In a landmark ruling, the Indonesian Constitutional Court ruled earlier this week to annul a water law passed by the Indonesian government in 2004 under pressure from the World Bank. Law No. 7 on Water Resources was part of a $300 million US World Bank loan. It deemed water to be an economic good and changed resource management rules in the country in order to make ground and surface water accessible to multinational corporations. It also strengthened the role of the private sector in the delivery of water services.
More than a decade later, as a result of the tireless campaigning of the Indonesian water justice coalition KruHa, the Indonesian Constitutional Court has deemed the World Bank water law to be in violation of the constitutional recognition of water as a commons and a human right.
The devastating impacts of the water law on people and the environment in Indonesia are documented in a 2012 report by KruHa and the Blue Planet Project: here.
The Blue Planet Project congratulates KruHa and other water justice groups in Indonesia on this historic win.
