I'm not sure I like reading this rush to judgement. Australians have a skewed view of the world. The rich cultural history of indigenous Australians aside, this is a very young country, founded by a wealthy colonial claimant, and settled with the rule of law from that outset. It is very easy to look down our noses as we sit her in the land of milk, honey and resources with a population of only 20m people - built mostly via a handful of designed and engineered cities - to support.
India and China are ancient places with absurdly complicated histories, with people settled in every part of diverse geographies in mind-boggling population numbers. To add to the difficulty, in terms of governance, their settlement was created organically throughout the breadth of human history and not in a convenient, curated manner like here in Australia. Also, they were ravaged by colonialism, not founded and supported by the victors of it. Ever wonder where the grandeur of London and Paris, or the prosperity of Tokyo comes from? India and China are dragging themselves out of unimaginable poverties and have made outstanding progress. China is coming from a much lower base 20-30 years ago than people understand. Yes, their ridiculous economic growth has come at a vast environmental price, but credit to them for beginning to address it and hopefully Fluence can play some part in that during this 5YP and beyond. India has only been self-governing for a matter of decades. India in the 18th century made up over a fifth of the entire worlds GDP. By the time they wrested themselves free from the British Raj, it was less than 4%. They were strip-mined; causing mass social chaos, famine, unquantifiable political upheaval and psychological scars that have reverberated through the couple of generations since their independence.
So, government corruption or whatever other 'developing world' cliche we want to apply, yes they have played their part but lets not look down our noses at people or nations who have done it tougher for longer than Australians can conceive. Their circumstances are fundamentally different to ours. We just are where we are in these countries. No judgement. Just huge problems that require solving. There seems to be some political will to effect change in water. I hope it's successful, and on top of that I hope Fluence can play a vital part by leveraging our tech to maximise the benefits to the local people and governments.
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