Water Ethical Principle
Some sets of ethical principles have been proposed for water ethics (Groenfeldt 2013). The UNESCO (2011, pp. 18ff) unfolds the normative dimension of water ethics along with a number of principles stemming partially from the law and partially from ethics:
Principle of human dignity and the right to water
Principle of equity in availability and applicability of water
Principle of eco-centric ethics
Principle of vicinity
Principle of frugality
Principle of transaction
Principle of multiple and beneficial uses of water
Principle of mandatory application of quantity and quality measures
Principle of compensation and user pays
Principle of polluter pays
Principle of participation
Principle of equitable and reasonable utilization
From an ethics
point of view, good arguments rather than psychological persuasion play a crucial role in persuading people. And there are varied arguments, in particular in the field of water. To be more specific, water being a necessary condition for (human) life is a strong argument that could hinder people (Adani and Australian government) in egoistically exploiting groundwater resources at the expense of threatening local communities like farmers, other people and species dependent on the water with too little water to survive. The main objective of ethical discourse is to respect other human beings as morally autonomous persons (Immanuel Kant). There is always an issue of education and capacity building that contribute in fulfilling the requirements of an ethical discourse – at least from a long-term perspective.
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which maintains that we ought to act in such a way so as to achieve the greatest possible happiness for the greatest number while reducing unhappiness for the greatest number (Mill, 1871). This approach can be used to assess the moral duties of governmental bodies (Australian government) and social policies and their effects on humans. Therefore, we can argue that utilitarianism provides a justification for the human right to water as long as abiding by this norm would lead to greater human happiness. Humans play an important role to protect the water. When a human (Adani and the Australian government) pursue materialistic benefits, they forget virtues and loving values. It creates a greedy and selfish attitude. In turn, it leads to exploitation of the scarce resources (water in this case).
Principle of human dignity and the right to water
Principle of equity in availability and applicability of water
Principle of eco-centric ethics
Principle of vicinity
Principle of frugality
Principle of transaction
Principle of multiple and beneficial uses of water
Principle of mandatory application of quantity and quality measures
Principle of compensation and user pays
Principle of polluter pays
Principle of participation
Principle of equitable and reasonable utilization
From an ethics
point of view, good arguments rather than psychological persuasion play a crucial role in persuading people. And there are varied arguments, in particular in the field of water. To be more specific, water being a necessary condition for (human) life is a strong argument that could hinder people (Adani and Australian government) in egoistically exploiting groundwater resources at the expense of threatening local communities like farmers, other people and species dependent on the water with too little water to survive. The main objective of ethical discourse is to respect other human beings as morally autonomous persons (Immanuel Kant). There is always an issue of education and capacity building that contribute in fulfilling the requirements of an ethical discourse – at least from a long-term perspective.
Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism, which maintains that we ought to act in such a way so as to achieve the greatest possible happiness for the greatest number while reducing unhappiness for the greatest number (Mill, 1871). This approach can be used to assess the moral duties of governmental bodies (Australian government) and social policies and their effects on humans. Therefore, we can argue that utilitarianism provides a justification for the human right to water as long as abiding by this norm would lead to greater human happiness. Humans play an important role to protect the water. When a human (Adani and the Australian government) pursue materialistic benefits, they forget virtues and loving values. It creates a greedy and selfish attitude. In turn, it leads to exploitation of the scarce resources (water in this case).