Water is one of the most important natural resources on Earth. Despite making up over 70% of the planet’s surface, questions remain over who owns and controls the Earth’s water. Here we explore some of the key issues surrounding water ownership and control.
How much water is there on Earth?
The total volume of water on Earth is around 1.386 billion cubic kilometers. This includes all of the water in the oceans, ice caps, lakes, rivers, groundwater, atmosphere, and living things. The breakdown is:
- Oceans – 97.2%
- Ice caps and glaciers – 2.15%
- Groundwater – 0.61%
- Fresh water lakes – 0.009%
- Inland seas – 0.008%
- Soil moisture – 0.005%
- Atmosphere – 0.001%
- Rivers – 0.0001%
- Biological water – 0.00005%
As can be seen, the vast majority of the Earth’s water is found in the oceans. Freshwater makes up only around 2.5% of the total volume.
Who owns the oceans?
The oceans cover around 71% of the Earth’s surface and contain 97% of the planet’s water. But establishing ownership over them is complex.
Parts of the oceans fall under different legal jurisdictions:
- Territorial waters (12 nautical miles from shore) – These belong to the nearest country and are under full legal jurisdiction of that nation.
- Contiguous zones (12-24 nautical miles from shore) – The nearest country has some legal rights related to customs, taxation, immigration, and pollution control.
- Exclusive Economic Zones (200 nautical miles from shore) – Countries have special rights related to exploration, exploitation, conservation and management of resources here.
- High seas – These are international waters not belonging to any single country. All nations have certain freedoms related to navigation, overflight, fishing, laying cables and pipelines, and conducting scientific research here.
So while parts of the ocean fall under national jurisdiction, no one single country can claim to own the oceans outright. They are considered shared international territory under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Who owns freshwater supplies?
Freshwater ownership is also complex, with water supplies often crossing national borders and different legal regimes in place. Some key principles:
- Countries have sovereign rights over the freshwater supplies within their borders. This includes rivers, lakes and groundwater aquifers.
- Upstream countries on international rivers are required to consider the needs of downstream nations.
- Groundwater aquifers often cross national boundaries. Their use requires cooperation between neighboring states.
- Countries cannot deprive populations of water as a means of warfare under international humanitarian law.
Within countries, governments often retain ultimate ownership over freshwater resources. But usage rights are allocated to individuals, corporations and other entities through licensing arrangements.
How much of the world’s water is privately owned?
It’s difficult to quantify exactly how much of the world’s freshwater is in private hands. But several large companies have obtained ownership or rights over sizeable water resources:
| Company | Water resources owned/controlled |
|---|---|
| Nestle | Over 70 spring water brands in 34 countries |
| Danone | Around 200 spring water sources globally including Evian, Volvic, Arrowhead |
| Coca Cola | Owns or leases over 125 local municipal water supplies in the US |
These companies bottle and sell billions of liters of water annually. But in most cases they don’t own the water sources outright. Instead they acquire permits, licenses or long term leases from governments or regional authorities for exploitation and extraction rights.
What are some of the concerns around private water ownership?
There are some major concerns around the privatization and commercialization of freshwater resources:
- Private companies extracting water for profit could potentially deprive local populations of adequate safe drinking water.
- Water could become unaffordable for the poor if priced by private companies.
- Multinational companies might not have interests of local communities in mind when managing water.
- Private ownership makes integrated and sustainable management of shared water resources more difficult.
Many argue water is a human right and privatization hands too much control to unaccountable corporations. But others believe it can improve efficiency and access to clean, safe water supplies.
How is water ownership likely to change in the future?
With increasing populations and climate change placing more pressures on water security, disputes over water ownership and rights are likely to increase. Some possible changes include:
- Increased efforts to recognize access to water as a fundamental human right.
- More national laws regulating commercial use of water and pricing policies.
- Strengthening of regulations around bottled water extraction.
- Attempts to enshrine the global status of water as a “public good” not subject to private ownership.
- More trade in “virtual water” – importing water intensive products to conserve domestic water supplies.
- Growth in global water markets and water trading schemes between users and regions.
Conclusion
Water remains a contentious resource with complex ownership structures. While no entity controls the planet’s entire water supply, rights over freshwater access are still highly contested between nations, public and private entities. With supplies under pressure in the 21st century, balancing equitable access with sustainable management represents a critical challenge for global governance.