Our Water Mark; publicly released in July 2007, is the culmination of five years of dialogue, research and writing on Australia's use and management of water. It is a unique community resource - depicting the nature and extent of the problems and challenges we face as a nation in regard to water.
In our everyday lives, a flashing amber light usually puts us in alert mode. If ever we needed a signal to mobilise around water and take actions to secure our water future, then surely this is it. Our best chance is to embrace a sustainability scenario: not simply to cope with existing pressures but to position ourselves with respect to climate change. This will require us, as a matter of urgency, to initiate improvements in water efficiency in every aspect of life in our society and set in train processes for environmental repair. We can all make our mark in water reform.
There are all sorts of possibilities. But we need to get going. We don't have the luxury of lots of time.
Mary Crooks has been Executive Director of the Victorian Women’s Trust for the past ten years. As Project Director of Watermark Australia, she brings enormous conceptual and practical skill to the Project, reflecting extensive experience in public policy over two decades. Her interest and skill in the design and management of public processes for dialogue and community action is highlighted in particular by the Brunswick-Richmond Powerline Review, the Working Party for the Future of the Victorian Wood Products Industry, a national study of Lead Exposure in Australia and more recently, the Purple Sage Project.
Watermark Australia Project
After 5 years of research, community dialogue and scientific input, the Watermark Australia Project has published its pioneering work - Our Water Mark. It creates the Big Picture, establishes a national goal for all of us to strive toward, identifies a set of guiding principles - and - outlines in detail the various ways we can all make our mark on water. Whether we are working in businesses or organisations of some sort, working the land, living in households, or simply being citizens with a voice and a vote, Our Water Mark shows the way forward....