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UPDATE: Water Justice Day in Tunis

Blue Planet Project water campaigner Meera Karunananthan introduces the day to participants.

Blue Planet Project water campaigner Meera Karunananthan introduces the day to participants.

More than 80 people from around the world – representing at least 25 different organizations – gathered today for a ‘Water Justice Day’ forum at the Université de Tunis in advance of the World Social Forum.

Presentations were heard from water movement activists from Turtle Island/ North America, India, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Asia, Chile, Europe, France, Greece, Italy, and Palestine.

Numerous threats to the right to water were highlighted by the 12 speakers this afternoon including resource extraction (notably the tar sands in Canada), austerity measures, privatization, water meters, river linking, dams, the financialization of nature, pollution, and occupation.

All noted the importance of resistance and democratic movements, while noting that appropriate public consultation is often absent when water justice is violated, and that even referendums and laws have been ignored.

For the second part of today’s program, we have just begun presentations and discussions on strategies and tools to resist threats to global water justice, as well as a special presentation on water struggles here in Tunisia.