Water Ethics and the Rights of Nature

Today, the lack of a globally accepted ethical framework has created a significant lack in the international water discourse. Despite the recent significant progress in the development of ethical boundaries, there is still no room for the rights of nature in the ethical domain. The current water crisis is the result of neglecting the ethical principles of water. Paying attention to water ethics, whose core is social justice, water stewardship and environmental rights, along with economic and political issues, is the missing value link in the current water field. The recent reluctance to deal with climate change and global warming, how to deal with rivers, aquifers, wetlands and lakes has long been more based on expediency than on ethical principles. Water ethics is based on the belief that responding to current water problems requires attention to cultural and value issues. Adopting the ethical principles of water as another dimension of sustainable development indicates a historical shift from an economy-oriented approach to an integrated approach and to promote water democracy. This article aims to give a brief overview of the water ethics in the field of water management of rivers, dams, agriculture, drinking, industry and governance.