Water stewardship as an aid to water productivity

TLDR: In this article, the authors highlight the range of different synergies that can strengthen the integration of water stewardship and water productivity and highlight the bigger goal of aiding the sustainable development goals (SDGs) to achieve clean water and water security as the main reason for society and corporate business to move in the direction of this integration.

Abstract: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have predicted from the years 2000 to 2050 the industrial demand for water will increase by 400 %. This manuscript will discuss water stewardship as an aid to water productivity. The benefits of the integration of water stewardship and water productivity will be portrayed in this paper. The fundamentals of water productivity will be outlined. The stages of water stewardship namely operational, context, strategy and engagement will be introduced. The concept of the green economy and ecolabel products will be discussed. Other synergies including the life cycle analysis, water footprint assessment, multibarrier designs, citizen science and policy development as core needs within the integration will be outlined. The bigger goal of aiding the sustainable development goals (SDGs) to achieve clean water and water security as the main reason for society and corporate business to move in the direction of this integration will be highlighted. Water hydrology and catchment understanding are also the core benefits of the integration of water stewardship with water productivity. Improving water productivity by integrating water stewardship into its practices can improve business practices, environmental water flows, supply chain sourcing, policies, and water-efficient technologies. This manuscript highlights the range of different synergies that can strengthen the integration of water stewardship and water productivity. Water stewardship as an aid to water productivity can place water as a game changer for more eco-economical and environmental practices.