Against the Privatization of Water: An Indigenous Model for Improving Existing Laws and Successfully Governing the Commons

Abstract

"The privatization of water is being strongly promoted by the World Bank in Peru and other countries as a solution to the problems commonly afflicting irrigation and water management, a proposal that has inspired strong protest among peasant farmers throughout the Andes. A viable alternative to it is presented here, one that would allow the Bank to do many of the things it would like to in creating water markets while making a serious effort, not only to protect the rights of small farmers in the region, but to improve dramatically the way that irrigation is carried out in many areas. This counterproposal is based on the fundamental principles of an indigenous Andean model for management."