Awareness and Communication Strategy Messages should emphasise that all sectors should be allocated an equitable share in the available resource, with reasonable amount of water being reserved for downstream States. Member States should develop and promote criteria for water allocation to the sectors and also within the sectors. 7.2.4 Environmental Protection Communicate best practices that emphasise that WDM, if properly applied, minimizes possible negative impacts to the environment. To who: Policy makers including parliamentarians and senior government officials, water supply service providers including government, water utility companies, NGOs and municipalities, and water users including industries, commercial undertakings, mines, irrigators and recipient communities. How: Mass media, publications, advocacy activities, workshops and dialogues(such as the SADC Multi-stakeholder Dialogue), and environmental education focusing on educational workshops. WDM also advocates for environmental protection by minimising negative impact to the environment and allocating some water resources for environmental use, such as in-stream use or environmental flows. WDM also advocates for recycling of waste water and utilizing it for less sensitive uses such as use of treated domestic wastewater for irrigated agriculture which also has the benefit of closing the nutrient cycle. WDM demands pollution control and prevention measure aimed at safeguarding and conserving water resources from being degraded so that water is of usable quality to most of the water using sectors. WDM also promotes the control of invasive alien species that reduce water quality and quantity. Within the SADC region, many Member States are infested with these alien invasive species that reduce flows and there is therefore a need to control the spread of these undesirable plants from the water courses and thus increase water availability. Page 33