PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL / AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS -- January 25 -- It is high time for governments and international institutions to stop imposing water privatisation on developing countries, a new book concludes. Challenging widespread prejudices, 'Reclaiming Public Water' presents a wide range of examples of public utility reform resulting in major improvements in access to clean water and sanitation. The book is written by water utility managers and civil society campaigners from more than twenty countries.

'Reclaiming Public Water' will be launched on January 28th during the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. This Brazilian city is a prime example of how public water delivery can be improved through democratic reform, a common theme of the book. Increased citizens involvement in decision-making, including so-called Participatory Budgeting, has helped Porto Alegre's public water utility to become one of the most effective in Latin America.

"Donor governments and institutions like the World Bank need to acknowledge the failure of privatisation and instead concentrate on boosting the performance and coverage of public utilities", says Satoko Kishimoto of the Amsterdam- based Transnational Institute (TNI), co-author of the book. In numerous cities around the world, private water corporations have failed to deliver the promised improvements while raising water tariffs far beyond the reach of poor households. This was also the case in Bolivia, where the government earlier this month decided to terminate the concession of French water multinational Suez in the cities of El Alto and La Paz. The decision followed protests from the population of El Alto against dramatic price increases and Suez' failure to expand access to piped water and sewage.

'Reclaiming Public Water' will be launched at a seminar on Friday January 28th, 8.30 - 11 o'clock, venue E203, World Social Forum, Porto Alegre. During the seminar there will be translation into English, Spanish and French.

A free copy of 'Reclaiming Public Water - Achievements, Struggles and Visions from Around the World' is available on request for review for media purposes only, all other copies must be purchased. Send an email with your name and postal address to <satoko@tni.org> The book is also available online at http://www.tni.org/books/publicwater.htm

Notes:
[1] Seminar speakers include Alberto Muñoz (author of the chapter on Argentina), Santiago Arconada (author of the chapter on Venezuela), Nila Ardhianie (author of the chapter on Indonesia), Julian Perez (Federation of Neighbourhood Committees, El Alto, Bolivia), Carlos Todeschini (former director of Porto Alegre's water utility DMAE), Silvano Costa (president of the federation of public water utilities in Brazil, ASSEMAE) and Cam Duncan of Public Services International. See also: http://www.waterjustice.org/campaign.php?componentID=6&articleID=98

[2] Reclaiming Public Water covers the cities of Porto Alegre (Brazil), Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Olavanna (Kerala, India), Penang (Malaysia), Grenoble (France), Bogota (Colombia), Recife (Brazil), Cochabamba (Bolivia), Savelugu (Ghana), Harrismith (South Africa) and Manila (Philippines), and also includes overview chapters on the United States, Germany, Argentina, Venezuela, South Africa, Uruguay, Ukraine, Slovakia, Indonesia, and Mexico.

[3] Reclaiming Public Water is co-published by Transnational Institute (TNI - an international progressive think-tank based in Amsterdam) and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO - a research and campaign group targeting the growing political influence of transnational corporations).

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