New waters or old boys network? Struggles around water Utilities Privatisation in the Upper Arno Water District, Italy M.Sc. Minor Thesis by Rossella Alba January 2013 Irrigation and Water Engineering Group Title page pictures were taken during field work in the Upper Arno water district (September 2012). New waters or old boys network? Struggles around Water Utilities Privatisation in the Upper Arno Water District, Italy Minor thesis Irrigation and Water Engineering submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of Master of Science in International Land and Water Management at Wageningen University, the Netherlands Rosella Alba January 2013 Supervisors: Dr.ir. Rutgerd Boelens Irrigation and Water Engineering Group Wageningen University The Netherlands www.iwe.wur.nl/uk Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Rutgerd Boelens, that encouraged me during the research and stimulated my critical thinking. Thank you to all the people that took part to this research for sharing with me their stories, experiences and opinions. I would like to thank the members of the Comitato Acqua Pubblica for their enthusiastic collaboration with this project. Thank you to Eva, Stefano and all my friends that supported me during the months that followed my field work. A special thanks to Giacomo for his suggestions and sharp comments on my work. Ultimately, I would like to express my gratitude to my family for their encouragement and support to my project. II Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................................................... II Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter one: setting the scene. ..................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Research framework .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Problem statement ........................................................................................................................................... 11 3. Research objectives and questions ........................................................................................................... 12 4. Research methods ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Chapter two: the national, regional and local context ..................................................................................... 15 1. The Italian context ........................................................................................................................................... 15 2. The Tuscany model .......................................................................................................................................... 20 3. The upper Arno contestation arena .......................................................................................................... 25 Chapter three: The disputes over Resources, Rules and Authorities and Discourses. ....................... 32 1. Resources ............................................................................................................................................................. 32 2. Rules ....................................................................................................................................................................... 34 3. Authorities ........................................................................................................................................................... 36 4. Discourses............................................................................................................................................................ 38 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................................................... 45 Discussion .......................................................................................................................................................................... 48 1. Discussion on methods................................................................................................................................... 48 2. Discussion on concepts .................................................................................................................................. 49 References .......................................................................................................................................................................... 52 III Introduction During the first year of my master in International Land and Water Management, I have been trained to look at water as a contested resource and at conflicts over water access as a product of the interaction between social and technical elements, between nature and society. Often case studies from developing countries were the starting point to discuss the unequal outcomes of struggles over water control in the irrigation field. Often, during lectures I thought about Italian conflicts on drinking water privatisation as an exemplary struggle over control of water resources. This thesis represents an effort to expand the discussion over water conflicts to the drinking water field within the European Union (EU) and to discuss the impact of neoliberal policies and politics in Italy. Since the 1990s, with the aim of allocating water resources, governments around the World have started to introduce various kinds of market-based water sector reforms, thereby increasing private sector participation in drinking water supply (Bakker 2003a). Proponents of private sector involvement argue that private companies have generally a higher performance in term of efficiency, water and service quality, access to finance, expertise and knowledge compared with the state’s possibilities. According to private model supporters, corruption, lack of government capacity and finance lead to the ‘state failure’ in drinking water provision (Budds and McGranahan 2003). On the other side of the debate, the opponents of water privatization claim ‘market failure’ in considering social and environmental implications related to water supply (i.e. pollution, health, equity) and their lack of investment in infrastructure (Bakker 2003a; Hall and Lobina 2004 ). The controversy of private involvement in water control becomes more complex with the shift from ‘government to governance’ that marked the last two decades. This process is characterized by the withdrawal of the state from decision-making arenas and the introduction of new actors such as NGOs, private sector, supra-national institutions (e.g. European Union, World Bank) and sub-national ones (e.g. regional governments, local administrations). The transfer of functions and responsibilities between different levels of government is not just a technical-organizational shift but it carries socio- political consequences as it involves re-arranging the relations of power between state and non-state actors. Furthermore, the shift from government to governance often is connected to ‘neoliberalisation of nature’, that entails the introduction of private sectors principles and models in natural resources management. (Swyngedouw 2004; Castree 2008a). Historically, the Italian drinking water sector followed a similar trend. As other European countries, in the recent past, due to the pressure of European Union, Italy has moved towards an increased presence of private sector norms and principles in water management practices (Lobina 2005a). Currently, the Italian water sector is experiencing many changes that started with the introduction of a water reform in 1994 (l.n. 36/94, so called Galli law). The evolution of legislation on water management interrelates with more general legislation about public utilities management: it follows European 1 guidelines for the introduction of competition in the sector and installs a process of institutional decentralisation towards regional and local levels (Goria and Lugaresi 2004). In particular, the passage of a law that forced privatisation of drinking water utilities led to the opening of a rather heated debate about drinking water governance. While the Italian Government supported the privatization of the drinking water operators, citizens opposed to it in various ways (through popular initiative laws, referendum, demonstrations, debates, etc.). Since the early 2000s, citizens have organized themselves at local and national levels in committees, forums and associations (Petrella and Lembo 2006; Bersani 2011). Water has been discussed not only as a natural resource but also as a way of expression of social power relations. The debate around water governance crossed the technical boundaries of engineering and economics and led to a process of re- thinking water as a politically contested resource. In 2011, a national referendum against drinking water management privatisation was promoted by the Italian Forum of Water Movements (Forum Italiano dei Movimenti per l’Acqua). The referendum aimed to abrogate some articles of different laws that governed water utilities, two questions regarded water.