Principles for scientists working at the river science‐policy interface (original) (raw)
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Towards a systems approach for river basin management-Lessons from Australia's largest river
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Globally, large river systems have been extensively modified and are increasingly managed for a range of purposes including ecosystem services and ecological values. Key to managing rivers effectively are developing approaches that deal with uncertainty, are adaptive in nature, and can incorporate multiple stakeholders with dynamic feedbacks. Australia's largest river system, the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), has been extensively developed for shipping passage, irrigation, hydroelectric development, and water supply. Water development in the MDB over the last century resulted in overallocation of water resources and large-scale environmental degradation throughout the Basin. Under the pressure of a significant drought, there was insufficient water to supply critical human, environmental, and agricultural needs. In response, a massive programme of water reform was enacted that resulted in considerable institutional, social, and economic change. The underlying policy was required to be enacted in an absence of certainty around the scientific basis, with an adaptive management focus to incorporate new knowledge. The resulting institutional arrangements were challenged by a need to generate new governance arrangements within the constraints of existing state and national structures. The ongoing reform and management of the MDB continues to challenge all parties to achieve optimization for multiple outcomes, and to communicate that effectively. As large-scale water reform gains pace globally, the MDB provides a window of insight into the types of systems that may emerge and the challenges in working within them. Most particularly, it illustrates the need for much more sophisticated systems thinking that runs counter to the much more linear approaches often adopted in government.
Australasian Journal of Water Resources
Many water scientists aim for their work to inform water policy and management, and in pursuit of this objective, they often work alongside government water agencies to ensure their research is relevant, timely and communicated effectively. A paper in this issue, examining 'Science integrity, public policy and water governance in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia', suggests that a large group of scientists, who work on water management in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) including the Basin Plan, have been subject to possible ''administrative capture'. Specifically, it is suggested that they have advocated for policies favoured by government agencies with the objective of gaining personal benefit, such as increased research funding. We examine evidence for this claim and conclude that it is not justified. The Efforts of scientists working alongside government water agencies appear ro have been misinterpreted as possible administrative capture. Although unsubstantiated, this claim does indicate that the science used in basin water planning is increasingly caught up in the politics of water management. We suggest actions to improve science-policy engagement in basin planning, to promote constructive debate over contested views and avoid the over-politicisation of basin science.
Science's stagnant thinking: our rivers need a revolution
2012
I've been away in the UK for a few years-and what do I find when I come back? In the Murray Darling we are still arguing over inputs (the amount of water to be returned to the river) instead of focusing on the state we actually want the river system to be in, and how to make it so.
Prioritising fish research for flow management in the Murray-Darling Basin
2020
Effective natural resource management requires timely knowledge exchange between researchers and managers to support evidence-based decision making. To achieve this, it is essential that we align research outputs so that they support the current needs of management, policy and on-ground actions. The lifecycles of fishes are inextricably linked to flow, and in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), one of the most regulated river systems in the world, flow management is considered fundamental to river health and the restoration of fish populations. This project aimed to identify knowledge gaps regarding the flow-related ecology of freshwater fish to direct research to better inform environmental water management. Our major objective was to provide an up-to-date synthesis of knowledge pertaining to the flow-related ecology of fishes, from both scientific and management perspectives, and to use this to guide fish research for the MDB-Environmental Water Knowledge and Research (EWKR) project. ...
Reforming Water Law and Governance, 2018
The passage of the Water Act 2007 by the Australian Government was an historic moment in the management of the Murray-Darling Basin, a transboundary river system home to 16 Ramsar wetlands and responsible for generating approximately 50% of the country's irrigated produce (Murray-Darling Basin Authority 2017). The Act sought to end decades of unsustainable water use-principally for irrigated agriculture-by introducing new limits on water extraction across the Basin. The vehicle for achieving this goal, the Basin Plan, was in turn passed in late 2012. However-and contrary to the requirements of the Act-the limits imposed under the Plan were not sustainable, not least of all because they failed to take into account likely, future climate change. Implementation of the Plan's various sub-instruments and strategies has also been beset by statutory and policy changes that privilege consideration of socioeconomic factors over environmental outcomes. This chapter examines the aforementioned reorientation and sets out a series of recommendations intended to restore faith in water reform processes in the Murray-Darling Basin. It is also hoped that this analysis will assist regulators and stakeholders to identify and manage possible barriers to proper implementation of domestic and international water laws in other, transboundary basins.
Environmental Science & Policy
River basin governance has become increasingly challenged in many river basins around the world. At heart is the poor understanding of governance performance and its interaction with biophysical restoration targets. This paper aims to improve the Murray-Darling Basin governance for better environmental outcomes by understanding the interactions between governance performance indicators and biophysical indicators. A diagnostic framework consisting of social indicators (Collaboration, Leadership, Institutions and Learning) and biophysical indicators (River Flows, Water Quality, Biodiversity and Species Recovery) was used to estimate condition and target for each indicator from a range of stakeholder groups representing different interests and perspectives. In addition, stakeholders also measured synergistic effects of indicator progress towards target on other indicators using strength of indicator interaction scores. A network analysis of indicator condition and interaction scores was used to determine a composite enabling pathway to suggest stakeholder contributing roles to polycentric governance. Leadership and its role in regulation, compliance and operating rules is a recurring challenge mentioned by multiple stakeholder groups, requiring clarification of roles and subsidiarity decision-making through enhanced collaboration and institutional reform. The enabling pathway proposes collaborative learning by assigning co-implementation priorities based on diagnostics rather than stakeholder specific identified key challenges. This novel approach offers a tangible way for developing sectorised stakeholder engagement strategies where participation is conceived as active collaboration towards decision-making and coimplementation.