Our Water Commons
= organization in support of the Water Commons as well as a report of the same title "Our Water Commons seeks to transform societal decision making for water stewardship towards participatory, democratic, community-centered systems that value equity and sustainability as a strategy. Our work is based on a set of ten water commons principles." [1]
URL = http://www.ourwatercommons.org/ [2]
Organization
"Our Water Commons was launched as a project of On the Commons, in partnership with the Council on Canadians and the Blue Mountain Center.
Our Water Commons seeks to support the growing global movement committed to protection, reclamation and promotion of the global water commons. This urgent task will be accomplished by supporting and building upon the remarkable range of existing global work being done on water - from keeping water public to enshrining the right to water in national and international law to promoting community-based water management models. Our Water Commons seeks to be a resource for your organization in promoting the water commons.
Our Water Commons is a young and evolving network. It was conceived at a conference held in May 2008 at the Blue Mountain Center in upstate New York with the support of On the Commons, the Blue Planet Project, the New Mexico Acequia Association, the Transnational Institute, the Rights Research Centre, Red Vida, the Heinrich Boll Foundation, the Institute for Policy Studies, Food and Water Watch, Tarun Bharat Sangh, Grassroots International, the Park Foundation, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and many others." (http://www.onthecommons.org/water/)
History:
Our Water Commons is a collaborative program of On the Commons, an organization formed in 2001 to advance commons-based solutions that will help achieve environmental restoration, social justice, global cooperation and a brighter future for all. The Our Water Commons initiative was born out of a three day working meeting held in May 2008 with leaders from the Council on Canadians, the Blue Planet Project, Vermont Law school, the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS), Food and Water Watch, Grassroots International, On the Commons, the Centre for Human Rights and Law (India), and the Red Vida (Latin America’s largest water justice network).
Reports
Report: “Our Water Commons, Towards a New Freshwater Narrative” by Maude Barlow URL = http://www.onthecommons.org/media/pdf/original/OurWaterComonsOctober2008English.pdf
Report: “Local Control and Management of Our Water Commons: Stories of Rising to the Challenge”
Abstract
"In every corner of the globe, communities (not just human, but flora and fauna as well) are in a pitched battle against thirst. Thank you for your interest in learning more about the principles of the water commons and in joining an international movement to support equitable, community-based water management.
One clear lesson emerges from the struggles of the world’s water warriors — water management remains a leaky endeavor unless it adheres to the principles of the commons — the gifts of society and nature that are shared by all, for generations to come. Effective water management must be based on such water commons principles as community control, democratic participation, ensuring the earth’s right to water, public water delivery and accessibility for all." (http://www.onthecommons.org/water/)