This initiative has three components:
(1) The Water Ethics Network (waterethics.org) facilitates sharing of experience, ideas, and information about events and activities relating to water ethics. The Network connects academic researchers with water policy makers and business and civil society organizations. The aim is to bring the study of water ethics into the everyday discourse of water policies and management decisions, so that choices about water use and water ecosystem management are consciously informed by values.
(2) Developing a "Global Water Ethics Charter" in partnership with UNESCO and other international organizations. Water-Culture Institute (WCI) has been co-leading this project since it began in 2013. Details and the current draft Charter at waterethics.org.
(3) Local Water Ethics Charters: WCI is piloting the development of water ethics charters at local level (watershed or city) in Santa Fe, New Mexico (in partnership with Santa Fe Watershed Association), and, subject to funding, in the Hasdeo River Basin (tributary of Mahanadi River) in Chhattisgarh, India, in partnership with SOPPECOM, a Pune-based NGO. We also anticipate a capacity-building program to train watershed or river-basin organizations in how to apply a water ethics approach to local water planning.
Accomplishments: The Water Ethics Network has a membership of nearly 900 water professionals with active social media sites (Facebook and Twitter) and monthly e-newlsetter. The book, "Water Ethics: A Values Approach to Solving the Water Crisis" by WCI Director, Groenfeldt, was published in 2013 (by Routledge), and is part of a growing literature on water ethics, written largely by network members.
The Water-Culture Institute promotes the sustainable management of our rivers, lakes, springs, and groundwater through the application of indigenous wisdom and cultural traditions that respect the rights of nature. Our premise is that the sustainability of water ecosystems requires an ethic that recognizes our sacred responsibility to the Earth. We work both locally and globally. Locally our focus is New Mexico and the Rio Grande Basin. Additional geographic areas where we plan to become active are (1) Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin and (2) East-Central India (Mahanadi River Basin). Globally we are cooperating with UNESCO and other international organizations to develop a global "water ethics charter" (See program description).
1021 Camino Santander