The Political Economy of Water Governance. Exploring the Water Situation in Southeast Asia and South Africa

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Miscellaneous, University of the Philippines (Philippine Military Academy), course: Master of Arts in Social and Development Studies, language: English, abstract: Investing in water and sanitation access is creating improvements to livelihood, environmental health, and service provision. However, reports released by the United Nations Development Group on 17 January 2007 inform the public about the devastating situation of our water resources that is now affecting the entire population's access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The United Nations released a press statement exposing the fact that Asia is home to 71% of the total number of people in the world without access to improved sanitation and 58% of those without access to safe water (2005). As of 2002 based on the MDG target No. 10, the UNICEF reports that 4 out of 10 people in the world don't have access even to a simple latrine, 2 in 10 have no source of safe drinking water, and more than 3 million children die every year caused by waterborne diseases. (Witoelar)Access to safe water is a fundamental human need and, therefore, a basic human right. This is the very nature why there is a need to revisit materials pertaining to the water governance of countries. This paper will focus on the political economy of water governance in Southeast Asia and South Africa.