Water Policy Reform Lessons in Sustainability from the Murray Darling Basin

About this book

Agriculture in the Murray Darling Basin of Australia represents a controversial 'policy experiment' comprising large capital investments, innovation and enterprise over a 100 year period. Water Policy Reform, which contains contributions from some of Australia's foremost economic, social science and public policy researchers and writers, examines the evolution of public policy frameworks that transformed water management from initial exploitation for irrigation as a dominant single use to a dynamic multiple use resource system.

Water Policy Reform provides both analytical insights and examples of successes and failures in developing water policy in a complex and politically contested environment. As such, Water Policy Reform attempts to develop a comprehensive management plan for the Basin and provides novel and invaluable lessons for an increasingly global problem. This well-researched study will interest both economists and those with public policy interest in academia and the public sector, including development agencies concerned with sustainable water resource management.

Contents

Foreword
Introduction

PART I: POLICY
1. A Hundred Year Policy Experiment: The Murray - Darling Basin in Australia Tim Cummins and Alistair Watson
2. Water Markets, Property Rights and Managing Environmental Water Reserves Lin Crase
3. Why the 'Guide to the Proposed Basin Plan' Failed, and What Can Be Done to Fix It John Quiggin

PART II: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION
4. Assessing the Regional Impacts of the Basin Plan and Water for the Future Program in the Murray - Darling Basin Nga Nguyen, Tim Goesch and Peter Gooday
5. Variability and Uncertainty - Implications for Water Policy Impact Analysis Thilak Mallawaarachchi, David Adamson Sarah, Chambers, Peggy Schrobback and John Quiggin
6. Investment as an Adaptation Response to Water Scarcity Thilak Mallawaarachchi, Anthea McClintock, David Adamson and John Quiggin

PART III: ENVIRONMENT
7. Chewing on the CEWH: Options for Improving Management of Environmental Water in the Murray - Darling Basin Michael D. Young
8. Maximising Benefits from Murray - Darling Basin Water Resource Management Jeff Connor, Onil Banerjee, Darla Hatton MacDonald, Sorada Tapsuwan, Mark Morrison and Anthony Ryan

PART IV: COMMUNITY
9. Informing Tough Trade-offs in the Murray - Darling Basin Jeff Bennett
10. Water Allocation, Social Change and Resilience Helen Ross, Sally Driml and Zohreh Zarezadeh

Conclusion
Appendices
Index

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