Vem för de törstigas talan?
En studie av debatten kring vattensektorn
1.1 billion people are today living without sustainable access to improved water. The debate over the water sector has been dominated by the discussion over whether public or private actors are the most competent to manage it. In this paper the arguments pro and contra the two positions are presented to try to overview the debate and to try to find new ways to approach the question of the people living without clean water. By examining possible alternatives towards the discussion of public and private actors, it might result in some new approaches on how to move closer towards a solution. One alternative is local, small- scale projects which focus on the situation of the targetgroup in most need. I have in this paper tried to find signs of that the debate is changing in a way that would bring positive outcomes for the people living without access to improved water. The debate is changing, both the private as well as the public sector is changing their ways of working and the alternative approach is increasing its influence. Hopefully the debate can move away from the discussion of ideology and acknowledge the strengths of each other to result in possible solutions of the water problems. With the increasing interest and concern for the question of water there is thus an opportunity for a change in the debate that would benefit the ones living without sustainable access to improved water.