Embezzlement and kick-backs, bid-rigging and extortion, manipulated water policies and corrupted enforcement of rules against water pollution plague the provision of drinking water, irrigation and hydropower all around the world. This is the key message of “the Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector.”

With more than thirty experts and practitioners exploring corruption issues in all areas of the water sector, the report is a first of its kind and its central insight is as clear as it is alarming: Corruption in the water sector is a root cause and consequences of a global water crisis that leaves more than one billion people without access to safe drinking water and poses a major impediment to inclusive human development and environmental sustainability. Fixing the global water crisis requires fixing corruption in the sector. A wide array of case studies from all world regions shows how rampant and devastating corruption is in the water sector:

• In India, for example, corruption is estimated to inflate the costs for water infrastructures by 25 to 45%. In global context such a corruption burden means that achieving the Millennium Development Goals in water will be almost US$50 billion more expensive.

• In Kenya, 66% of households in a survey report that they have experienced corruption in water service provision.

• In Mexico the largest 20% of farmers reap more than 70% of irrigation subsidies.

• In China, Indonesia and Zambia, fraud and manipulation have plagued resettlement programs in big dam projects.

But there is hope. Taking action against corruption in the water sector is possible.

The Report also presents a large number of innovative initiatives that have had a demonstrable effect on tackling corruption in the sector. More transparency and citizen participation, more collective action and stronger accountability mechanisms are identified as the basic ingredients for rolling back corruption in the water sector and for making water governance work for sustainable human development.

-Dr. Dieter Zinnbauer Chief Editor - Global Corruption Report Policy and Research Department TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Transparency International, Corruption. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.