Plantation forestry has existed and shared water resources in Australia since the late 19th century, but to date no jurisdiction in the world has called on the forestry industry to consider its impact on the natural environment or other consumptive users. In this regard, South Australia leads...

Participatory research approaches have gained popularity within the natural resource management domain, particularly irrigation management since 1980s. Some of these methods allow the examination of values and emotions with regard to the management of natural resources and hence can supplement...

A survey of urban Australians in three local government areas, two in South Australia and one in Queensland, was conducted over the internet to determine their attitude towards using stormwater treated through Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) only and MAR with treatment plant for several...

The concept of sustainable development has emerged over the last 30 years and its development and articulation has a number of antecedents and it can be interpreted in many ways. But the idea of sustainability, as we now understand it, was articulated in the 1987 Brundtland Report as the...

As Australia enters a new era of water governance post the Water Act 2007, one question that needs an immediate answer is: "At which point or points in the Australian Government structure should urban water supply be governed?" We were interested to find out the perceptions and understandings of...

This paper reports on the intentions of urban residents in two South Australian Local Government Areas (LGAs) (council areas) to use stormwater treated through a managed aquifer recharge process for various potential non-potable uses. Data were collected through an online survey of the residents...

Freshwater and its allocation between competing users and uses has always been conflict ridden, but the intensity of these conflicts has escalated in recent history because of increased urbanization, changes in diet, increased population and several local factors (Dirksen, 2002). The escalation...

In Australia, the community is often invited to make written submissions on natural resource management issues, especially regional water plans. This is seen as a method of increasing democracy by allowing citizens to provide input to the plan. Most Australian water plans have radically...

Seawater desalination is increasingly considered as an important component of the water resources mix required to address the growing demand for water in situations where there is limited fresh water availability. Australia has made heavy investments over the past five years in desalination...

Water scarcity to a large extent is manmade and large irrigation projects are seen as a solution to the problems of water scarcity. But the solution to the problems that such scarcity generates lies in recognizing the fact that water is a common resource and can be managed sustainably, based on...