The Blue Community has a new Blue Ambassador: Jerry van den Berge (NL, 1966) is an independent researcher focusing on the relations between Water Governance and Social Justice. He has recently finished his research project about Social movements’ struggles against privatisation of water services in Europe. Before, he was policy officer in the European Public Services Unions (EPSU) in Brussels where he coordinated the first successful European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI): “Water is a human right!” a.k.a. “Right2Water”.
“Privatization of water (services and resources) increases inequality and injustice in society. By exploiting water, private companies make huge profits while people are confronted with higher prices, deteriorating environment, and loss of livelihoods. This must be stopped if we are serious about saying: ‘Water is a human right!’ Water is even more than that: ‘Water is a public good, not a commodity!’ ”
Jerry van den Berge just had his PhD thesis accepted at Wageningen University in the Netherlands: “Water is a public good, not a commodity!”: Social movements’ struggles and strategies against privatization of water services in Europe. See and download here
