Communities in Transition
for Queensland Communities
Indigenous Artist - Roel Wijnants
Mangoes- CSIRO - Science Image - 2310
Crop & pineapple farm - Quest Media
Leading by Example:
Water Stewardship
Water Stewardship is a collaborative approach to achieving and recognising best practice water management by industry and other major water users. It is an enabling tool for water users and their stakeholders to adopt solutions to their shared catchment challenges through collaboration.
Quick Links
What Is Water Stewardship
The Standard and Organisation
Case Studies
What is Water Stewardship
Water Stewardship in 60 Seconds: How to Understand and Manage Your Business’ Water Risks (2018) Peter Schulte, Pacific Institute.
Water stewardship is the use and treatment of water in ways that are socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial. It can be adopted by businesses, through corporate water stewardship, as well as by growers, communities, and others. Ultimately, stewardship is a key practice to address these critical water challenges, drive sustainable water management, and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Corporate Water Stewardship, WWF
Water is the ultimate shared resource and we can only manage it sustainably if all water users in a river basin work together. Businesses, every level of government, and local communities must collaborate to ensure water is responsibly governed and shared. To leverage the relative nimbleness and influence of the private sector, we challenge businesses to become water stewards—to go beyond water efficiency practices and lead collective action in river basins around the world.
The Standard and Organisation
The Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard
AWS International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard) is a globally-applicable framework for major water users to understand their water use and impacts, and to work collaboratively and transparently for sustainable water management within a catchment context. The Standard is intended to drive social, environmental and economic benefits at the scale of a catchment.
The Alliance for Water Stewardship Global Branch
Our vision is a water-secure world that enables people, cultures, business and nature to prosper, now and in the future.
To achieve this, our mission is to: Ignite and nurture global and local leadership in credible water stewardship that recognise and secures the social, cultural, environmental and economic value of freshwater.
The Alliance for Water Stewardship Asia Pacific Branch
Water users and managers in our region are water stewards who use fresh water in ways that are socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial. To enable water users and their stakeholders to adopt solutions to their shared catchment challenges through collaboration.
Case Studies
Renmark Irrigation Trust, AWS Asia Pacific
Supported by the South Australian Government, the Renmark Irrigation Trust (RIT) was the World’s first irrigation supply scheme to be AWS certified, and achieved Gold-level certification.
World First Gold Certification Agriculture Site, AWS
Renmark Irrigation Trust becomes the world’s first gold agricultural site and first agricultural collective to be AWS certified. Some of the best elements of water stewardship were on display in the South Australian town of Renmark earlier this month when government, business and civil society leaders came together on the Murray River to celebrate the first gold level certification of an agricultural site. Renmark Irrigation Trust (RIT) is the first agricultural collective to be certified and paves the way for other groups of irrigators, villages or farm collectives to follow in their wake.
Ingham’s Enterprises, Somerville Plant, AWS Asia Pacific
Ingham’s Somerville Plant was the first site in Australia to achieve AWS certification, and the first site in the World to achieve Gold-level certification. Ingham’s Somerville plant employs 500 staff and is a major supplier of poultry products to Victoria and Tasmania.
Building a Water Stewardship Community in the Western Port Biosphere, AWS Asia Pacific
Supported by the Helen McPherson Smith Trust, the project aimed to build collaboration between major water users, the community, water agencies, local government and other stakeholders around the framework of the AWS Standard. By 2018 the project has 30+ sites engaged in water stewardship.
Q&A with Alliance for Water Stewardship, Better Cotton Initiative
Water Stewardship in the Cotton Industry
Media
Renmark Irrigation Trust Water Certification is a World First, Primary Industries and Regions SA
The Riverland now boasts the world’s first irrigation area to receive global certification against the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) International Water Stewardship Standard.
Historic water partnership to restore dry floodplains, 2016, Dijana Damjanovic, ABC News
An unusual partnership between Australia's environmental water administrator and a local irrigation body has been created to rejuvenate arid wetlands in Renmark.
