"Water Scarcity" at AUK

In collaboration with the AUK Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBSA) Program, the Human Rights Club at the American University of Kuwait organized a discussion entitled "Who Has a Right To Water?". The lecture was presented by Dr. Conerly Casey, Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

In her discussion, Dr. Casey put forward the human rights dimension of the world water scarcity issue, stressing the urgent need to secure water to all humans, regardless of their race, social level, or financial status.

The growing scarcity of fresh water resources has recently been a subject of public debate. According to Dr. Casey, there are a number of factors contributing to this problem. Global warming has disturbed the water cycle, leading to the melting of ice sheets and waste of fresh water into the oceans. Another serious factor is the uneven distribution of shared water resources leading to disputes among countries, like the case with Jordan and Israel. In places where huge oil reserves have been discovered, water contamination due to oil spills has created health threats on local inhabitants of those areas. Drawing on examples from Nigeria, the Peruvian Amazon, the United States, and Kuwait, Dr. Casey discussed how the pollution of water and diminishing water resources has led to a growing concern about global water wars.

From the economic perspective, Dr. Casey analyzed the debate about the right to buy water on global markets, versus the position that water, a necessity for life, should be held in public trust, available to all people, regardless of their ability to pay for it.

Kuwait's high standard of living makes it on top of the world list of water consuming countries. The average water consumption in Kuwait is three times that of Europe and 1½ that of the US. This high rate of consumption is alarming. According to Dr. Casey, Kuwait comes third after Bahrain and Qatar as the highest countries vulnerable to water scarcity in the next three years.

At the end of her discussion, Dr. Casey emphasized the importance of global collaboration in facing the growing threat of water scarcity. Governments need to work together on putting and enforcing regulations on water usage and distribution. Awareness plays a key role in educating people about water conservation and ecological usage of industrial water.

The Human Rights Club at the American University of Kuwait is a student organization that seeks to spread awareness about democracy and human rights.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 7th February 2012

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2012