Transformation of Water Services: Lessons Learned from Water Privatization in Multiple Countries

Abstract

The transformation of water services is among the issues that have entered the world agenda in the last 30 years. Although recommendations from international organizations affect water policies of individual countries, water privatization realized as public–private cooperation has been spurred by the idea of establishing new markets for global water companies. This transition is rooted in the neoliberal policies of such international organizations. This study, which follows the literature review method, aims to examine the reasons underlying the privatization of water services as well as the privatization practices implemented in different countries. The results reveal that excluding the countries where privatization is offered as a credit requirement by international organizations (India, Argentina, Bolivia, and Turkey), in developed countries (France and England) where privatization is conducted without coercion, water services management has not been successful and cannot be used as an example for other countries. In contrast, many cities in developed and developing countries have recently implemented remunicipalization, returning the control of water services to public authorities. Finally, countries that have implemented privatization have failed in terms of financing, investment, and efficiency, and the privatization process has imposed additional financial burdens. Water privatization, therefore, cannot be considered as a solution to water management.

Keywords

• Water services
• Transformation of water services
• Water privatization
• Privatization
• Remunicipalization

Su Hizmetlerinde Yaşanan Dönüşüm: Suyun Özelleştirilmesi ve Ülke Uygulamaları ile Kazanılan Deneyimler

Abstract

Su ve su hizmetlerinde yaşanan dönüşüm son otuz yıl içerisinde uluslararası düzeyde dünyanın gündemine girmiş olan konulardan bir tanesidir. Uluslararası kuruluşların tavsiyeleri devletlerin su politikalarını etkilemekle birlikte, kamu-özel iş birliği şeklinde gerçekleştirilen özelleştirmeler, uluslararası kuruluşların neoliberal politikaları temelinde, küresel su şirketlerine yeni pazarlar açma fikri çerçevesinde gelişmektedir. Tarama ve değerlendirme yöntemi izlenen bu çalışmada su hizmetlerinin özelleştirilmesinin altında yatan nedenler ve farklı ülke örnekleri çerçevesinde özelleştirme uygulamalarının incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Sonuç olarak, uluslararası örgütler tarafından özelleştirmelerin kredi şartı olarak sunulduğu ülkeler (Hindistan, Arjantin, Bolivya ve Türkiye) bir yana, herhangi bir zorlama olmaksızın özelleştirmelerin gerçekleştirildiği Fransa ve İngiltere gibi gelişmiş ülkelerde dahi diğer ülkeler için örnek teşkil edecek bir başarı söz konusu değildir. Öte yandan birçok gelişmiş ve gelişmekte olan ülke şehirlerinde su hizmetlerinin yeniden belediyeleştirmeler ile tekrar kamu otoritesine geçmiştir. Kısacası özelleştirmelerin tecrübe edildiği şehirlere bakıldığında finansman, yatırım ve etkinlik bakımından başarısızlıkla sonuçlandığı görülmektedir. Bu özelleştirmeler, su yönetimine alternatif bir çözüm olamadıkları gibi ülkelere ek maddi külfetler de yüklemiştir.

Keywords

• Su hizmetleri
• Su hizmetlerinde yaşanan dönüşüm
• Suyun özelleştirilmesi
• Özelleştirme
• Yeniden belediyeleştirme

References

1. Abu-Shams, I., & Rabadi, A. (2003). Commercialization and public-private partnership in Jordan. International Journal of Water Resources Development, 19(2), 159-172. google scholar
2. Akdoğan, A. (2006). Latin Amerika’da su özelleştirmeleri. T. Çınar, & H. Özdinç (Ed.), Su yönetimi: Küresel politika ve uygulamalara eleştiri içinde (s. 179-223). Ankara: Memleket Yayınları. google scholar
3. Akgün, İ. (2010). Su hizmetlerinin özelleştirilmesi ve buna karşı dünyada ve Türkiye’de yürütülen mücadeleler. Uluslararası Su Hakkı Sempozyumu. Diyarbakır. Erişim Adresi: https://www.suhakki.org/wp-content/ uploads/2011/03/dybkrsempweb.pdf google scholar
4. Alpaslan, N., Tanık, A., & Dölgen, D. (2008). Türkiye’ de su yönetimi sorunlar ve öneriler. İstanbul: TÜSİAD Yayınları. google scholar
5. Apps, G. (2002). Bechtel vs. Bolivia: Cochabamba’s water bills from Bechtel. Retrieved from The Democracy Center: https://democracyctr.org/archive/the-water-revolt/cochabambas-water-bills-from-bechtel/ google scholar
6. Asian Development Bank. (2004). Water in Asian cities: Utilities, performance and civil society views. Asian Development Bank. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/28452/water-asian-cities.pdf google scholar
7. Assies, W. (2003). David versus Goliath in Cochabamba: Water rights neoliberalism, and the revival of social protest in Bolivia. Latin American Perspectives, 30(3), 14-36. google scholar
8. Babkin, V., Klige, R., & Vuglinsky, V. (2004). The earth and its physical features. In I. Shiklomanov, & J. C. Rodda (Eds.), World water resources at the beginning of the twenty-first century (pp. 1-18). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. google scholar

9. Baer, W., & Montes-Rojas, G. (2008). From privatization to re-nationalization: What went wrong with privatizations in Argentina. Oxford Development Studies, 36(3), 323-337. google scholar
10. Bakker, K. (2001). Paying for water: water pricing and equity in England and Wales. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 26(2), 143-164. google scholar
11. Bala, J., & Muniraju, Y. (2013). Privatisation of water resource management: Looking beyond profiteering. Nitte ManagementReview, 7(2), 70-78. google scholar
12. Barlow, M., & Clarke, T. (2004). The struggle for Latin America’s water. NACLA Report on the Americas, 38(1), 15-43. google scholar
13. Bel, G., & Fageda, X. (2007). Why do local governments privatise public services? A survey of empirical studies. Local Government Studies, 33(4), 517-534. google scholar
14. Bluemel, E. (2004). The implications of formulating a human right to water. Ecology Law Quarterly, 31, 957-1006. google scholar
15. Bonnardeaux, D. (2009). The Cochabamba “Water War”: An anti-privatisation poster child? International Policy Network Report, 1-18. Retrieved from https://fcpp.org/pdf/09-03-23-Cochabamba.pdf google scholar
16. Budds, J., & McGranahan, G. (2003). Are the debates on water privatization missing the point? Experiences from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Environment and Urbanization, 15(2), 87-114. google scholar
17. Buller, H. (1996). Privatization and Europeanization: The changing context of water supply in Britain and France. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 39(4), 461-482. google scholar
18. Bustamante, R. (2004). Water war: Resistance against privatisation of water in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Revista de Gestion del Agua de America Latina, 1(1), 37-46. google scholar
19. Casarin, A., Delfino, J., & Delfino, M. (2007). Failures in water reform: Lessons from the Buenos Aires’s concession. Utilities Policy, 15(4), 234-247. google scholar
20. Clarke, G., Kosec, K., & Wallsten, S. (2009). Has private participation in water and sewerage ımproved coverage? Empirical evidence from Latin America. Journal of International Development, 327-361. google scholar
21. Corral, V. (2007). Water Privatization and ADB, Its impacts and responses from peoples’ movements. People’s Forum on ADB. Japan: Kyoto. Retrieved from http://am-net.org/water/0506/1_ADB_Water-privatization_vpc_ kyoto_apr07_eng.pdf google scholar
22. Cuzan, A. (1979). A critique of collectivist water resources planning. Western Political Quarterly, 32(3), 320-326. google scholar
23. Çınar, T. (2006a). Su yönetimi ve finansmanında strateji, model ve aktörler. T. Çınar, & H. Özdinç (Ed.), Su yönetimi: Küresel politika ve uygulamalara eleştiri içinde (s. 43-91). Ankara: Memleket Yayınları. google scholar
24. Çınar, T. (2006b). Türkiye’de içmesuyu ve kanalizasyon hizmetleri: Yönetim ve finansman. T. Çınar, & H. Özdinç (Ed.), Su Yönetimi: Küresel politika ve uygulamalara eleştiri içinde (s. 227-252). Ankara: Memleket Yayınları. google scholar
25. Çınar, T. (2009). Privatisation of urban water and sewerage services in Turkey: Some trends. Development In Practice, 19(3), 350-364. google scholar
26. da Silva e Souza, G., de Faria,, R., & Moreira, T. (2007). Estimating the relative efficiency of brazilian publicly and privately owned water utilities: A stochastic cost frontier approach. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 1237-1244. google scholar
27. Dore, M., Kushner, J., & Zumer, K. (2004). Privatization of water in the UK and France-What can we learn? Utilities Policy, 12(1), 41-50. google scholar
28. Downing, E., & Richards, P. (1998). Water industry bills. London: House of Commons Library Research Paper 98/117. google scholar
29. Dwivedi, G., & Dharmadhikary, S. (2007). Water, private limited: Issues in privatisation, corporatisation, and commercialisation of water sector in India. Bhopal: Manthan Adhyayan Kendra. google scholar
30. Elnaboulsi, J. (2001). Organization, management and delegation in the French water industry. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, 72(4), 507-547. google scholar
31. Estache, A., & Rossi., M. (2002). How different is the efficiency of public and private water companies in Asia? The World Bank Economic Review, 139-148. google scholar
32. Estache, A., Perelman, S., & Trujillo, L. (2005). Infrastructure performance and reform in developing and transition economies: Evidence from a survey of productivity measures. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper. google scholar
33. Falkenmark, M. (1989). The massive water scarcity now threatening Africa: Why isn’t it being addressed? Ambio, 112-118. google scholar
34. Finnegan, W. (2002). Letter from Bolivia: Leasing the rain. 24.12.2018 Retrieved from The New Yorker: http:// www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/04/08/020408fa_FACT1 google scholar
35. Fiorelli, C., & Mele, M. (2017). Water gain: As a common good becomes a financial opportunity. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 7(2), 626-630. google scholar
36. Geman, H., & Kanyinda, A. (2007). Water as the next commodity. The Journal of Alternative Investments, 10(2), 23-30. google scholar
37. Gleick, P., Wolff, G., Chalecki, E., & Reyes, R. (2002). The new economy of water. The risk and benefits of globalization and privatization of fresh water. California: Pacific institute for studies in development, environment, and security. google scholar
38. Globalization Challenge Initiative. (2001). IMF and World Bank push water privatization and full cost recovery on poor countries. Retrieved from https://www.iatp.org/sites/default/files/IMF_and_World_Bank_Push_Water_ Privatization_an.pdf google scholar
39. Güler, A., Baran, A., Boztaş, N., Karabıyık, T., Kartal, F., Mutlu, G., . . . Tulumtaş, S. (1999). Su hizmetleri yönetimi genel yapı. Ankara: TODAİE. google scholar
40. Hachfeld, D. (2008). The remunicipalisation of water-some reflections on the cases of Potsdam and Grenoble. The Public-Alternatives to Privatisation at the European Summer University of Attac. Saarbrücken. Retrieved from http://www.who-owns-the-world.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/attac-summer-school-hachfeld.pdf google scholar
41. Hall, D., & Lanz, K. (2001). A Critique of the 2001 PricewaterhouseCoopers report on water services in Austria. google scholar
42. Prinz-Eugen-StraBe: Bundeskammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte. Retrieved from http://unpub.eclipse. homepagetool.ch/var/m_e/eb/eb3/24631/7248232-2001-12-W-Austria-PWC-en.pdf google scholar
43. Hall, D., & Lobina, E. (2001). Private to public: International lessons of water remunicipalisation in Grenoble, France. AWRA Conference University of Dundee. England. google scholar
44. Hall, D., & Lobina, E. (2007). International actors and multinational water company strategies in Europe, 19902003. Utilities Policy, 15(2), 64-77. google scholar
45. Hall, D., & Lobina, E. (2008). Water privatization. Public Services International Research Unit, 1-32. google scholar
46. Hall, D., & Lobina, E. (2009). The private sector in water in 2009. Public Services International Research Unit. Retrieved from http://gala.gre.ac.uk/1706/1/2009-03-W-companies.pdf google scholar
47. Hall, D., & Lobina, E. (2012). Water companies and trends in Europe 2012. Public Services International Research Unit, 1-43. google scholar
48. Hall, D., Lobina, E., & Motte, R. (2005). Public resistance to privatisation in water and energy. Development In Practice, 15(3-4), 286-301. google scholar
49. Hawley, S. (2000). Exporting corruption: Privatisation, multinationals and bribery. The Corner House Briefing, 19, 1-24. google scholar
50. HCSCE. (2000). House of Commons select committee on the environment seventh report: Water prices and the environment. Publications, environmental audit committtee: Retrieved from https://publications.parliament. uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmenvaud/597/59703.htm google scholar
51. Hoedeman, O., Kishimoto, S., & Pigeon, M. (2012). Looking to the future: What next for remunicipalization?, In M. Pigeon, D. A. McDonald, O. Hoedeman, & S. Kishimoto (Eds.), Remunicipalisation: Putting water back ınto public hands (pp. 106-112). Amsterdam: Transnational Institute. google scholar
52. Hürriyet. (2001). En pahalı suyu çeşmeliler içiyor. Erişim adresi: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/ekonomi/en-pahali-suyu-cesmeliler-iciyor-39240779 google scholar
53. Johnstone, N., Wood, L., & Hearne, R. (1999). The regulation of private sector participation in urban water supply and sanitation: Realising social and environmental objectives in developing countries. International Institute Environmental and Development, 1-20. google scholar
54. Kalkınma Bakanlığı. (2018). Su kaynakları yönetimi ve güvenliği özel ihtisas komisyonu raporu (11. Kalkınma Planı 2019-2023). Ankara. google scholar
55. Kanakoudis, V., & Tsitsifli, S. (2014). Doing the urban water supply job: From privatization to remunicipalisation and the third pillar of the performance based service contracts. Water Util Journal, 8, 31-46. google scholar
56. Kayır, G., & Akıllı, H. (2006). Antalya su hizmetlerinde özelleştirme. T. Çınar, & H. K. Özdinç (Ed.), Su yönetimi: Küresel politika ve uygulamalara eleştiri içinde (s. 317-377). Ankara: Memleket Yayınları. google scholar
57. Kirkpatrick, C., Parker, D., & Zhan, Y.F. (2006). State versus private sector provision of water services in Africa: An empirical analysis. The World Bank Economic Review. 20(1). Retrieved from https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/ viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.476.5282&rep=rep1&type=pdf google scholar
58. Kishimoto, S., Petitjean, O., & Lobina, E. (2015). Reclaiming public water through remunicipalisation. In S. google scholar
59. Kishimoto, E. Lobina, & O. Petitjean (Eds.), Our public water future the global experience with remunicipalisation (pp. 112-127). Amsterdam/London/Paris/Cape Town/Brussels: Transnational Institute (TNI)/Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU). google scholar
60. Lebowitz, M. (2010). The socialist alternative real human development. New York: Monthly Review Press. google scholar
61. Lobina, E. (2000). Cochabamba-water war. Focus, 7(2), 1-6. google scholar
62. Lobina, E. (2017). Water remunicipalisation as a global trend: Calling for progressive policies. Encuentro de Ciudades por el Agua Pûblica. Madrid. google scholar
63. Lobina, E., & Hall, D. (2001). UK water privatisation: A briefing. Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), 1-30. google scholar
64. Lobina, E., & Hall, D. (2007). Experience with private sector participation in grenoble France, and lessons on strengthening public water operations. Utilities Policy, 15(2), 93-109. google scholar
65. Lobina, E., Kishimoto, S., & Petitjean, O. (2014). Here to stay: Water remunicipalisation as a global trend. Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), Transnational Institute (TNI) and Multinational Observatory, 1-16. google scholar
66. Lobina, E., Weghmann, V., & Nicke, K. (2021). Water remunicipalisation in Paris, France and Berlin, Germany. Public Services International Research Unit. google scholar
67. Loftus, A., & McDonald, D. (2001). Of liquid dreams: A political ecology of water privatization in Buenos Aires. Environment and Urbanization, 13(2), 179-199. google scholar
68. Marin, P. (2009). Public-Private Partnerships for urban water utilities: A Review of experiences ın developing countries. Washington: The World Bank. google scholar
69. Marvin, S., & Laurie, N. (1999). An emerging logic of urban water management Cochabamba, Bolivia. Urban Studies, 36(2), 341-357. google scholar
70. Milliman, J. (1959). Water law and private decision-making: a critique. The Journal of Law and Economics, 2, 4163. google scholar
71. Morgan, B. (2011). Water on tap: Rights and regulation ın the transnational governance of urban water services. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. google scholar
72. Muluk, Ç., Kurt, B., Turak, A., Türker,, A., Çalışkan, M., Balkız, Ö., . . . Zeydanlı, U. (2013). Türkiye’de suyun durumu ve su yönetiminde yeni yaklaşımlar: Çevresel perspektif. İş Dünyası ve Sürdürülebilir Kalkınma Derneği-Doğa Koruma Merkezi. google scholar
73. Neto, F. (1998). Water privatization and regulation in England and France: A tale of two models. Natural Resources Forum, 22(2), 107-117. google scholar
74. Nickson, A. (1997). The public-private mix ın urban water supply. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 63(2), 165-186. google scholar
75. OECD. (2009). Managing water for all: An OECD perspective on pricing and financing-key messages for policy makers. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/env/resources/42350563.pdf google scholar
76. Oğuz, C., & Atvur, S. (2015). Direnişten iktidara: Bolivya’da toplumsal hareketlerin siyasal dönüşümdeki rolü. Mülkiye Dergisi, 39(2), 217-246. google scholar
77. Ökmen, M. (2004). Çevre ve politika. M. Marin, & U. Yıldırım (Ed.), Çevre sorunlarına çağdaş yaklaşımlar içinde (s. 327-365). İstanbul: Beta Yayını. google scholar
78. Rijsberman, F. (2006). Water scarcity: Fact or fiction? Agricultural Water Management, 80(1-3), 1-14. google scholar
79. Ruiz-Villaverde, A., Gonzalez-Gomez, F., & Picazo-Tadeo, A. (2015). The privatisation of urban water Services: Theory and empirical evidence in the case of Spain. Journal of Regional Research, 157-174. google scholar
80. Saal, D., Parker, D., & Weyman-Jones , T. (2007). Determining the contribution of technical change, efficiency change and scale change to productivity growth in the privatized English and Welsh water and sewerage industry: 1985-2000. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 127-139. google scholar
81. Saleth, R., & Dinar, A. (2004). The institutional economics of water: A cross-country analysis of ınstitutions and performance. Cheltenham-Northamton: Edward Elgar Publishing. google scholar
82. Sampath, A., Kedarnath, B., Ramanujam, C., Haidery, H., Rao, R., Arunachalam, R., . . . Jeet , V. (2003). Water privatization and implications in India. Association for India’s Development. Retrieved from http://www. doccentre.org/docsweb/water/water_privatization.pdf google scholar
83. Sarı, S., & Tuluay, F. (2011). Küresel su yönetimi ve suyun ticarileştirilmesi. Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 22(22), 54-83. google scholar
84. Schiffler, M. (2015). Water, politics and money: A reality check on privatization. Switzerland: Springer. google scholar
85. Sohail, M. (2005). Domestic water supply-public private partnership. In J. Lehr, J. Keeley, & J. Lehr (Eds.), Domestic, municipal and ındustrial water supply and waste disposal (pp. 42-51). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. google scholar
86. Spronk, S. (2007). The politics of water privatization in the third world. Review of Radical Political Economics, 39(1), 126-131. google scholar
87. SUEN. (2021). Water governance in Turkey. İstanbul: Türkie Su Enstitüsü. google scholar
88. Tapia, L. (2008). Bolivia: The left and the social movements. The new Latin American Left: Utopia Reborn, 215-231. google scholar
89. Taşkın, T. (2006). Birleşik Krallıkta Su yönetimi ve özelleştirme süreci. T. Çınar, & H. Özdinç (Ed.), Su yönetimi: Küresel politika ve uygulamalara eleştiri içinde (s. 121-144). Ankara: Memleket Yayınları. google scholar
90. Topçu, F. (2006). Yerel yönetim birliği eliyle su özelleştirmesi: ÇALBİR Örneği. T. Çınar, & H. K. Özdinç (Ed.), Su yönetimi: Küresel politika ve uygulamalara eleştiri içinde (s. 379-405). Ankara: Memleket Yayınları. google scholar
91. Turri, V. (2021). Understanding European drinking water services remunicipalisation: A state of literature analysis. Cities, 120, 1-14. google scholar
92. UN-Habitat. (2013). Water and sanitation in the World’s cities: Local action for global goals. London: Earthscan Publications. google scholar
93. WHO, & UNICEF. (2017). Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG baselines. Geneva: WHO-UNICEF. google scholar
94. WHO, & UNICEF. (2019). 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water. Retrieved from https:// www.who.int/news/item/18-06-2019-1-in-3-people-globally-do-not-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water-unicef-who#:~:text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%201,who%20drink%20untreated%20surface%20water google scholar
95. Yaşar, S. (2007). Türkiye’de kullanılan özelleştrime yöntemlerinin analizi. İstanbul: Beta Basım (Aktarılan Kaynak). google scholar
96. Yıldız, D. (2007). Su raporu, ulusal su politikası ihtiyacımız. Ankara: Ertem Matbaa. google scholar
97. Yılmaz, G. (2013). Suyun metalaşması: Kıtlığın nedeni kıtlığa çare olabilir mi? İstanbul: Evrensel Basım Yayın. google scholar
98. Zerah, M., & Jaglin, S. (2011). Water in cities: Rethinking services in transformation., (s. 260-272). Retrieved from http://www.idfc.com/pdf/report/2011/Chp-17-Water-in-Cities-Rethinking-Services-in-Transfor.pdf google scholar