The Contested Politics of Drought, Water Security and Climate Adaptation in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin (original) (raw)

Squandering the future—Climate change, policy failure and the water crisis in Australia

Futures, 2007

Since European arrival (1788), statist developmentalism 1 has driven natural resource use in Australia. Despite evidence of a systematic decline in the quality of Australia's ecosystems, policy-making still reflects the exploitative paradigm upon which statist developmentalism relies. This paper will draw on recent policy changes within the water sector in Australia as a case-study, allowing the authors to consider the types of social, economic and ecological consequences that can come from statist developmentalism. Fuelled by climate change, water availability is looming as an extremely serious problem for Australia. Despite this, recent policy changes within the water sector are not likely to achieve sustainable water use in the short-term, and may do little to subvert statist developmentalism as the dominant paradigm within natural resource use in Australia in the foreseeable future.

Evolving Governance and Contested Water Reforms in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin

Water, 2018

This paper explores the ways water governance adapts to changing social values and political imperatives by examining the case of water policy reforms in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin. Over more than two decades, Australia’s water reforms have explicitly aimed to promote ecological sustainability and economic efficiency, attempting to balance pro-market, micro-economic reforms with broader social and sustainability goals. Despite the formality of Australia’s intergovernmental agreements, water reforms have been expensive and heavily contested, experiencing many implementation challenges. However, water market reforms have generally been regarded as successful, enabling the reallocation of water for environmental and extractive uses, contributing to flexibility and adaptive capacity. Recognising that discursive contestation is central to policy development, the paper documents the way the reform processes have attempted to broker compromises between three competing policy paradigms—national development, economic rationalism and environmentalism. These inherent tensions resulted in prolonged contests for influence over policy directions long after formal statements of policy intent by Governments. Given that climate change is driving the need for water governance reforms, the paper looks to what lessons can be learnt about the redesigns of meta-governance arrangements, including through structured commitments to independent audits and evaluations that can provide the feedback needed for adaptive governance and policy learning.

Legislating for sustainable basin management: the story of Australia's Water Act (2007)

Australia's Millennium drought, a 13-year dry period unprecedented in the instrumental record, inspired a change in the extant water management principles. The Water Act of 2007 was introduced and required the preparation of a Basin Plan to set environmentally sustainable levels of water extraction and to reduce the over-allocation of water entitlements that threatened water security. The Act was unusual in that environmental considerations were initially interpreted as a non-negotiable constraint on other water uses because of the legislative context in which it was written. This framing shaped subsequent negotiations during development of the Basin Plan. The recent passing of this Plan into law provides a conclusion to this complex, messy and, at times, irrational reform process. The path taken, from genesis of the Act to its eventual culmination in the Basin Plan, provides internationally important lessons in legislating for sustainable water management in inter-jurisdictional river basins. However, the reforms have also created new opportunities for ongoing improvement, including the mutual benefits derived from managing environmental water and irrigation water cooperatively.

The Unwinding of Water Reform in the Murray-Darling Basin: A Cautionary Tale for Transboundary River Systems

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.

Understanding water governance: the case of Australia’s Murray-darling basin

Policy Studies, 2017

Water use in the Basin has increased five-fold in less than a century. The problems caused by over-allocation have been exacerbated by severe drought and the early impacts of climate change. There is insufficient water to maintain the Basin's natural balance and ecosystems, resulting in a marked decline in its ecological health. Many species that were once common are now rare and listed nationally for protection under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. At least 35 bird species and 16 mammals that live in the Basin are endangered. Twenty mammal species have become extinct … .

Water: Drought, Crisis and Governance in Australia and Brazil

Despite huge differences in population, household income and development levels, Australia and Brazil have some temporal convergences in their water governance systems. Over the last 20 years, both countries have significantly reformed their water policies and practices by introducing a legal foundation for more integrated and participatory catchment/basin management based on the best information available. A critical test of any water reform is how effective it is in meeting the challenges of extreme and unpredictable conditions of drought and floods, which are expected to increase under climate changes scenarios. This paper compared the contemporary water governance frameworks of Australia and Brazil in relation to three elements of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM): integration, participation, and information/knowledge. We focused on insights from Brazil's recent drought and Australia's fluctuating water crises to derive lessons and recommendations for future changes. Among the main recommendations, we stress the need for both systems to improve effective participation and to embrace a more comprehensive approach to cope with water scarcity in future scenarios. Furthermore, water related decisions should be based on a transparent and well informed process, and take into account the lessons from similar situations worldwide in order to avoid unnecessary or ineffective measures. As demonstrated in the Australian case during the Millennium Drought, the most effective initiatives were those involving government, the private sector and society to achieve a more sustainable consumption pattern in all sectors. There is much to learn from the Brazilian and Australia experiences in water reforms and crises, but it is imperative to understand the social, economic and environmental context within which these took place. Continuing to develop the capacity and willingness of researchers and policy makers to work together can make an important contribution towards meeting the growing and spreading challenges in water resource management around the world.

Supporting Sustainable Water Management: Insights from Australia’s Reform Journey and Future Directions for the Murray–Darling Basin

Water, 2018

Effective regulation of freshwater remains one of the biggest challenges facing our societies. In times of record-breaking weather extremes spurred by a changing climate, decision makers are increasingly aware of the need to formulate more effective governance to ensure the reliability, accessibility, and quality of this life-giving resource. In recent years, the Australian government has played a key role in water management. The government has managed a significant amount of water entitlements in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), through its Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) agency, in a bid to increase river flows and thus improve the river system’s environmental and ecological conditions. The CEWH is unique in many respects, and the Australian government’s control of its budget and actions is a critical aspect of the Basin’s sustainable long-term management. Despite the importance of this instrument, this article points out that there are serious issues with the curre...