All in Water

Developing institutional arrangements of Indigenous participation in the National Water Initiative

superuser — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:10:14 +0000

This LWA funded project developed a research program for the Indigenous Water Policy Group to cover identified information gaps and key issues. The themes included: identification of Indigenous water rights; interactions between water markets and the customary sector; examination of international experience, frameworks and models; Indigenous economic position in water use and markets; representation on environmental bodies; communication; and scrutiny of water services, maintenance and delivery. The project was based on the observation that while the National Water Initiative offers some economic opportunity for Indigenous communities, the NWI provisions are discretionary.

IDs and People

Program:

Social and Institutional Research Program

Program Theme:

Social and Institutional Research

Research Type:

Research Project

LWA Project Code:

0071001

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Subjects

Subjects:

Indigenous

Water (General)

Keywords:

Policy

Water

Economic

Indigenous

group

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Governance of water: an agreement model for customary law Governance

superuser — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:01:25 +0000

Aboriginal Law and culture in remote Australia remains active and strong. In this project, Professor Donna Craig and the Anmatyerr Water Team demonstrate a process for local active parties to take on management of places significant to them that improves cultural and natural heritage values and indigenous futures.

There exist many places of significance to Aboriginal people that are not covered by formal management processes. In the NT this includes but is not limited to small reserves not listed on the schedule for formal joint management. Professor Craig and her team prepared a draft agreement that demonstrated the principles outlined in her findings.

IDs and People

Program:

Social and Institutional Research Program

Program Theme:

Indigenous Natural Resources Management

Research Type:

Research Project

LWA Project Code:

NTU23

Researchers:

Professor Donna Craig

Subjects

Subjects:

Indigenous

Catchment Management

Keywords:

Aboriginal

law

culture

remote

Anmatyerr

Water

team

local

reserves

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Assessing the Potential for Algal Blooms in Clear Water Phase Tropical Rivers

superuser — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 07:35:53 +0000

Associate Professor George Ganff, from the University of Adelaide studied the rivers of northern Australia and particularly those in the Top End of the Northern Territory which are subject to major seasonal changes in flow and inter-annual variability. During the dry season, spring water maintains flow with different water chemistry from the rainfall run-off that constitutes wet season flow.

IDs and People

Program:

Tropical Rivers Research and Development

LWA Project Code:

UAD 21

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Subjects

Subjects:

Tropical Rivers

Keywords:

algal

blooms

Water

flow

dry

season

rainfall

run-off

wet

clear

spring

chemistry

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Development and Trial of a Methodology for Total Water Resource Assessment in Tropical Australia

superuser — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:06:02 +0000

Assessment of water development proposals to date has been hampered by the lack of information that can be used to reasonably estimate the volume of water currently available to the environment and the proportion of that water potentially available for consumptive users.

IDs and People

Program:

Tropical Rivers Research and Development

Research Type:

Research Project

LWA Project Code:

SKP12

Host Organisation:

Land and Water Australia

Subjects

Subjects:

Tropical Rivers

Keywords:

Trial

methodology

Water

Tropical

Australia

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Informing future irrigation and water management at the Ord River, Western Australia

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:54:01 +0000

This project will synthesis opportunities afforded and resources required to pursue accreditation as a HELP basin through lessons learned from other Australian HELP basins, including the Murrumbidgee and Lower Burdekin. Results will be presented to stakeholders in the Ord Catchment to determine local interest in pursuing accreditation.

IDs and People

Program:

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation

Research Type:

Research Project

Research Scale:

Catchment

LWA Project Code:

BRO005191

Researchers:

Anna Price

Subjects

Subjects:

Water (General)

Keywords:

Future

irrigation

Water

Management

Ord

River

Western

informing

Project Information

Outcomes:

Accreditation proposal for the Ord Catchment to join the UNESCO-IHP HELP initiative if the Ord Catchment Community, through this project, deems that accreditation will help deliver significant benefits.
Defined opportunities for funding and collaboration including increased understanding of the key mechanisms and drivers for funding and successful collaboration for the Ord Catchment.
A brief on benefits and support requirements for UNESCO-IHP HELP accreditation that can be made available to other catchments and the program itself.
Key knowledge gained fed back to the key stakeholders interviewed as part of the scoping phase as well as other catchments where deemed beneficial.

Current Activities

Status:

Complete

Background

Project Background:

In many parts of Australia there are extensive gaps between community aspirations and scientific research, particularly in regional and remote areas that are geographically separated from decision making centres. These areas often have large natural resource bases that offer substantial development opportunities, particularly in agriculture and irrigation, but limited capacity to plan and manage the optimal sustainable utilisation and development of these resources. None more evident than the abundant water resources that exist in parts of northern Australia in comparison to the current and increasing water scarcity in many other parts.

The Ord Catchment is particularly pertinent because the water resources that have been harvested are only partially utilised with existing plans to expand irrigation in the area. This situation is unusual in Australia and the opportunities to learn how to better manage existing water use and incorporate updated knowledge into planning for expansion of irrigation are unmatched anywhere else in Australia.

Aims:

The aims of these interviews is to investigate and quantify:

the funding opportunities achieved through accreditation
opportunities for local, national and international collaboration, created through accreditation
assistance in developing research direction and opportunities to bridge the gap between water law and policy experts, water resource managers and water scientists and facilitate the free flow of the latest information
accreditation management requirements.

From this visit a summary brief will be prepared. This will form the basis for the brief to be discussed with key stakeholders in the Ord Catchment and will define:

potential benefits to Catchments in becoming accredited with the UNESCO-IHP HELP program
identify particularly pertinent benefits to the Ord Catchment through its remote location and unique resource base
key avenues to successfully using the UNESCO-IHP HELP network to generate funding and collaboration.

This document will be circulated for review by the key individuals involved in the UNESCO-HELP program and those involved in the initial interviews.

Resources

External Links:

Hydrology for the Environment, Life and Policy Website