Education and science to safeguard the human right to water: the role of groundwater

Abstract

All human beings have the right to be able to access the water they need for their reasonable subsistence, in quantity, quality, place, and time, and according to what is common in their surroundings. This is a right which is external to the person. When water is available to the person, the right is not in exclusivity, but implies the obligation to share it with other neighbours and society, so they can also exert their right to get water in quantity and quality. When water is not available, the right is to access it. This involves duties, such as contributing to the effort and cost of making water available and its safe disposal in the environment. Besides water being a vital resource, it is an essential part of the environment, which provides important ecological functions and services to mankind. Furthermore, water has an economic value as a factor of production. Thus, there is competition for the use of water and at the same time complementarity between water use and the environment, nuanced by the economic and social value of water. This brings ethical and moral  considerations, based on scientific principles and applying to technological developments. Science is the necessary basis for understanding what is needed for sound governance. However, economic and social considerations dominate the scene, with the related ethical and moral conditions. Good water quality is an aspect which is equally or more important than quantity as far as the human right to water is concerned. Groundwater plays a key and often decisive role, due to its ubiquity, large aquifer storage, long associated response to external action and complex relationships with the other components of the hydrological cycle.