Perth Laboratory - Public Seminar Series 2005

Underpinning Australia’s Water Reform Process with Robust Science and Information

Colin Chartres
Science Advisor, National Water Commission

Friday 2 December* at 10.00am*, CSIRO Auditorium

Abstract

In 2004, the Council of Australian Governments embarked on a vital and bold process of water reform under the National Water Initiative (NWI) to deal with increasing water scarcity and river health decline. The NWI has eight key elements with objectives, outcomes and actions in the following areas;

• water access and entitlements
• water markets and trading
• water pricing
• integrated management of water for environmental and other public benefit outcomes
• water resource accounting
• urban water reform
• knowledge and capacity building
• community partnerships and adjustment.

Full implementation of the NWI will result in a nationally-compatible system for managing surface and groundwater resources for rural and urban use based on market mechanisms, regulatory solutions and water resource planning.

Fundamental to the process are scientific data and knowledge about water quantity and quality, and riverine environmental health. This presentation details the ways that the National Water Commission is using science to inform decision making processes, to identify knowledge gaps, to assess project proposals under the Water Smart Australia and Raising National Water Standards Programmes and to evaluate and monitor change as the reform process progresses.

By 2015, Australia would like to lead the world in the careful and sustainable use of water resources. Success will depend on whether we can develop water management and use systems that are underpinned by sound scientific knowledge, regulated and managed by enlightened policies and understood by all water users.

About the Speaker

Colin Chartres is on secondment (from CSIRO Land and Water) to the National Water Commission as their Science Adviser. He has a background in soil and water science. Recently, he has completed major reviews of science in the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality/NHT and has compiled a major report for ASEAN on the State of Water Resources Management in ASEAN and a Strategic Plan of Action for Water Resources Management in ASEAN. He is a director of the eWater CRC and on the steering committee of the CGIAR Challenge Programme for Water and Food.

For further details contact Jackie Walsh (08) 9333 6380
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