Good Water Stewardship and Sustainable in Tourism Sector

Sustainable tourism has emerged as a significant force in the global travel industry, driven by the imperative to conserve natural resources, protect cultural heritage, and ensure the well-being of local communities. As the tourism sector continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, travelers are increasingly choosing sustainable companies. 

IDSC (Indonesian DMC Sustainability Collaboration) collaborated with WSI to hold an "Implementation of Water Conservation to Achieve Sustainable Tourism" training activity on September 11, 2024. This aims to increase understanding, awareness, and sustainability practices for DMC and Tour Travel partners related to sustainable water management in the tourism sector. This activity was conducted online and attended by 33 DMC and Tour Travel partner participants. 

Officially opened by I Gede Dananjaya Bagaskara, Sustainability Coordinator of IDSC. He emphasized the importance of water conservation and sustainable water management by parties involved in the tourism sector. Moreover, collaboration between various parties is necessary to overcome water risks and support the creation of sustainable tourism. 

Water Stewardship Indonesia (WSI), represented by (Mr.) Catur Adi Nugroho, as Network Coordinator, discussed the importance of good and sustainable water stewardship in the tourism sector. It was emphasized that there are five main problems related to water in the tourism sector that can be a shared challenge and risk: 

• Excessive Water Consumption: The tourism industry often uses large amounts of water, especially in hotels, resorts, and recreational facilities. This creates an imbalance in water use between tourists and residents. 

• Water Pollution: Tourism activities can cause water pollution, whether from hotel and restaurant waste or recreational activities such as water sports. This pollution can damage local ecosystems and reduce the quality of available water. 

• Water Resource Depletion: In some tourist destinations, such as Bali, excessive groundwater use has lowered the water table and saltwater intrusion. 

• Conflicts Over Access to Water: The imbalance in water use between the tourism sector and residents can lead to conflict. 

• Lack of Good Water Planning and Management: Many tourist destinations lack adequate water planning and management. This can lead to unsustainable exploitation of water resources and damage the environment. 

Water stewardship is the socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial use of water, achieved through a multi-stakeholder process involving site-based and catchment-based actions; thus, good water stewardship and sustainability are essential for the tourism sector. 

Understanding water-related risks in the tourism sector must be based on a comprehensive approach (landscape approach or catchment approach). These risks are not only about water pollution but also include disaster events such as floods, droughts, and land subsidence due to groundwater extraction, which can negatively impact businesses, workers, and the economy. 

This shared challenge risk can be used as a basis for collaboration between actors in the tourism sector. Some collaborative activities that can be applied in tourism such as: 

• Formation of Collaborative Action. Forming alliances/coalitions involving various Companies, hotels, travel tour services, travel accommodations, micro/small/medium enterprises (MSMEs), and local Community organizations to support and commit to sustainable water management. 

• Training and Education. Providing training and education to all stakeholders on the importance of sustainable water management in the tourism sector, such as technical training for hotel and resort staff and education for local communities. 

• Use of Environmentally Friendly Technology. Implement environmentally friendly water treatment technology in tourism facilities, such as water recycling systems and water-saving technology in hotels and resorts. 

• Collaboration with Local Communities. Involving local communities in the tourism sector in water management efforts. This can include joint projects for water conservation and sustainable water resource management. Developing and promoting local wisdom-based tourism that supports sustainable water governance. 

A closing statement from IDSC (Mr.) Dananjaya marked the end of the training, hoping that the knowledge gained could be applied in their workplaces to support sustainable tourism.