This report discusses the issues and challenges in water management in Murray-Darling Basin. It explores the stakeholders involved, the decision-making process, and the use of environmental decision-making tools. It also addresses environmental justice concerns and provides recommendations for improvement.
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Running head: WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN Water Management in Murray- Darling Basin Name of the student Name of the University Author note
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1WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN Introduction Environmental Decision Making explores the various factors that helps in making the decisions in relation to the environmental issues. The decisions are mainly made by the government bodies that helps in examining the environmental decisions in range of the contexts. The process of the environmental decision making faces challenges within the diverse society as the government has to find a solution that can help in balancing concern of the conflicting interests. In the democratic society, the participants within the public decision making helps in analysing concerns of parties that can help in resolving the conflicts with the helpofprocessofthediscussion.Thedecisionismadebyintrospectingintothe environmental issues in an open and the fair manner. A decision-making can be said to optimal that takes into view the demands of the various stakeholders and which is informed by the science along with the technological developments. Murray-Darling Basin Authority wants to manage the water resources of the basin in a sustainable manner that can help in offering protection to the environment along with the communities (Mdba.gov.au 2019).The government takes a collaborative approach that helps in managing the water within Murray- darling system. This report discusses about the issues in relation to the water management within Murray- Darling Basin. It talks about the stakeholders that are involved and the interests of the stakeholders. The report talks about the tactics that have been used for influencingtheprocessofthedecision-making.Thereportalsothrowslightonthe environmental decision making tools that have been made use of for informing the decision. The report also talks about quality of decision from that of environmental justice perspective and the recommendations that can help in improving the plan. Problem Frame
2WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN Therehavebeencertainissuesthathavebeenidentifiedinrelationtothe Environmental Planning of Murray-Darling Basin. The Murray Darling Basin Plan has been implemented however it has not been able to deliver the key objectives. Basic Plan is about reduction of amount of the water which is extracted from streams, aquifers along with the rivers. It comprises of environmental water strategy that can help in improving conditions of wetlands along with rivers of basin. The problem in relation to the Environmental Planning of that of Murray-Darling Basin arises on account of the fact that the plan has not been able to improve the conditions of the basin. Environmental improvements have been brought about at the specific sites however these have not been replicated across the basin. State of the Environment Report that was presented by Federal Government in the year 2016 has provided “poor” assessment in relation to the inland water flow within basin. Downward trends has been noticed in the long run and there has been widespread loss in relation to the ecosystem function. There are various evidences talks about the problem in relation to the Environmental Plan of Water Management in Murray-Darling Basin (Envirojustice.org.au 2019).The infrastructure projects in relation to the water recovery have been able to benefit the irrigators however there remains no scientific evidence that this plan has actually been able to increase the net stream flow. The flow in the mouth of the Murray River can be said to remain inadequate. The plan has not been able to keep the mouth of the river open to that of the sea around 90 % of the time. Diversion of the funds in relation to the environmental recovery into the irrigation upgrade can be said to represent the poor public policy. The data of the federal government has shown that purchasing the water from that of the willing sellers can prove to be 60 % cheaper as compared to the building of questionable engineering work (Mdba.gov.au 2019). Recently, Murray-Darling Basin Authority has recommended to that of the Parliament that the buy-back in relation to the environmental flows should be reduced by that of 22 % by the
3WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN end of the year 2019 (Aph.gov.au 2019).There are 36 water supply project that can help in the delivery of the water recovery goal. There were around 25 that failed to satisfy the condition of approval of the Basin Plan like the environmental risks. Political Context TherearevariousstakeholderswhichareinvolvedinrelationtotheWater management in that of Murray-Darling Basin. The river system of the Basin is significant for the people on account of various reasons. The people depend on that of the river system so that the water can be delivered to the towns. There also exist many people who depend on the good quality of the water that is available in rivers that includes recreational operators, irrigators along with the boaters. The various kinds of stakeholders are the people who are living within Basin and in that of broader Australian community. The other stakeholders group are the local government along with the Aboriginal people who depend on the water (Ienearth.org2019).TheMurray-DarlingBasinAdvisoryCommitteearetheother stakeholders who depend on the Water management Plan of that of Murray-Darling Basin. The state government agencies along with the commonwealth government agencies are the other stakeholders pertaining to the Water management in that of Murray-darling Basin. The interests of the people in that of the water management plan lie on account of the fact that it can help them in getting access to the drinking water. The poor quality of the water can have an effect on the aspect of the recreational tourism along with the communities who depend on that of the quality of the water. The local government would be benefitted with the help of the Water Management in the basin as they would be able to deliver the aspect of the sustainablemanagementofthewaterforthecommunities,farmersalongwiththe environment (Theguardian.com 2019).
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4WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN There are various tactics that have been used by them for influencing the decision. The decisions in relation to the strategy are taken by that of ministerial council that helps in delegating power to the other bodies. The ministerial council is advised with the help of Community Advisory Committee that helps in providing advice to Authority of MDBA. The local along with the state government wanted the economic development of the place that caused them to take recourse to the Water Management Plan in that of Murray Darling Basin. It can help in navigating the important rivers and help in the aspect of the framing that can help in the development of that of Murray-Darling Basin (Abel et al. 2016).The Authority of Murray Darling Basin is working in a close manner with that of the Basin State government that can help in ensuring that the water resource plans are able to meet requirements of that of Basin Plan. It can help in addressing local requirements in relation to the water resource management (Grafton, Horne and Wheeler 2016). Environmental Decision Making tool in Murray Darling Basin There are various kinds of Environmental Decision Making tools that have been used for informing the decision in relation to the water management in Murray Darling Basin. The climate risk is an important factor that has caused the authorities to take recourse to the Environmental Plan. The water managers make use of that of river water modelling that can help in understanding the effect of the alternative water diversion. The river modelling can make use of computer-based programs that can help in tracking the water in the river. It can help in making the inferences in relation to quantity of the water resource that is available pertaining to the water catchments. This kind of environmental decision making tool helps the river users that includes the irrigators along with that of the urban water authorities. There are various kinds of ecosystem functions that should be protected that can help in the determination of the water management plan in that of Murray Darling Basin. The multi- disciplinary tools have been able to develop the tools that can help in optimising social along
5WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN with the economic impacts of that of changing water regime (Swirepik et al.2016).The groundwater assessment is another important factor that can help in determining the plan. The holistic methods can be used that can prove to be useful in the arena of the environmental flow planning. This can help in recognizing significance in relation to the ecosystem functions that can help in giving rise to the healthy rivers. The holistic methods can help in drawing on the various elements of the ecology along with the geomorphology that can help in making the crucial decisions in relation to the environmental decision making (Marshall and Alexandra 2016).The holistic method of that of hydrological alteration which is directed at that of regional scale application can act as an important approach that can help in the area of the water management within that of Murray Darling Basin. ELOHA framework can act as a crucial tool that can help in capturing the existing ecological along with the hydrological information. It can be combined with that of the hydrological modelling that can help in the developing of flow-alteration pertaining to the ecological-response relationships (Doody et al.2015).The relationships can be made use of for determination of consequences in relation to the projects. The approach of the “umbrella ecosystems” can also be made use of that can help in ascertaining the aspect of the environmental planning. The information-rich-areas can be made use of for the developing of the management intervention which is based on philosophy that need of assets can help in reflection of needs of the broader set of the assets within the system. This kind of asset is known as hydrological indicator site that can help in eliciting important information in relation to that of the environmental planning (Koehn 2015). Environmental justice issues in Water Management of Murray Darling Basin The environmental justice issues were incorporated in the system of the water management within the Murray Darling Basin. It has helped in development of cultural along
6WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN with the economic relationship in between the Aboriginal people and that of the landscape of Australia. Various kinds of mechanisms have been made available that can help in involving the Aboriginal people in managing the protected areas. It has helped in developing the formal co-management agreement in between the indigenous groups and that of the government bodies (Abel et al. 2016).The environmental justice issue that has been meted out with the help of the environmental plan is that it has helped the Aboriginal people in involving themselves in the arena of cultural site management. They have the representation in the advisory committees that have helped in the proper implementation of the element of the water management (Hart 2016).They are given the responsibility for managing the cultural centers that have helped in implementing the plan. The indigenous people have been provided with the opportunity of involving themselves in that of environmental management that can help in the development of the indigenous communities. The Murray Darling Basin project helped in delivering right amount of the water for the environment in right places and at the right time. It helped in the developing of the water- control structure like the dams, pumps along with the regulators that helped in releasing the water to that of the selected sites. The water flowing downstream helped in providing additional benefits to that of the river system. It has helped in the area of the monitoring that has greatly helped in benefitting the environment. The reviewing of the Basin Plan helps in relieving the aspect of the environmental strain in the area around that of Murray Darling basin (Ienearth.org 2019).It has helped in making partnerships with the industry bodies that has been able to develop the plans of the water management in the area. The water is traded that helps the water users in buying and selling the water in relation to the individual needs. The element of the water trading has emerged to become important business tool pertaining to the irrigators. The water markets can help in encouraging the efficient usage of the water that can allow flexibility in relation to the process of the business decision-making.
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7WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN Quality of decision from the perspective of environmental justice The social justice framework talks about the fact that the policies of the government helps in resisting the unfairness along with the inequity in the society. It can help in addressing the dynamics of the oppression along with the privilegethat can help in addressing the demands of the society. It can help in paying attention to the people along with the policies that can help in liberating instead of oppressing. Social justice framework of that of Anna Lukasiewicz has helped in the application of the social justice theories to that of the water management decisions on the everyday basis (Lukasiewicz 2017). It can help in the arena of sustainable development along with that of triple bottom line. It can help in ensuring the fairness that can help in satisfying the understanding of the people in relation to the democracy. It can help in giving the rights of the participation to the people that can help in the proper exploitation of the natural resources. The decision-making regarding the natural resources takes place in that of wider power context where one group has greater access to the sources of the power along with the entitlements. The water quality in the Basin has improved with the help of the better management techniques. It has helped in providing the water to that of the wetlands that has greatly helped in relation to that of water management. It has helped in the area of salinity that has helped in bringing about improvements in the framing systems. It has helped in the operation of salt-interception schemes that has helped in diverting tonnes of the salt away from the rivers. Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion Environmental Decision Making helps in exploration of factors which helps in making of decisionspertainingto environmentalissues. Decisionsare carried out by government bodiesthataids in examinationof environmentaldecisions. Infrastructure
8WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN projects of water recovery have benefitted irrigators that has been successful in increasing net stream flow. Holistic methods can come to be of great use in that of environmental flow planning. This can recognize significance pertaining to ecosystem functions that can produce the healthy rivers. Holistic methods can draw on important element of ecology that can make crucial decisions pertaining to that of environmental decision-making. Recommendations Increasing amount of pressure should be laid on the recalcitrant state government that can help in the delivering of the plan of the water management Science should be utilised for that of decision making that can help in managing the aspect of the declining availability of the water Department of Agriculture and Water Resources should address the socio-economic impacts by the implementation of the program design Phase the element of the water recovery that can help in aligning the constraint proposals for the easing of the constraints
9WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN References Abel, N., Wise, R., Colloff, M., Walker, B., Butler, J., Ryan, P., Norman, C., Langston, A., Anderies,J.,Gorddard,R.andDunlop,M.,2016.Buildingresilientpathwaysto transformationwhen“nooneisincharge”:insightsfromAustralia'sMurray-Darling Basin.Ecology and Society,21(2). Aph.gov.au (2019).Murray-Darling Basin management – Parliament of Australia. [online] Aph.gov.au.Availableat: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/ Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/MurryDarlingBasin [Accessed 28 May 2019]. Doody, T.M., Colloff, M.J., Davies, M., Koul, V., Benyon, R.G. and Nagler, P.L., 2015. Quantifying water requirements of riparian river red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) in the Murray–DarlingBasin,Australia–implicationsforthemanagementofenvironmental flows.Ecohydrology,8(8), pp.1471-1487. Envirojustice.org.au (2019).Home - Environmental Justice Australia. [online] Environmental Justice Australia. Available at: https://www.envirojustice.org.au/ [Accessed 28 May 2019]. Grafton, R.Q., Horne, J. and Wheeler, S.A., 2016. On the marketisation of water: evidence from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia.Water Resources Management,30(3), pp.913-926. Hart,B.T.,2016.TheAustralianMurray–Darlingbasinplan:challengesinits implementation(part 1).InternationalJournal ofWaterResourcesDevelopment,32(6), pp.819-834. Ienearth.org (2019).Indigenous Environmental Network. [online] Ienearth.org. Available at: http://www.ienearth.org/ [Accessed 28 May 2019].
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10WATER MANAGEMENT IN MURRAY- DARLING BASIN Koehn, J.D., 2015. Managing people, water, food and fish in the Murray–Darling Basin, south‐eastern Australia.Fisheries Management and Ecology,22(1), pp.25-32. Lukasiewicz, A., 2017. The social Justice framework: untangling the maze of justice complexities.Natural Resources and Environmental Justice: Australian Perspectives CSIRO Publishing, Clayton, Vic, pp.233-249. Marshall, G.R. and Alexandra, J., 2016. Institutional Path Dependence and Environmental Water Recovery in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin.Water Alternatives,9(3). Mdba.gov.au(2019).Managingwater|Murray-DarlingBasinAuthority.[online] Mdba.gov.au. Available at: https://www.mdba.gov.au/managing-water [Accessed 28 May 2019]. Swirepik,J.L.,Burns,I.C.,Dyer,F.J.,Neave,I.A.,O'brien,M.G.,Pryde,G.M.and Thompson, R.M., 2016. Establishing environmental water requirements for the Murray– DarlingBasin,Australia'slargestdevelopedriversystem.RiverResearchand Applications,32(6), pp.1153-1165. Theguardian.com (2019).Murray-Darling Basin water management faces 'unique fraud risks',auditreveals.[online]theGuardian.Availableat: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/dec/21/murray-darling-basin-water- management-faces-unique-risks-audit-reveals [Accessed 28 May 2019].