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1. Introduction
Water is both one of the most precious natural resources in the world and one of the scarcest. In fact, in the year 2000, a popular press article defined water as "the precious commodity that determines the wealth of the nations", and that people often refer to water as the "blue gold" (Sully, 2000). Water scarcity affects one in three persons around the world, and the United Nations (UN) has called thirst a global crisis. Diminishing water resources is no longer a third-world problem. Managing water supplies and ensuring the availability of clean and potable water has become a worldwide issue. For example, in the USA, water scarcity has led to legal battles over water rights in the country's southwest region, and recurrent droughts are costing members of the European Union and key agriculture leaders such as Australia billions of dollars. To face these challenges, the level of private sector participation in the water supply and sanitary sector has increased worldwide, although not as fast as in other public services such as power, telecommunications and transportation (Davis, 2005). However, these are not new challenges. In the 1990s, more than US$1.1 billion was invested worldwide in the water and sanitation sector by private companies, with approximately half of it invested in Latin America. As Davis stated "By the end of 2000, at least 93 countries had privatized at least some of their water or wastewater services through leases, concessions, Build-Operate-Transfer-type agreements, and/or divestiture". Among those countries are England, France, the USA, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Israel, Australia, Malaysia, Philippines and Bulgaria. Pollution is another challenge and major factor in managing water supplies, which has made access to clean water a top priority for many countries.
With rapid growth in both population and purchasing power in emerging countries, and consequently an increase in demand for clean water and water-intensive products, the business community is noting new risks and new opportunities. Water is not only essential for human survival but it is also critical for industries such as agriculture and technology manufacturing. As water scarcity becomes a more pressing issue, many corporations are looking for effective ways to reduce water consumption. Firms whose products depend on reliable water resources are renewing their water management policies and infrastructure...