🌱 Do Indigenous Peoples have access to safe drinking water?
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the impact of extractivism on natural resources, compounded with the effects of climate change, has meant many indigenous peoples no longer have access to safe drinking water under international human rights standards”.[i]
🌱 How is the health of Indigenous Peoples impacted?
Overall, “[t]he degradation of the water bodies from which indigenous peoples draw their water [...] have disproportionate impacts on the health of indigenous peoples, especially women and children”.[ii] The “toxic contamination [of water], together with the impacts of climate change and the lack of investment in necessary infrastructure” cause major issues.[iii]
🌱 What barriers are there to Indigenous Peoples’ access to water?
Indigenous Peoples currently face several challenges that undermine their access to clean water and proper sanitation.[iv] Key issues include the “pollution of available water resources” of Indigenous Peoples, as well as the “lack of consultation on policies and projects affecting their water and sanitation rights”.[v] Moreover, “mining, the construction of immense hydroelectric dams, the development of large agricultural and livestock farms, massive land and water-grabbing processes and the development of large tourism projects in their territories are damaging and contaminating their water sources and putting their livelihoods at risk”.[vi]
🌱 Why is land and water grabbing occurring?
Currently, “land and water grabbing are ongoing in the territories of indigenous peoples”. This occurs “through the construction of large hydroelectric dams, the growth of agribusiness, mining operations, deforestation and tourism developments, which disregard the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as damage and contaminate their water sources”.[vii]
This post has been adapted from a newsletter written by Krisna Baghouzian and Christine Nikander. The newsletter titled “What role do Indigenous rights to water play in sustainable development?” was originally published in “The Just Transition Newsletter” by Palsa & Pulk.
[i] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).
[ii] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p. 11. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025).
[iii] Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: State of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, p. 11. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/water/2022-11-04/A-HRC-51-24-Friendly-version-EN.pdf (19.03.2025); The Indigenous Foundation, Lack of Clean Drinking Water in Indigenous communities. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/lack-of-clean-drinking-water-in-indigenous-communities (19.03.2025).
[iv] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025); The Indigenous Foundation, Lack of Clean Drinking Water in Indigenous communities. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/lack-of-clean-drinking-water-in-indigenous-communities (19.03.2025).
[v] https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water; The Indigenous Foundation, Lack of Clean Drinking Water in Indigenous communities. https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/lack-of-clean-drinking-water-in-indigenous-communities (19.03.2025).
[vi] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, A/HRC/51/24: Human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation of indigenous peoples: state of affairs and lessons from ancestral cultures. https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc5124-human-rights-safe-drinking-water-and-sanitation-indigenous (19.03.2025).
[vii] Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Indigenous peoples face growing challenges to access safe water. https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/10/indigenous-peoples-face-growing-challenges-access-safe-water (19.03.2025).