The water crisis is an ecological crisis with commercial causes but no market solutions, argues Vandana Shiva, a physicist and activist who directs the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy. "Higher prices under free-market conditions will not lead to conservation. Given the tremendous economic inequalities, there is a great possibility that the economically powerful will waste water while the poor will pay the price. “The solution to an ecological crisis is ecological, and the solution for injustice is democracy," says Shiva, who argues that man-made water scarcity and ubiquitous water conflicts can be minimized with the recognition of water as a common resource. "The current war against water scarcity can be won only through massive movements for water democracy. People’s movements have shown the possibility of creating abundance out of scarcity."