Goal 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals seeks to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by 2030. Yet, the generalized aims outlined by this goal do not take into consideration how colonialism has systematically dispossessed Indigenous people of their land and natural resources. It overlooks the glaring issue of water theft, which comes in several forms, such as illegal extraction, the diversion of water from rivers, the theft of groundwater by private companies selling bottled water, damage to water resources like glaciers by mining companies, and agriculture that is estimated to contribute up to 70% of water theft globally.
The Palestinians and the Indigenous Mapuche people of Chile are two populations that face extreme levels of water theft. For these groups and others, water theft is directly linked to settler-colonialism and neoliberal policies. Both Indigenous populations have experienced dispossession and the altering of their terrain. And both groups have responded with anti-colonial resistance to counter land and water theft.
Without addressing underlying colonial violence, Goal 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is doomed to fail. However, decolonization activism by the Mapuche and the Palestinians may have lessons that reach beyond their communities, and if we follow their lead, we might find answers to one of our most pressing global issues.
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