Water stewardship, a community-based solution for the climate and water emergency

Delli Nesi, water stewardship committee (Credit: WW/James Chavula, 2020).

In many water-stressed regions, climate-change disruptions are causing increasing difficulties for local communities. Yet, in Malawi, water stewardship has helped over 26,000 people improve the quality of their life and become more resilient to climate change.

The positive impacts are widespread, benefitting people through increased food security, stronger economies and improved water management. These outstanding results showcase the powerful role of local communities in solving the global climate and water emergency and building their own resilience to the climate crisis.

Good water stewards collaborate with other water users to protect shared rivers or groundwater resources, creating a fairer and more sustainable future for all. For the past four years, Water Witness has been supporting farmer cooperatives in Malawi to improve water management. This work is guided by the AWS standard which helps farmers to achieve five key objectives of good water stewardship:

1-                  Sustainable water withdrawals

2-                  Good water quality

3-                  Good water governance

4-                  Safe water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

5-                  Protection of important water-related areas

Two farming cooperatives in Southern Malawi stand out as exceptional examples of good water stewardship. Located in the Chikwawa District, Phata Sugarcane Outgrowers Cooperative (Phata) is a cooperative of 1,110 farmers, half of whom are women. Sukambizi Association Trust (SAT) is a smallholder cooperative of tea farmers in the Mulanje District. SAT farmers are responsible for 2/3 of Malawi's smallholder tea production, boasting 13,000 members, of whom three out of four members are women. The Water Witness Malawi team has worked closely with farmers at both sites to identify water-related risks and develop and implement their plans to improve their water security.

Over three years, the farmers from both Phata and SAT have improved the water security of their farms and the broader catchment through a better understanding of water legislation, improved water management practices, prioritisation of WASH services and building stronger relationship with the Government and other water users. As a result, they have made concrete improvements to their water security and strengthened their resilience to climate change. They have also been invited to join their respective District WASH technical development committees. In addition, their work has been recognised by the Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources in Malawi.

In the video below farmers from SAT and Phata tell their stories of their water stewardship journey and the changes they have experienced.