If it is Australian produce, then it is very likely to have come from Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin – otherwise known as the food bowl of Australia – an area covering over 1 million square kilometres (14% of Australia’s land area), generating 39% of the national income derived from agriculture and home to two million people with a further 1.3 million people dependent on its water resources.
The most essential resource in our Murray Darling Basin is water.
Average annual rainfall in the Basin is 530,618 gigalitres (1 gigalitre = 1 billion litres), or 1,000 times the volume of Sydney Harbour (if you prefer to think of volume in terms of Sydney Harbours!) Of this, 94% evaporates or transpires through plants, and 2% drains into the ground, leaving only 4% as runoff into rivers, streams and wetlands. However, with climate change, the actual volume of water is expected to fluctuate dramatically in the future.
Healthy Eco Systems and Wetlands
Water from the river systems in the Basin is used for agricultural irrigation and its associated industries, but it is also needed to maintain healthy wetlands and river eco systems for hydrological, biological, and chemical functions – and this is where the issue lies: who needs it more? The current authority responsible for managing the integrated water resources of the basin is the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA). The MDBA released a draft proposal Basin Plan in October 2010, with the final Basin Plan due in 2011 after community consultation and with various key stakeholders.
The history with Australian’s Murray-Darling Basin is one of over water allocation, resulting in degraded ecosystems. With severe drought, climate change, and population growth, the strain on the Basin is growing, and this has now become an issue of national significance in terms of socio-economics, politics, and environment.
Modern Sustainable Water Management
The crux of the problem lies in recognising that modern sustainable water management practices require substantial increases in environmental flow compared to current levels; hence, water must be allocated back to the environment. However, due to the finite and increasingly variable volume of water in the system, this means water allocations must be reduced from irrigators within the Basin.
The draft proposal Basin Plan was met with anger by some irrigators due to proposed reductions in water allocations, resulting in copies of the proposed Basin Plan being burnt on the steps of Parliament House in Canberra on 15th October 2010. Community concerns raised fears of job losses resulting from businesses directly impacted by reduced water allocations, along with subsequent flow on effects into the community as farms and small businesses already financially weakened by drought struggle to adapt to a reduction in water allocations.
The Environment and Rural Communities
Overall, Basin-wide reductions of 22–29% are currently suggested. The MDBA has acknowledged the economic impacts of reduced water allocations on the main agricultural sectors (horticulture, dairy, cotton, and rice) within the Basin.
To ease the pain on impacted businesses, the Government is currently implementing a series of remedial actions including water allocation buy-backs, and government grant assistance for businesses to improve farming practices, water efficiency, and to transition to less water intensive crop diversification.
Balancing the needs of the environment has come into direct conflict with the socio-economic needs of rural communities. It is a complex and sometimes emotionally charged issue of great national and long-term significance, and one taken very seriously, by all levels and both sides of government. It is a difficult, but solvable, issue. Nevertheless, we have to count ourselves as very fortunate to be in a position of national stability, enabling us to engage in a national debate and garner consensus on the issue. It is far worse in Africa, Asia, and South America, say, where rivers and water resources transcend borders and governments have no legal agreements on water use.
For your part, be more informed. Read the condensed report – available from Murray-Darling Basin Authority website – be more educated on the facts, and influenced not by the political rhetoric and hysteria. Add your comments to the Plan, and contribute!
So at tomorrow’s breakfast, as you eat your favourite cereal with milk, spend a moment or two appreciating your food and the circumstances that have led it to being in your breakfast bowl.
Written by Keo Phetsaya
Image Credit: The Murray River by thinboyfatter via Flickr Creative Commons
