Building a Toolkit for the Protection of Desert Waters

Building a Toolkit for the Protection of Desert Waters is an important step in strengthening the capabilities of the Arizona Land and Water Trust, and other land trusts across the southwest, for conserving this region’s precious and dwindling water resources. Made possible by a grant from the Land Trust Alliance through their Western Innovation Grants Program and the expertise of AMP Insights, this report will provide practitioners and decision-makers with a diverse toolkit and insight into cutting-edge water conservation practices. The result of which will be improved project selection, outcomes, and advocacy efforts in support of water conservation across the desert Southwest.

In order to understand the current state of water conservation and the tools land trusts need to be more effective AMP Insights conducted a literature review and interviewed land trusts and other conservation organizations across the Southwest. AMP Insights has drafted a memorandum of their findings including: challenges in the water conservation sphere, tools for water conservation, and suggested next steps. This memorandum informed the internal policy document which lays out a roadmap for the Trust to continue effectively conserving water resources in Arizona. The referenced AMP Insights memorandum and Trust policy documents are found on the following pages.