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'From Use to Management': Australia's water policy in focus

October 26, 2006

JPigram.thumb.JPGOne of the world’s leading experts on water management policy says the environment has been “the big winner” in Australia’s move – over the past 20 years – from virtually unchecked use to careful management of its water resources.

John Pigram (pictured here), an Adjunct Professor at The University of New England and a Fellow of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA), has just published a book titled Australia’s Water Resources: From Use to Management. The book documents and assesses this important shift of focus in Australian water policy, and outlines possible future directions.

“Twenty years ago, Australia was using water as if it would never run out,” Professor Pigram said. “People who wanted water were given it, and the environment got what was left. Now that this has changed, we need to ensure that there is accountability for the increasing allocation of water resources to the environment.”

In emphasising the importance of accountability, he said: “No one should be given access to water until they’re prepared to be accountable for it. This should involve a four-phase documentation process: proposal, management plan, monitoring report, and final audit.”

“The environment is working towards accountability,” he continued, “but still has a way to go.”

In addition to “accountability”, he named “efficiency” as the other necessary ingredient in good water management. “We are managing water more efficiently in many ways,” he said. “In the cities we’re managing our storage systems better than we did – and all sorts of recycling schemes are under way. In agriculture, irrigators in NSW and southern Queensland, with their water entitlements cut to the bone, have achieved great efficiencies.”

Australia’s Water Resources, published by CSIRO, examines the critical water-related issues facing Australia at the beginning of the 21st century and the policies and strategies necessary for their management. It offers a wide-ranging assessment of Australia’s water endowment and its sustainable use in the cities, and in industry, agriculture, and outdoor recreation.

Professor Pigram was Director of UNE’s Centre for Water Policy Research from 1987 to 2001 and has had 40 years’ experience in the Australian water industry. He chaired the organising committee for the 10th World Water Congress in Melbourne in 2000, and was elected President of IWRA in that year. He was a founding member of the Board of Governors of the World Water Council in 1996 and continued on the Board until 2006.

He has just returned from Montreal, Canada, where he presented a lecture at McGill University on Australia’s experience in water management.



Posted by Jim Scanlan at October 26, 2006 01:51 PM