WWF congratulates WA for signing National Water Initiative
07 Apr 2006
Yesterday's decision by the Western Australia Government to sign on to the National Water Initiative (NWI) is a significant step towards securing sustainable water management in the State, says WWF, the conservation organisation.
"The National Water Initiative is a plan that sets out key requirements for best practice water resource management and we congratulate the Western Australia Government for committing to this plan," says WWF's Water Conservation Officer, James Duggie.
"If it is implemented properly, the National Water Initiative can ensure a secure water future for all Western Australians and the environment."
Fulfilling the commitments of the NWI will ensure the health of river and groundwater systems, sustain rural and urban communities, and increase productivity and efficiency of water use.
Fundamental to the success of the NWI is proper planning processes which identify and protect environmental needs.
The WA Government is doing well in some aspects of water resource management, and its current water reform process is an important part of delivering further improvements.
Further significant improvements are urgently needed in a number of important areas.
Five aspects of water resource management addressed in the NWI that WA still needs to improve on are:
- developing statutory water allocation plans for all of the State's water resources, that include adequate allocations of water for the environment;
- expansion of on-going water resource investigations to improve water accounting;
- substantial improvement in water efficiencies through expanded water efficiency programs;
- increased rates of water recycling;
- protection of high conservation aquatic ecosystems.
WWF looks forward to both the WA and Commonwealth governments allocating substantial additional funding for appropriate water resource management measures in WA, which is essential for the implementation of the NWI.
WA is the last of all the Australian States and Territories to sign up to the National Water Initiative. WWF has been calling on the State to join the Initiative since the NWI was first signed by the Commonwealth Government and the majority of States in June 2004.
Find out more
Charlie Stevens, Press Officer, WWF-Australia
Phone: 02 8202 1274
Mobile: 0424 649 689
Email: cstevens@wwf.org.au
James Duggie, Water Conservation Officer, WWF-Australia
Mobile: 0410 221 410
