Water is a human right – we need to do more to protect it

What is it about?

Water is a basic human right. This has been formally recognized by the United Nations for over 10 years. But the human right to water is threatened by climate change. Climate change is expected to lead to more droughts, more often. As glaciers melt, there will be less fresh water to drink. Water will become more scarce, and more expensive. We need laws to protect the human right to water, but developing those laws is complicated. The way that governments measure the need for water is flawed. The people who make laws don’t always accept that climate change is happening.

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Photo by Jana Sabeth on Unsplash

Photo by Jana Sabeth on Unsplash

Why is it important?

We need to explain climate science better so that governments will make stronger policies to protect the human right to water. As well as better education, we may also need to provide economic incentives to change behaviours that threaten the human right to water. ‘Economic incentives’ might mean paying people to do things differently, or giving them tax breaks or other kinds of discount. KEY TAKEAWAY: Climate change will mean it becomes more difficult and more expensive to get access to drinking water. Some people will be affected worse than others. This is a breach of their human rights. We need to create and enforce laws that reduce the effects of climate change, to protect everyone’s access to water.