Vers une nouvelle forme de gouvernance de l'eau en afrique et en amérique latine

Abstract

The definition of the status of water is an important issue, the implications of which should not be disregarded. In theoretical debates, water can be seen as a public good, or, on the contrary, as an economic good. But those debates also look at the ethics of the issue, and they have a direct consequence for the way in which this resource is actually regulated. In Africa and Latin America, poor people often pay a price four times higher than others for water. To understand this paradox, this article analyses the role of both private operators and public actors, and takes into account criteria of efficiency and equity, as well as related political and social issues. In fragile states, the real question is not the privatisation of water, but the asymmetry of power relations, the respect of contracts and the institutional contexts. © Dalloz/I.R.I.S.. Tous droits réservés pour tous pays.