The Human Right to Water and Unconventional Energy

Area of Science:

• Environmental Law
• Human Rights Law
• Energy Policy

Background:

• Access to safe water is a fundamental human right, essential for health and well-being.
• The United Nations recognizes water access as integral to an adequate standard of living and human rights.
• Unconventional energy extraction, such as hydraulic fracturing (fracking), has significant water demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the international legal development of the right to water.
• To analyze the impact of unconventional energy growth on water resources and rights.
• To assess the implications for residents near fracking sites, using US data.

Main Methods:

• Review of international legal frameworks and UN declarations on the right to water.
• Analysis of water usage data from the US unconventional oil and gas industry.
• Incorporation of qualitative data from local communities and scientific/NGO reports.

Main Results:

• The right to water for communities near fracking sites is likely to be significantly diminished.
• A substantial shift in water resource allocation from societal needs to industrial use is evident.
• A lack of supply-side price signals fails to incentivize industries to moderate water consumption.

Conclusions:

• The expansion of the unconventional oil and gas industry in the US demonstrably undermines the human right to water.
• The increasing global spread of this industry poses a potential worldwide human rights crisis.
• Policy interventions are needed to address the imbalance in water resource allocation and industrial demand.