Water Stewardship can be defined as the use of water that is socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial, achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive process that involves site and catchment based actions. The Renmark Irrigation Trust is committed to acting as a responsible water steward in the Renmark region.
The Trust is active in the water stewardship space through its commitment to best water industry practice and its support of the local environment. Read about our water stewardship achievements and activities here, and our environmental watering program here.
Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS)
AWS is a global membership collaboration comprising businesses, NGOs and the public sector. AWS members contribute to the sustainability of local water-resources through their adoption and promotion of a universal framework for the sustainable use of water – the International Water Stewardship Standard, or AWS Standard – that drives, recognizes and rewards good water stewardship performance.
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.
It achieves this by engaging water-using sites in understanding and addressing shared catchment water challenges as well as site water risks and opportunities. It asks water-using sites to address these challenges in a way that progressively moves them to best practice in terms of five outcomes:
Implementing the AWS Standard can bring about many benefits for a site. It supports them to:
- Understand water dependencies and impacts
- Mitigate operational and supply chain water risks
- Ensure responsible water procedures are in place
- Build relationships with local water-related stakeholders
- Address challenges shared with others in the catchment
The Standard can be implemented by any site, in any sector, in any catchment around the world. In addition, the Standard can also be used by others interested in mitigating water risks including corporates, investors and public sector agencies as a framework to evaluate and plan water stewardship practices.
