Blue Planet Project campaigner Meera Karunananthan is currently on a research mission to support the struggle against neo-liberal water policies in Indonesia...

"For decades, Indonesian movements have been fighting neo-liberal policies imposed by international financial institutions aimed at ensuring greater access to water resources for transnational corporations operating in Indonesia. ...The Indonesian water movement has won two major battles this year. In February 2015, a World Bank-imposed national water policy was annulled by the constitutional court and in March 2015, a Jakarta district court ordered an end to the contracts with private water companies in Jakarta. ...However, transnational corporations that have benefited from environmental deregulation and structural adjustment are ramping up their efforts to outmaneuver the public and social movements as they lobby for new policies that will continue to serve their interests." ...

The research mission includes: ...

[A] visit to the city of Sukabumi to see the impacts of the Paris-based transnational Danone's bottled water operations in Indonesia. The bottled water industry there denies access to water to small-scale farmers by buying land on which essential water sources are located. Local farmers have seen water levels drop significantly impacting their ability to produce food crops and their livelihoods.

*Sourced by RepRisk due diligence on ESG and business conduct risks, www.reprisk.com.