Water Witness International

Water stewardship has emerged globally as a means of engaging end users in water management, guiding them to use water responsibly and to get involved with, and support policy implementation for sustainable water use within and ‘beyond the fence line’ of their operations. With our trusted partners, Water Witness International (WWI) has played a leading role in shaping the stewardship agenda: investigating and reporting on performance, flagging the opportunities, exposing the risks, and developing standards and principles to guide action. In particular, WWI is a founding member of the Alliance for Water Stewardship, and has led the strategic and technical application of the International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard) across Africa. The AWS Standard guides and recognises responsible water use and engagement, and has shown to be cost-effective and beneficial for economic water users, ecosystems, local livelihoods and government institutions in Africa. Based on this successful track record, we are launching the Malawi Water Stewardship Initiative to respond to the growing demand for water stewardship in Malawi, and for application of the AWS Standard within small-holder supply chains and at the community level. This work will not only contribute to improved water security locally by establishing Malawi as a centre of excellence on water stewardship, but will also make an important strategic contribution to water stewardship practice globally, by strengthening the business case and developing guidance for water stewardship by small enterprises and community water users.