Symposium - Dr Caroline Downey
Dr Caroline Downey
Executive Director, Mersey Basin Trust -
Dying for a Drink
Caroline talked of the need for ‘water literacy’ to understand and respect the fact that ‘our future will be determined by water’. She explained different cultural and spiritual attitudes to water, the many different types of water, and above all, that water is a finite resource – ‘ all the water that ever will be, exists right now’. So, intensity of use is a crucial issue, but only domestic consumption only accounts for 10% and industry 20%. Agriculture uses 70% of available freshwater, much of which contributes to meat production. Caroline further explored issues of water quantity, quality and pricing – commodification was leading to ‘water stress’ and war. However, we can learn to manage this scarce resource by adopting and adapting management systems like those of the ‘Water Parliament’ in Rajasthan, the Sebak in Bali, or the ‘Tribunal de las Aglias’ in Valencia that dated back to 960 AD.
Caroline concluded that to make a difference, water must be considered as a common resource, not waste product, and this raises questions of governance, awareness and participation.