Managing Water For Australia: The Social And Institutional Challenges

MANAGING WATER FOR AUSTRALIA The Social and Institutional Challenges Editors: Karen Hussey and Stephen Dovers MANAGING WATER FOR AUSTRALIA MANAGING WATER FOR AUSTRALIA The Social and Institutional Challenges Editors: Karen Hussey and Stephen Dovers © CSIRO 2007 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all permission requests. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Managing water for Australia : the social and institutional challenges. Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 9 78064309 3928. 1. Water-supply – Government policy – Australia. 2. Water-supply – Australia – Management. 3. Water-supply – Social aspects – Australia. 4. Water resources development – Australia. 5. Water use – Australia. I. Hussey, Karen. II. Dovers, Stephen. 333.910994 Published by: CSIRO PUBLISHING 150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) Collingwood VIC 3066 Australia Telephone: Local call: Fax: Email: Website: +61 3 9662 7666 1300 788 000 (Australia only) +61 3 9662 7555 [email protected] www.publish.csiro.au Front cover: Lake Grace, Adrianne Yzerman. Overall winner, photography competition, Land & Water Australia, 2006. Set in 10pt/12pt Minion Edited by Adrienne de Kretser Cover and text design by James Kelly Typeset by Palmer Higgs Printed in Australia by Ligare The chapters in this book were produced through a writing and conference process organised and supported by Land & Water Australia, the National Water Commission, The Australian National University and the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. The opinions expressed in the book are those of the relevant authors. Foreword Current water use in Australia is unsustainable in many areas. The challenges we face to manage our water resources on a truly sustainable basis are formidable. It is important not only to get the science right, but to ensure that the Australian community understands the aims and the processes to achieve sustainable water management so it can support and participate in making the difficult decisions about water management that face us as a nation. To help meet this need, the conference Delivering the National Water Initiative: Understanding the social and industry dimensions, was hosted by Land & Water Australia and the National Water Commission together with The Australian National University and Academy of Social Sciences in Australia on 4–5 December 2006 at Parliament House, Canberr