted a memorable resolution recognising water and sanitation as a basic human right. The resolution proved politically divisive, with 122 countries voting for it and 41 abstaining, but with no negative votes.

Public Services International (PSI) requests affiliates to take immediate action on the UN General Assembly resolution titled The Human Right to Water and Sanitation. By declaring water and sanitation a human right, this historic resolution is a critical step to addressing the misery and deaths that result from not having clean water and sanitation. The right to water and sanitation is supported by many PSI unions and allies.

The Italian Supreme Court of Cassation is considering a petition to defend water as a common good and to remove it from the grasp of the private market. "There has been an extraordinary mobilization, more than 1.4 million people have participated,” said Paolo Carsetti of the Forum Italiano dei Movimenti per l’Acqua (Italian Forum of the Movements for Water), a national network that has been collecting signatures for a referendum against the privatisation of Italy’s water system.

The “Water is not for sale” campaign, that runs until 24 July, is an initiative of the Forum Italiano dei Movimenti per l’Acqua, a network of national associations and local committees that is collecting signatures for a referendum against the liberalisation of Italy’s water system.

In a major step towards holding Coca-Cola accountable for damages it has caused in India, the state government of Kerala decided on Wednesday to move forward with the formation of a tribunal that will hear and award compensation claims against the Coca-Cola company. The Kerala state cabinet's decision is based on the report and recommendations of a High Power Committee which released a report on March 22, 2010 holding Coca-Cola responsible for causing pollution and water depletion in Plachimada in the state of Kerala in south India.

This short online video tells the story of manufactured demand, or how to persuade consumers to buy bottled water. The film explores the bottled water industry’s attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces.

The Reclaiming Public Water Network held its global strategy seminar in Brussels, Belgium, in February 2010. David Boys, PSI Utilities Officer, took part in the seminar and joined the round-table discussion. The seminar agreed on priorities to promote alternatives to water privatisation.

On the occasion of World Water Day, PSI calls on our affiliated unions in the water and sanitation sector to actively participate in the new public-public partnership initiative sponsored by the European Union. The European Commission has released a restricted call for proposals for €40 million in grants for public-public partnerships in water and sanitation services in 72 Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Islands (ACP) countries. These funds will support ‘best practices’ partnerships between countries involving public utilities and interested parties, such as trade unions and non-governmental organisations.

According to a World Bank report “Economic Impact of Sanitation in Southeast Asia” Indonesia has experienced the highest economic impact from its poor sanitation compared to other Southeast Asian countries. The report stated that more than 94 million of Indonesia’s population does not have adequate sanitary facilities causing, as a result, 121,100 cases of diarrhea, with 50.000 deaths every year. The government of Indonesia intended to increase piped water coverage in 2009 to 66 percent in cities and 30 percent in villages. As for sanitation, the government had an ambitious plan that the country would have private sanitation facilities for all by the end of 2009. Based on data gathered by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), we can conclude that the government has failed to achieve its target.

Manthan in India has just published a new publication called "Public-Private Partnerships in Water Sector: Partnerships or Privatisation?". The report looks at various aspects of PPPs and analyses the arguments given in favor of PPPs, the structural issues with PPPs and the larger governance issues associated with PPPs like transparency, people’s participation, access to information and regulation. It also looks for evidence and experiences of PPP projects in various parts of the world. It draws lessons that need to be learnt and cautions that need to be taken on board when advocating PPPs in public services like water and sanitation.

This report, written by David Hall and Emanuele Lobina from the PSIRU, shows how the international community can support the governments, public insititutions, citizens and workers of developing countries in extending and improving water and sanitation services.

On the occasion of World Water Day on 22 March, PSI has published a report in collaboration with the World Development Movement and PSIRU. Pipe dreams: the failure of the private sector to invest in water services in developing countries presents the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) for water, and considers whether they will be fulfilled. It reviews actual investment in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and East Asia and includes case studies and pertinent financial information.

Many organisations encourage developing countries to privatise water through some form of public-private partnership or private sector participation. The alternative of a public sector water undertaking is ignored, although public sector water undertakings are the providers of water and sanitation services for the great majority of the population in developed countries.

This PSIRU report looks the steps Uruguay and the Netherlands are taking to protect against the risks of water privatisation, and the context in international law.

How the water corporations are adjusting to the threats to their profits, including new support from the World Bank, the United Nations and the European Union

This paper presents an overview of the multinational corporations in water, with a focus on their methods of operation, including corporate collusion, corruption and manipulation of public processes.