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The Environment Institute Where ideas grow Striking the Balance between Food and Fibre Production and the Environment Mike Young Executive Director, The Environment Institute The Environment Institute Environmental policy • Triple bottom line? • Environment first? – Transition arrangements often confused with definition of final outcome to be pursued Economic Social Environmental Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Getting the balance right • Recognise the difference between – Identifying environmental objectives – The science of estimating how much water is needed to deliver each environmental objective • The amount needed can be reduced by improving institutional arrangements – But volumes needed will change as technology, knowledge and institutional arrangements improve Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Three important observations Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Scarcity is compromising Biodiversity! After Vörösmarty and others (2010). Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute With 10% less rainfall Users Users Environment Environment River Flow River Flow Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Water accounting matters • Improvements in water use efficiency come at a big cost to rivers • Forests, farm dams, overland flow capture water • Need to assume groundwater is connected to a river • MDB Guide found that the cost of not dealing with water accounting has major (in-equitable) consequences – up to 37% reduction in water entitlements if interception excluded, only 29% if included • Water accounting risks need to be assigned so that their distribution does not erode the environment’s interest Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute The MDB Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Current building blocks • Hydrological integrity – Bring in small farm dams, forestry, overland flow capture, etc • Equitable risk sharing with Environment – Environment to be a major entitlement holder • Subsidiarity for regional planning but not for environmental water – Uniform definition of SDL across the Basin built around a 114 year average less 3% allowance for adverse climate change – But Environmental water held centrally Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Suggested trade-offs in Guide 1. Conveyance to and thru mouth 9 yrs in 10 2. Prepared to lose 25% of red gum forests 3. Most benefits from 3,000 GL to 4,000 GL local and within region where reduction occurs Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Entitlement-based planning Uncontrolled floods and overland flows Entitlement shares Conveyance Entitlements - Controlled watering - Irrigation, urban and Industrial uses Conveyance water Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute A way forward 1. 2. Recognise that the collective environmental aspirations in existing plans need review The Act allows the SDLs to be defined in any way the Authority thinks appropriate – Section 23 (2) (c) Rather than a volumetric approach they could identify the portfolio of entitlements that should be acquired for the environment places in regional environment trusts 3. – – – – – – 4. Still need to define conveyance reserve Define maximum limit on annual allocations as amount when all existing entitlements in a region receive 100% allocation Grandfather in 100% of interception processes – linked to the entitlement system Identify a proportion of each entitlement type to be acquired for the environment – A target portfolio Purchase the portfolio needed Place a significant proportion in environment trusts Move forward step by step, monitoring, adjusting and learning with communities as the Basin goes forward – – – 5. Environmental infrastructure Removing grazing from key areas Buying entitlements Commitment to keep on investing until health is restored – If the money is used wisely, there is enough on the table over $0.5million per irrigator Life Impact The University of Adelaide The Environment Institute Where ideas grow www.adelaide.edu.au/environment www.myoung.net.au