Decision Making in Water Resources Policy and Management An Australian Perspective

Decision-Making in Water Resource Policy and Management: An Australian Perspective presents the latest information in developing new decision-making processes. Topics covered include key aspects of water resources planning, recent water resource policy changes in irrigation, urban, and environmental considerations, the evolution of a water market, a number of case studies that provide real examples of improved decision-making, transfer of the Australian experience overseas, and challenges for the future.

Many countries are experiencing major water scarcity problems which will likely intensify with the continued impacts of climate change. In response to this challenge, there is increased worldwide focus on the development of more sustainable and integrated water resource policies. The Australian experience over the past three decades has led to major improvements in the decision-making processes in water resources policy and management, particularly in response to drought and climate change, providing a great model on which other nations can use and adapt. This information is essential to early to mid-career practitioners engaged in policy, planning and operational roles in all fields of water resource policy and management, and catchment management.

PART 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Water Resource Policy, Planning and Management in Australia—An Overview

PART 2 RECENT WATER RESOURCES POLICY AND MANAGEMENT CHANGES IN AUSTRALIA 2. Managing the River Murray: One Hundred Years of Politics 3. Evolution of Water Entitlements and Markets in Victoria, Australia 4. Agriculture in Northern Victoria (Australia) Over the Past 20–30 Years: Factors Influencing Decision Making by Individual Farmers 5. Urban—Major Reforms in Urban Water Policy and Management in Major Australian Cities 6. Environmental Water Reform

PART 3 INPUTS INTO THE WATER RESOURCES DECISION-MAKING PROCESS 7. Environmental Flows and Eco-Hydrological Assessments in Rivers 8. The Role of Economic Analysis in Water Resource Management—The Murray-Darling Experience 9. Social-Ecological Analyses for Better Water Resources Decisions 10. Assessing and Managing the Social Effects of Water Reform in Agricultural Areas 11. Finding Diamonds in the Dust: Community Engagement in Murray-Darling Basin Planning 12. Integrated Approaches Within Water Resource Planning and Management in Australia—Theory and Application

PART 4 AUSTRALIAN CASE STUDIES 13. Case Study 1—The Murray-Darling Basin Plan 14. The Victorian Waterway Management Strategy 15. Managing Water Quality for the Great Barrier Reef

PART 5 TRANSFER OF THE KNOWLEDGE—INTERNATIONAL CASE STUDIES 16. Knowledge Transfer in International Water Resource Management—Six Challenges 17. Building Expertise in River Basin Modeling—Transfer of Knowledge from Australia to India 18. Design of a National River Health Assessment Program for China

PART 6 CHALLENGES FOR THE FUTURE 19. Future Challenges

• Summarizes key results from three decades of changes in Australian water resource policy
• Illustrates how Australian knowledge is being used in other countries and how this might be expanded
• Provides international practitioners with real examples of where and how the Australian knowledge is assisting in other situations