Water - International Law / Who owns water?

FinnWater. It's vital for all life. So, who owns it? Some of the answers to that might surprise you.

We'll explain how, despite the different ways water is controlled, the law can help you.

Should companies profit from something we all need?

And... big trouble: how water ownership nearly brought down a government.

Can water be owned? It falls from the sky, so should it be free for all? And if we all need it to live, shouldn't the law make sure that no one can stop us from having it?

Lots of international agreements recognise how important it is. The United Nations says all its member states have to make sure vulnerable people have access to drinking water.

And, in lots of cases, countries own it sharing it out among the people who live there. So, why do we often have to pay for it?

Private water companies often own the things that bring water to you: pipes, pumps and dams. So, they can charge for it.

And sometimes, if a river starts in one country but goes through another, they can argue about whose water it is. So, how does the law keep us all supplied with water? Amanda Loeffen, from the campaigning organisation Human Right to Water, explained which big international laws protect your access to water.

LoeffenWell, the original Declaration on Human Rights, after the Second World War, didn't explicitly mention the right to water.