Multi-governance Hydrological Systems

Transcription

1 Daniel Connell ( ) Multi-governance Hydrological Systems

2 Comparative governance project Project focus is on hydrological systems in federal political systems - Murray-Darling, Colorado, Guadiana, Orange, Namada and Yellow rivers Federal hydro systems are often similar to international hydro systems in outcomes re environment and security of supply The potential for reform is greater but it is usually not realised in practice WHY?

3 A useful comparative approach? Why do we want to compare? The deceptive attraction of templates Need to audit not just for the pre-requisites for success but also for the behaviours that lead to success (and then investigate what will promote those behaviours) Dynamic characteristics auditing Auditing as an educational process (importance of the journey)

4 Dynamic Characteristics Auditing Focuses on the capacity to:- Manage across borders Respond expeditiously to crisis Base policy on good science Consult effectively with the wider community Negotiate between competing issues Achieve compliance Adapt to novel and emerging issues

5 Why Drought? Drought is a force for truth that strips away the rhetoric re water management Pressure from drought reveals systemic strengths and weaknesses that are hidden in easy times Established patterns re drought management will shape climate change management (for better or worse)

6 Water management credit card Shared by many antagonistic users Cardholders report only some purchases not required to report others No full statements re accumulating debt No credit limit short of bankruptcy (The tragedy of the commons)

7 USA (lower Colorado) South-west USA based on cheap power and limitless water Litigious tradition in the lower basin (doctrine of prior appropriation) Division of water based on an overestimate Region seriously threatened by climate change Role of govts contested especially Federal (But fear of courts/govts encourages negotiation)

8 Spain (European Union) Subject to EU s Water Framework Directive Long tradition of water management and strong govt control Irrigators but not other users enmeshed in water administration Public excluded but aroused (300,000+ demonstration re Ebro transfer) WFD is exerting compliance pressure. (Is using public participation as a major lever for reform)

9 South Africa Central govt dominates but strong catchment organisations are the aim 1998 Water Act has strong IWRM and social justice themes but difficult to implement Concept of the Reserve is central in principle Serious capacity issues

10 Australia (MDB) Govts have central role (contrast Colorado) Now in major reform turmoil driven by National Water Initiative (in response to crisis) NWI vision Halt decline and then trade to max benefits In practice - like Spain - irrigators have kept a dominant position re policy and management

11 Water policy participants Commonwealth - State governments (and local Govts) Irrigation, industry, urban centres - consumers International organizations (Ramsar, treaties, Agenda 21 etc) Public media newspapers, television, radio etc Education systems Regional CMAs and water management agencies (GMW, MI, CIT) Universities, CSIRO, R & D corporations, Wentworth Group etc Consultants in various manifestations (corporate memory) Agribusinesses, AFF, VFF, Banks, Woolworths, Coles etc Indigenous and Environment groups The courts The public at many levels - powerful but intermittent

12 19 th -20 th Centuries (The reality that reform must work with) Aim was creation of communities and expansion (not restraint) Ministerial discretion and control by State agencies Creative responses to variability (in conflict with demands for certainty) Ground and surface water managed separately Compliance not an issue (apart from droughts) Many differences between regions even though they were administered by centralized agencies Poor documentation of the great variety of management systems-entitlements (tradable products not an aim)

13 Forces for change MDB over allocated ( + CLIMATE CHANGE) only greater efficiency will allow continued economic growth Management systems unable to halt environmental decline and erosion of resource security Pressure to maximize autonomy of producers and minimize bureaucratic discretionary decision making Recognition of many additional stakeholders Demands that more costs of the supply system should be passed on to producers Stalled implementation of MDB Cap indicated systemic failure

14 The agenda - the promise The previous century-old administrative system was based on a close identification of interests between State govts and irrigation communities which was supported by the wider public (ministerial discretion was central) National Water Initiative 2004 aim was to set up a rights and responsibilities system able to manage a wide range of competing interests after environmental sustainability is achieved (Govts attempting to switch from coach to umpire)

15 National Water Initiative Competing demands to be managed through water plans Systems approach is fundamental (coordinated ground (coordinated ground - surface water management is essential to the degree they are connected) Defining balance production-sustainability is key Political process to first determine acceptable level of modification then use science to work out how much water is needed to maintain environmental sustainability-stability stability at that level remainder is available for production. NWI does not privilege environment. Requirements for stability prioritized only after level of modification agreed

16 Water plans - core of the NWI Must include pathways to achieve environmentally sustainable levels of extractions and provide for:- adaptive management of surface and groundwater with connectivity recognised where significant secure water entitlements and statutory protection for environmental allocations Indigenous concerns removal of barriers to trade public water accounting clear assignment of risk for future changes emerging issues etc (NWI 23, 25, Sched E)

17 NWI Implementation after 6 years No government has yet implemented whole-of-system water planning based on the goal of environmental sustainability. In practice water management post-nwi has continued on pre-nwi assumptions albeit with a greater emphasis than in the past on the promotion of water trading in some circumstances and on projects designed to mitigate the worst effects of the ongoing decline in environmental conditions and resource security. Despite agreement to the NWI by all govts the need to halt decline has not been accepted in practice. (Is society ready for it?)

18 Water Act 2007/8 Nat Govt displaced the states re high level planning. A catchment-wide Basin Plan to achieve sustainability to be prepared for the first time. (by MBDA in consultation with states) States to implement 10 year sub-plans (consistent with Basin Plan). States can critique but no longer have final say or veto. Compliance to be driven by the need of the states for Nat Govt funds (but this is a rather weak threat!) Auditing by national agencies (ACCC, NWC, BOM)

19 Key points A Droughts reveals strengths and weaknesses in institutional systems which are often hidden when water is not in short supply The established practices that different countries use to manage droughts will shape the way in which they manage climate change Intergovernmental relations are a key point of risk for water management systems We need a system of dynamic characteristics accounting that will highlight governance strengths and weaknesses and the transaction costs of deals done

20 Key points B The existence of a strong legal framework with significant penalties can be a powerful inducement for stakeholders to negotiate to avoid the courts Cultural values are a major factor defining what is possible and what is not The EU s Water Framework Directive assigns a primary role to public participation and cultural change to drive fundamental reform

21 Key points C South Africa shows that social justice issues have the capacity to overwhelm other priorities if not dealt with effectively (note Lake Victoria in Australia and Namada River in India) Australia is struggling to implement its water reform program because it is not understood or supported by the public. (Importance of culture change - public participation underestimated)