41 Lately, because of the intense heat of the sun, we are only harvesting sixty (60) cavans. That is why we just deduct the capital from the remaining ones. But you cannot always harvest because farming is like a gamble. There would be seasons wherein you can’t harvest due to flood or extreme heat.189 iv. Right to Water and Sanitation The United Nations General Assembly recognizes “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.”190 In its General Comment No. 15, the CESCR provided that “the human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity [and] it is a prerequisite for the realization of other rights.”191 It also affirms that both the rights to water and sanitation are essential components of the right to the highest attainable standard of health.192 However, as the former Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water stated: climate change presents a serious obstacle to the realization of the rights to water and sanitation. … The impacts of climate change need to be seen in light of its direct effects on water resources as well as its indirect influence on other external drivers of change, in particular increasing population pressures and changing consumption patterns.193 Extreme weather events, sea level rise and rising temperatures result in water scarcity and increased competition for clean water resources, disruption to sanitation systems, contamination of drinking water and exacerbation of spread of diseases. There is also a resulting increase in the cost of water and sanitation provisions, which threatens 189 190 191 192 193 T.S.N. of the Third Inquiry Hearing dated 29-30 August 2018, at 93-94. The Human Right to Water and Sanitation, G.A. Res. 64/292, U.N. Doc. No. A/RES/64/292 (Aug. 3, 2010). United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 15: The Right to Water (Arts. 11 and 12 of the Covenant), U.N. Doc. No. E/C.12/2002/11 (Jan. 20, 2003), para. 1. Id. at para. 3 & United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Statement on the Right to Sanitation, U.N. Doc. No. E/C.12/2010/1 (Mar. 18, 2011). Climate Change and the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation Position Paper (undated), available at https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Water/Climate_Change_Right_Water_Sanitation. pdf; & The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the rights of persons with disabilities, Ms. Catalina Devandas Aguilar; the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, Mr. John H. Knox; extreme poverty and human rights, Mr. Philip Alston; the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, Mr. Léo Heller; and the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, Ms. Virginia Dandan, The Effects of Climate Change on the Full Enjoyment of Human Rights (Apr. 30, 2015).