12
“human factor” in water systems is at the core of ethical considerations. It focuses on
the impact of human interventions and consequences of this impact, assesses these
interventions with respect to ethical criteria and explores the options for developing
this human factor into a more responsible direction.
The notion of a water ethics has emerged over the past 10 years only and is still
relatively unknown in the fi eld of applied ethics. The extent of its body of literature
is rather small up to now. It consists of a heterogeneous set of approaches to the
value of water in different respects (cultural, religious, ecological and economical)
and associated with the debates on sustainable development and environmental justice. To present, the largest part of water ethics has been motivated by environmental concerns and related to the fi eld of environmental ethics.
This chapter focuses on the ethical aspects of human interventions into water
systems. And with the following objectives it intends to:
• Describe cultural, moral and religious attitudes on and perceptions of the fi eld of
water, in particular, value assigned to water
• Review the state of the art in the fi eld of water ethics and provide an overview
and orientation of not only basic diagnoses, argumentation patterns, proposed
solutions, but also of shortcomings and criticisms
• Conceptualise water ethics on the basis of the philosophical approach of discourse ethics (Habermas 1991 ) for providing orientation on how to identify
responsible strategies for dealing with water challenges
• Categorise the fi eld of water confl icts with respect to ethically relevant criteria
and provide pointers on how to deal with those confl icts reasonably and
responsibly
The overview provided, the proposal for water ethics developed, and the conclusions given towards possible contributions to solving water confl icts constitute a
theory-based approach to water ethics. It shows that society cannot expect “miracles” from water ethics. Rather, the specifi c added value of ethical considerations
lies in providing the orientation for ongoing debates on water challenges by not only
applying substantial principles, but by offering suitable procedures as well. In order
to exploit these benefi ts, ethical inquiries in the fi eld of water must be embedded
into inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches bringing scientifi c disciplines together
with stakeholders, decision-makers and citizens in the regions under consideration.
2.2 The Value of Water in Different Cultures
Water as a crucial precondition of life has gained prominent importance in almost
all cultures and religions. High value is assigned to water, in particular in regions
with high scarcity of water, is often accompanied by strong commandments on its
usage. In describing briefl y the most relevant cultural attitudes towards water I do
not follow the usual classifi cation where Christianity is mostly identifi ed with the
Western World. Instead, I will argue that the modern attitude to water in the
A. Grunwald
“human factor” in water systems is at the core of ethical considerations. It focuses on
the impact of human interventions and consequences of this impact, assesses these
interventions with respect to ethical criteria and explores the options for developing
this human factor into a more responsible direction.
The notion of a water ethics has emerged over the past 10 years only and is still
relatively unknown in the fi eld of applied ethics. The extent of its body of literature
is rather small up to now. It consists of a heterogeneous set of approaches to the
value of water in different respects (cultural, religious, ecological and economical)
and associated with the debates on sustainable development and environmental justice. To present, the largest part of water ethics has been motivated by environmental concerns and related to the fi eld of environmental ethics.
This chapter focuses on the ethical aspects of human interventions into water
systems. And with the following objectives it intends to:
• Describe cultural, moral and religious attitudes on and perceptions of the fi eld of
water, in particular, value assigned to water
• Review the state of the art in the fi eld of water ethics and provide an overview
and orientation of not only basic diagnoses, argumentation patterns, proposed
solutions, but also of shortcomings and criticisms
• Conceptualise water ethics on the basis of the philosophical approach of discourse ethics (Habermas 1991 ) for providing orientation on how to identify
responsible strategies for dealing with water challenges
• Categorise the fi eld of water confl icts with respect to ethically relevant criteria
and provide pointers on how to deal with those confl icts reasonably and
responsibly
The overview provided, the proposal for water ethics developed, and the conclusions given towards possible contributions to solving water confl icts constitute a
theory-based approach to water ethics. It shows that society cannot expect “miracles” from water ethics. Rather, the specifi c added value of ethical considerations
lies in providing the orientation for ongoing debates on water challenges by not only
applying substantial principles, but by offering suitable procedures as well. In order
to exploit these benefi ts, ethical inquiries in the fi eld of water must be embedded
into inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches bringing scientifi c disciplines together
with stakeholders, decision-makers and citizens in the regions under consideration.
2.2 The Value of Water in Different Cultures
Water as a crucial precondition of life has gained prominent importance in almost
all cultures and religions. High value is assigned to water, in particular in regions
with high scarcity of water, is often accompanied by strong commandments on its
usage. In describing briefl y the most relevant cultural attitudes towards water I do
not follow the usual classifi cation where Christianity is mostly identifi ed with the
Western World. Instead, I will argue that the modern attitude to water in the
A. Grunwald