about WATER

Gaining consciousness

1224 S. Francesco D’Assisi

“Laudato si’, mi’ Signore, per sor Aqua, la quale é multo utile et humile et pretiosa et casta.”

03.2009 an Arci proposal

Water for life”At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the Earth,

with its diverse and abundant life forms, including 6 billion

humans, is facing a water crisis... [which] lies at the heart

of our survival and that of our planet Earth.”United Nations World Water Development Report

70 % of the Earth’s surface is covered by water

only 2,5 % of this is fresh water and much less is clean, available, drinkable water

its current main use is industrial agriculture

Can SOCIETY and NATURE be divided ?TEACHING LINKS:

foreign languages → numbers & percentage, vocabulary, comparisons...

geography, social studies, maths science → pollution, climate change

life skills

Is there enough water for everybody in the world?

unequal distribution, bad management and unfair access to water

Yes, according to

scientists, the United Nations, universities, social

movements, and even corporations!

what’s the matter then?

Teaching links: I CARE - don L.Milani

just a basic need?managing a unique resource

2 global trends:

1 public: water as a fundamental right of every human being, it cannot be used for profit

2 Privatize it : water considered as a commodity or a service, assimilated to sewage and sanitation, the more is consumed the better it is for the businessSchools dealing with too delicate

social issues?DO EDUCATORS TAKE A STAND ABOUT

CHALLENGES CONCERNING HUMANITY ?

Life skills : empathy, problem solving, decision making, critical ability...CASE STUDIES ANALYSIS: Paris, Lombardia, Mumbai, Argentina...

economy, law, foreign languages, geography

COCHABAMBA (Bolivia - South America): water distribution was privatized by Aguas del Tunari (Bechtel...) prices soared up to 250 % popular revolt (1 young dead) 2-month road blocks and unrest 2000: the corporations withdrew but they asked the government for 25 million $ as compensation for missed profits

LATINA (Italia - ATO2 Campania) : concessionaria Acqualatina spa, società mista (Veolia) 7000 ricorsi per aumenti e mancati investimenti [ lawsuits ] bills have soared up to 300 % but no investments have been made to repair or improve the aqueducts ongoing protests

2 famous examples:

...and many more struggle around the world...

...and in Trentino?

the context: national law → legge Galli 1994 → full cost recovery → 2002 BUT: legge 133 Tremonti – 06.08.2008 – art. 23bis : - i comuni metteranno le loro reti idriche sul mercato entro il 2010 – “favorire la più ampia diffusione dei principi di concorrenza e di libera prestazione dei servizi di tutti gli operatori economici interessati alla gestione di servizi di interesse generale in ambito locale".

the new law obliges municipalities to create joint-stock /incorporated

companies and to put out contracts to tender

it depends on the municipality

present situation: there are many public companies often called “multiutilities”. How are they

managed and controlled?

and what about the merger between Dolomiti Energia & Trentino Servizi? 80 % of the “market share” - 700 billion € a year

teaching links: economics, law, Italian...

all over Italy there are various campaigns and a new law has been recently proposed:

another example: promoting good

quality tap water at home and most of all in restaurants

July 2007: 406.626 signatures are delivered, necessary to

support the proposal of a legge d’iniziativa popolare called

“Principi per la tutela, il governo e la gestione pubblica delle acque e disposizioni

per la ripubblicizzazione del servizio idrico” the discussion started 22.01.2009

teaching ideas: what would you make a social campaign

about? why? how?

Water in Trentino

the region’s most important ecosystems:

Civilization developed thanks to water... Lake Ledro: prehistoric pile-dwelling

lakes, rivers, streams, glaciers, sources, snow, ground water

tables, ponds, moors...

just 10% of Trentino’s rivers are unspoilt

BIM i.e. mountain river basins: an institutional attempt to grant a

sustainable future?

ECONOMICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE REGION DEPENDING ON WATER: SKI, AGRICULTURE, TOURISM, TROUT BREEDING, POWER PLANTS...

Teaching links: history, science, economy, ways of improving use of water: more effective irrigation systems, less artificial snow...

Water in Trentino: European connections

The Alps Adige and Brenta contributing to the Adriatic Sea

Drava and the Donau’s drainage basinhydrographically linking Trentino with Hungary and Mitteleuropa

teaching links: overcoming an ethnocentric approach to matters

CONNECTING GLOBAL TO LOCAL

What could each of us do?

promoting and witnessing a personal choice and commitment

SAVING WATER IN OUR DAILY LIFE :

how?teaching

links: foreign languages: vocabulary: house,

domestic appliances, items, waste...

grammar: should, modals, wh-questions,

relative clauses...

maths: problems at all levels

BOTTLED WATER

a profit for whom?

market survey: mostly corporations, checks...

advantages and disadvantages

COMPARISON with TAP WATER

Italy: one of the biggest consumers of bottled water in the world

TEACHING PROPOSALS:

chemistry: getting to understand the labelsEnglish: the Coca Cola case in Kerala - Indiamarketing: the spread of functional goods

law and economy: canone di concessione da Regio Decreto 1927

DAMS - DIGHEjust an important source of energy ?

discovering and

managing social and

environmental impacts

► Vajont - Italy

► Stava - Trentino

► Ilisu - Turkey

► Sardar Samovar - Narmada river (central India)

water and peace

Israel and Palestine

Mekong Sudan and Ethiopia

didactic prompts:

Syria - Turkey - Irak ...

history: water as battlefield, as barrier, as border, as negotiation area... English literature: the role played by the fleet and the East India Company in the British Empire...

...there are many more ways to address the social and cultural matters concerning WATER...

...thank you for your attention!

pleaseshare yours…