Australia Demonstrates the Planet's Future: Water and Climate in the Murray–Darling Basin
- 24 November 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in International Journal of Water Resources Development
- Vol. 26 (4), 561-578
- https://doi.org/10.1080/07900627.2010.519522
Abstract
Australia's rivers are among the most variable in the world and this has been a major challenge in catchments such as the Murray–Darling Basin where management has focused on increasing agricultural production while reducing risks from fluctuating water availability. Pressure for development and over-optimistic assessments of available water have resulted in over-allocation and increasing ecological decline, which has been severely exacerbated by record-breaking drought. In recent years, governments have agreed to radical policies such as the National Water Initiative 2004 and allocated substantial funds in response. Implementation is in gridlock, however, as the socio-economic implications have become clearer. Most debate is focused on the draft Murray–Darling Basin Plan due for release in mid-2010 before finalization in 2011. It will be the first Basin-wide plan and is intended to deal with inequities across borders and risks such as climate change and drought. Climate change scenarios for 2030 foresee a range of potential surface water availability outcomes, ranging from a 7% increase to a 37% decrease, yet greater water scarcity is being experienced in the current (2002+) drought with inflows reduced by 70% or more in extreme years. Contradictory policies are hindering the more open adaptation required to manage a drier future.Keywords
This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit:
- Institutions and policy processes: the means to the ends of adaptationWires Climate Change, 2010
- MaladaptationGlobal Environmental Change, 2009
- Declining inflows and more frequent droughts in the Murray–Darling Basin: climate change, impacts and adaptation*Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2009
- Trajectories in Australian Water PolicyJournal of Contemporary Water Research & Education, 2009
- Basin‐scale, integrated observations of the early 21st century multiyear drought in southeast AustraliaWater Resources Research, 2009
- Future projections of winter rainfall in southeast Australia using a statistical downscaling techniqueClimatic Change, 2007
- Buying back the living Murray: at what price?Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 2007
- Waterbird breeding and environmental flow management in the Macquarie Marshes, arid AustraliaRiver Research and Applications, 2005
- Environmental economics and the Murray–Darling river systemAustralian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 2001
- Ecological impacts of dams, water diversions and river management on floodplain wetlands in AustraliaAustral Ecology, 2000