″ As far as water is concerned, I am not worried about the future of Portugal ″
Loic Fauchon is in Portugal to participate in the National Meeting of Water and Sanitation Management Entities, which starts on Tuesday in the Algarve. The president of the World Water Council is concerned about the lack of water in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Still, in this interview with the TSF, praises the work that Portugal has done to take advantage of resources.
Will there be good quality water for everyone in the future?
There are two problems with water: quantity and quality. It’s what we call water security. Will we be able to bring water to all the planet’s inhabitants in the future? In other words, in the next 10, 20, 30 years? We have huge differences, depending on the regions we talk about.
In Europe, the quality of water resources is relatively good. But the rest of the world, Africa, South America, Asia, they all have difficulties in guaranteeing their self-sufficiency, their water security. Why? I think this is the first thing we should look into. Is it just because of climate change? Or are there other reasons?
And I think that the main reason for these difficulties today is linked to the evolution of the world population. Every 10 years we have to respond to a billion more human beings in the world.
Would you say that the Iberian Peninsula is particularly worrying?
There are differences within the Iberian Peninsula. In the Northwest of Spain and throughout the North of Portugal there are, for now, important water resources. And in any case, they are enough for the future, for the 20 or 30 years ahead.
On the other hand, there is a big problem in the south-east of Spain, and a slightly smaller problem in the south of Portugal. Spain undertakes intensive agriculture too. Avocados are very water intensive, for tomatoes, for many fruits, and it doesn’t rain enough. There is not enough water for that.
So we have both the northernmost water reserves. This is the problem with the conflict on the Ebro river. But they were also driven to produce more and more water through desalination.
Today the Southeast of Spain is in crisis, and this crisis cannot be resolved, the production and exports of agricultural products, which are the consumers of water. This is not the case in Portugal. Portugal has some reserve problems in the south, but not due to intensive agriculture.
What is it due to then?
They are due to the fact that for decades, for centuries there has been a lack of water in the southern half of the country. There are long periods of drought and not just a few years. But yes for centuries. Therefore, they were led, at the same time to save water, but also to manage resources very carefully.
Furthermore, they have been building dams for over a century, storing winter rainwater for summer use. To be kept from one year to the next, if there is more or less drought. Gradually the country built new water resources through desalination and what we call water reuse.
So, as far as water is concerned, I’m not worried about the future of Portugal. Contrary to what should be with the Spanish Southeast.
Free water is already a scarce commodity. Could privatization be a solution to manage resources more rationally?
No, there is neither free water nor privatization. There is water, which is both a resource and a public good. No individual, no company can say that the water belongs to them. Another thing is a way to manage water. This can be done by public companies or it can be handed over to private companies.
But, in all cases, the public power, the State – in Portugal it is the municipalities or associations of municipalities – must maintain two things, two authorities: the authority over the price of water; and authority over planned investments.
Then it’s like electricity or transport. We can appeal to competence, knowledge, knowing how to do anyone. But never give private ownership of the water. And likewise free water is a danger. Because if it stops for free, people tend to waste it.
In other words, the water itself has no costs. But the operation, the distribution, whether under public or private management, actually requires expenses that justify this cost. And this blow sometimes has to increase, but only sometimes. Because there are investments.
In certain countries, and I’m not talking about Portugal, these costs are enormous. There is a great need to build huge sanitation facilities. Therefore, we have to build sewage networks, treatment plants, etc. And unfortunately, all of this, as in other areas, in telephones, in digital, in transport, in energy, this increases the prices of the service.
But privatizing means selling the water assets and that is unacceptable. It’s not a solution.
In recent years, successive periods of drought, such as floods and natural disasters, have intensified. Do you believe that climate change can explain all these phenomena?
Not completely. We must not make climate change or scapegoat human errors. If we look at the damage caused by floods here or there in the world, it is mainly due not to the climate, but to the fact that man built it, developed as activities in areas that are floodable. In areas where water passes.
We can’t stop the water. We can stop the fire, but the water can never stop it. So we have to live intelligently, live in harmony with water. And not believing that we’re going to block the water, that we’re going to block the way.
The increase in water disasters, I speak of excess water, are due to man’s desire to dominate water, to forget about water. We can neither dominate nor forget about water. She is there and we have to treat her with caution, respect and moderation.
Next year, the world water forum, which will be held in Dakar, has as its main theme: “Water security for development and peace.” What can we expect?
We’ve waited too long, maybe too long. But for the first time the World Water Forum is taking place in Africa, and in sub-Saharan Africa as well. Africa is the continent where water problems are greatest. Because of these problems, the vast majority of the population does not have access to water, either in quantity or quality. Nor does it have access to sanitation or electricity.
We decided to hold this forum in Dakar, Africa, because we want to present answers for access to water. By answers I mean life-changing solutions that do not have access to water that are millions of millions across the planet. Not only in Africa, but also in Asia and South America in particular.
We are working with our Senegalese friends, African colleagues and across the world so that we can go beyond speeches. To go beyond the intentions. To be able to show people what the answers are, the solutions that will change lives, in terms of access to water.
In a way, we want it to be the opposite of COP26. All say from Glasgow no solutions came out. That from the pressure nothing else came out, except a set of intentions.
We want, in addition to commitments, solutions that each one on the ground will bring to fruition. So that, ultimately, access to water as a universal right is respected.