Some of the answers to that might surprise you.

這方面的一些答案可能會讓你吃驚。

We'll explain how, despite the different ways water is controlled,

我們將解釋如何，儘管水的控制方式不同。

the law can help you.

法律可以幫助你。

Should companies profit from something we all need?

公司應該從我們都需要的東西中獲利嗎？

And... big trouble: how water ownership

還有......大麻煩：水的所有權如何

nearly brought down a government.

幾乎搞垮了一個政府。

Can water be owned? It falls from the sky,

水可以被擁有嗎？它從天而降。

so should it be free for all?

那麼它是否應該是免費的呢？

And if we all need it to live,

而如果我們都需要它來生活。

shouldn't the law make sure that no one can stop us from having it?

法律不是應該確保沒有人可以阻止我們擁有它嗎？

Lots of international agreements recognise how important it is.

很多國際協議都承認它的重要性。

The United Nations says all its member states have to make sure

聯合國表示，其所有成員國必須確保

vulnerable people have access to drinking water.

弱勢人群有機會獲得飲水。

And, in lots of cases, countries own it –

而且，在很多情況下，國家擁有它 --

sharing it out among the people who live there.

在住在那裡的人中分享它。

So, why do we often have to pay for it?

那麼，為什麼我們常常要為此付出代價呢？

Private water companies often own the things that bring water to you:

私人水務公司往往擁有為你送水的東西。

pipes, pumps and dams. So, they can charge for it.

管道、泵和水壩。是以，他們可以收費。

And sometimes, if a river starts in one country but goes through another,

有時，如果一條河流從一個國家開始，但要經過另一個國家。

they can argue about whose water it is.

他們可以爭論這是誰的水。

So, how does the law keep us all supplied with water?

那麼，法律是如何讓我們都有水供應的呢？

Amanda Loeffen, from the campaigning organisation Human Right to Water,

來自運動組織 "水的權利 "的阿曼達-羅芬(Amanda Loeffen)。

explained which big international laws protect your access to water.

解釋了哪些大的國際法律保護你的用水權。

Well, the original Declaration on Human Rights,

嗯，最初的《人權宣言》。

after the Second World War,

第二次世界大戰後。

didn't explicitly mention the right to water

沒有明確提到水的權利

but it is included in a lot of the more recent treaties,

但它包括在許多最近的條約中。

especially in general... General Comment Number 15, in 2003,

特別是在一般情況下...2003年，第15號一般性意見。

which was the specifically on water and sanitation,

這是對水和衛生設施的具體說明。

and in some of the other recent treaties,

以及最近的一些其他條約中。

like the ones on the rights of the child,

像關於兒童權利的那些。

persons with disabilities and non-discrimination against women.

殘障人士和不歧視婦女。

And those include clauses that address water and sanitation directly.

而這些條款包括直接處理水和衛生設施的條款。

A right to water wasn't in the original human rights declaration,

水權並不在最初的人權宣言中。

but it has been put in more recent agreements.

但它已被列入最近的協議中。

General Comment 15 recognised the right to water

第15號一般性意見承認水權

in 2003 at the United Nations.

2003年在聯合國。

So, what gets in the way of giving everyone access to water?

那麼，是什麼阻礙了讓每個人都能獲得水的方式？

Land rights and property rights often make access to water more difficult,

土地權和財產權往往使水的獲取更加困難。

and the rights... water... onto the use of water

和權利...水...對水的使用

is often tied to the ownership of the land.

往往與土地的所有權相聯繫。

This is particularly relevant for people that live in informal settlements

這對生活在非正規住區的人來說尤其重要。

or that have used the land for...

或已將土地用於...

for a long time, but don't actually own it.

長久以來，我一直都在使用它，但實際上並不擁有它。

Getting access to water can be made difficult by land ownership rules:

由於土地所有權規則，獲得水的機會可能會變得很困難。

if you don't own the land the water is on,

如果你不擁有水面上的土地。

it's harder to get the water you need.

更難得到你需要的水。

Amanda explained what to do if you had a problem getting water.

阿曼達解釋瞭如果你在取水時遇到問題該怎麼辦。

Well, the first thing you would do is to see whether or not

那麼，你要做的第一件事是看是否

there is a national law that states that you have the right to water,

有一項國家法律規定，你有用水的權利。

or that your particular problem is dealt with in national law,

或你的特定問題在國家法律中得到了處理。

in which case you can potentially take it to a court of law.

在這種情況下，你有可能將其告上法庭。

But I think for most people,

但我認為對於大多數人來說。

that's a little bit outside of their ability or budget

這有點超出了他們的能力或預算

and so it's much easier for them if they approach their local ombudsman

是以，如果他們接觸當地的監察員，就會更容易。

or national human rights institution, whose job is to help them.

或國家人權機構，其工作是幫助他們。

Going to court can be expensive.

上法庭可能很昂貴。

Amanda says you should go to an ombudsman –

阿曼達說你應該去找監察員------。

an official who looks at complaints –

審查投訴的官員--

or a national human rights organisation.

或一個國家人權組織。

So, is the law enough on its own to protect your right to water.

那麼，法律本身是否足以保護你的水權。

There also needs to be a system to make sure that it's complied with.

還需要有一個系統來確保它得到遵守。

So, just because it's written in law

所以，僅僅因為它在法律上的規定

doesn't mean that it exists in practice,

並不意味著它在實踐中存在。

so there needs to be monitoring

所以需要進行監督

and tracking to make sure that people still have access to those services.

和跟蹤，以確保人們仍然能夠獲得這些服務。

Although laws exist to make sure we get water,

儘管存在法律來確保我們得到水。

we need people to check that laws are being followed

我們需要有人來檢查法律是否得到遵守

and people are getting access.

而且人們正在獲得訪問權。

We should all be provided with water, thanks to major international laws.

由於主要的國際法，我們都應該得到水的供應。

Getting people the water they need

為人們提供他們所需的水

should be a priority for any government.

這應該是任何政府的優先事項。

But the ways in which water is owned

但水的擁有方式

can sometimes threaten governments themselves.

有時會威脅到政府本身。

The Bolivian city of Cochabamba:

玻利維亞的科恰班巴市。

in the late 20th century, it was affected by water shortages.

在20世紀末，它受到了缺水的影響。

Many poor residents didn't have a connection to the water network.

許多貧困居民沒有連接到水網。

The government signed a deal with Aguas del Tunari

政府與Aguas del Tunari公司簽署了一項協議

of International Water Limited.

的國際水務有限公司。

The group agreed to supply the city with water.

該集團同意為該市供水。

But then prices went up and violent protests broke out.

但後來價格上漲，爆發了暴力抗議活動。

Demonstrations got so bad that they were called the Water War.

示威活動變得如此糟糕，以至於被稱為水戰。

Eventually, the deal with Aguas del Tunari was abandoned

最終，與Aguas del Tunari的交易被放棄了。

and the water supply was returned to the public –

並將水供應歸還給公眾------。

with little improvement.

沒有什麼改善。

Still in South America: Peru.

還是在南美洲。祕魯。

Most of its rain falls into the Amazon,

它的大部分雨水都落入亞馬遜河。

but most people live in coastal cities.

但大多數人住在沿海城市。

And the Andes mountain range separates the water from the people.

而安第斯山脈將水與人分開。

So, the water that is available needs to be carefully managed

是以，需要對現有的水進行仔細管理

to make sure everyone gets some.

以確保每個人都能得到一些。

Here, the water belongs to the state.

在這裡，水是屬於國家的。

In this system, your responsibility

在這個系統中，你的責任

to use the water properly is really important.

正確使用水真的很重要。

An ideal water citizen takes care of the water,

一個理想的水公民會照顧好水。

uses it efficiently, does not spill it,

有效地使用它，不溢出它。

and pays for the right to use the water.

併為水的使用權付費。

But does that mean that if you don't own the water,

但這是否意味著，如果你不擁有水。

you might not get the water you need?

你可能無法得到你需要的水？

Maude Barlow, a water rights campaigner,

莫德-巴洛，水權運動者。

explained how national and international law work with water –

解釋了國家和國際法律如何與水有關------。

and which was most important.

以及哪個是最重要的。

No, there's no international law that overrules

不，沒有任何國際法可以壓制

a nation state's right to water –

一個民族國家的水權

to guide its own water laws.

以指導其自身的水法。

There are trade agreements that have investor-state rights in them,

有一些貿易協定中包含投資者-國家權利。

and that gives corporations the right to sue governments,

並賦予公司起訴政府的權利。

so that gives corporations – kind of...

是以，這給了企業--某種程度上...

a leg up, if you will, on... on governments.

如果你願意的話，在......在政府方面有一個優勢。

But, no, there's...

但是，不，有...

it's very hard to tell governments how they should govern

很難告訴政府他們應該如何管理。

their environmental responsibilities.

他們的環境責任。

There is no international law that overrules a national law on water.

沒有任何國際法可以凌駕於國家的水法之上。

Maude says it's very hard to tell governments how to be responsible.

莫德說，要告訴政府如何負責任是非常困難的。

She explained how companies have been able to get control of water

她解釋了公司是如何獲得水的控制權的

even though it's a human right.

即使它是一項人權。

Well, that's the problem of course, because a lot of this was done

當然，這就是問題所在，因為很多事情都是這樣做的

before there was the concept of the human right to water,

在有水的人權的概念之前。

and in the end governments are responsible for looking after

而最終政府要負責照看

the water rights of their citizens.

其公民的水權。

But you do get countries – Australia, Chile, parts of the United States –

但是你確實有一些國家--澳洲、智利、美國的部分地區--的情況。

that actually separate water from land and sell it to developers,

這些公司實際上將水與土地分離，並將其出售給開發商。

to private interests and to investors, and that's a huge problem.

對私人利益和投資者來說，這是一個巨大的問題。

Many deals between companies and countries on water ownership

公司和國家之間關於水的所有權的許多交易

were set up before water was recognised as a human right.

在水被確認為一項人權之前，就已經設立了這些機構。

So, if a company raises their water prices,

是以，如果一家公司提高了水價。

is there anything you can do legally to get help?

你在法律上可以做什麼來獲得幫助嗎？

This is a problem... when a private company gets a hold of water –

這是一個問題......當一個私人公司掌握了水 --

either a municipal water service, like your drinking water, your waste water,

要麼是市政供水服務，比如你的飲用水，你的廢水。

and there are many, many private companies running these services –

而且有許多私營公司在經營這些服務 --

they sign a contract with the government saying

他們與政府簽訂合同說

this is, you know, what we'll charge.

這就是，你知道，我們會收取的費用。

But then they put the rates up and they say to the government

但後來他們提高了費率，他們對政府說

we have no choice. We can show you study, after study, after study

我們沒有選擇。我們可以給你看研究報告，一個又一個的研究報告。

that shows private companies charge way more money

這表明私營公司收取的費用要高得多

for water services than... than public agencies or governments.

比起公共機構或政府，對水服務的要求更高。

Maude is saying that private companies charge more for water

莫德是說，私營公司收取更多的水費

than governments do, and they're allowed to raise their prices.

比起政府來，他們被允許提高他們的價格。

So, is international law flexible enough

那麼，國際法是否足夠靈活

to deal with different systems of water ownership around the world?

來處理世界各地不同的水所有權制度？

No, international law is not flexible enough to deal with

不，國際法沒有足夠的靈活性來處理

the individual countries and nation states.

個別國家和民族國家。

They do... they make their own laws.

他們這樣做......他們制定自己的法律。

When the governments come together to sign a treaty,

當各國政府走到一起簽署條約時。

it's kind of a gentleperson's agreement, if you will:

這是一種溫和的協議，如果你願意的話。

you're agreeing to the concept.

你是同意這個概念的。

But... you know, you might have a change of government to something

但是......你知道，你可能會有一個改變政府的東西

that is fairly progressive to something much more right-wing,

從相當進步的東西到更加右翼的東西。

and they're saying to heck with any agreement.

他們說，讓任何協議都見鬼去吧。

In Maude's opinion, international law is not flexible enough

在莫德看來，國際法不夠靈活

to deal with the different systems countries have for water ownership.

以處理各國不同的水所有權制度。

International law might struggle to force countries

國際法可能會努力迫使各國

to directly provide water to their people.

以直接向其人民提供水。

But there are laws that can help, like our basic human rights.

但是有一些法律可以幫助，比如我們的基本人權。

And there are people fighting to make sure that those laws are followed.

而且還有人在為確保這些法律得到遵守而奮鬥。