Water: the key to sustainability in a dry land - In Search of Sustainability - page 91

being used as one mechanism to ensure the water we have is used for the best
purposes.
Development in Australia has a long history of profligate water use, par-
ticularly from irrigation of marginally fertile lands that was cleared of vege-
tation for agricultural purposes. The result has been reduction of river flows,
increased outflows of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides, increasing salinity
- particularly in lower reaches - and loss of biodiversity. Articulate interest
groups seek advantage from water, generally wanting taxpayers to pay the
bills and let the users of water avoid the true costs. This situation is continu-
ing with pressures to develop our use of recycled waters where strong social
considerations are going to impact on the decisions we make. Making
appropriate decisions to do with water will continue to be a challenge for our
society. Interest groups will contest the science that is available, especially if
they feel it disadvantages them. The tensions between upstream and down-
stream communities will continue, but considering the entire range of
options on a whole catchment basis will give us a foundation on which we
can move forward.
Further reading
Anon. (2002). Australian Catchment, River and Estuary Assessment, 2002. National Land
and Water Resources Audit. Canberra.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2004). Water Account Australia 2000-01 . Canberra.
Cullen, P. (2002). The Australian Water Experience: Some Ways Forward . Rosenberg
International Forum on Water Policy. Canberra, October 2002.
Cullen, P. (2003). Challenges to the conservation of Australian freshwater biodiversity: An
epilogue. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management 6(1): 97-101.
Cullen, P. (2003). The common good. In Uncharted Waters. (Ed. D. Connell.) Murray-
Darling Basin Commission. pp. 49-60. Canberra.
Cullen, P. (2003). Salinity. In Ecology, An Australian Perspective. (Eds P. Attiwell & B.
Wilson.) pp. 474-88. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.
Murray-Darling Basin Commission. The Living Murray.
<www.thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au>
Murray-Darling Basin Commission. The Salinity Audit of the Murray-Darling Basin - A
100 year Perspective . (1999). Murray-Darling Basin Commission. Canberra.
National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. <http://www.napswq.gov.au>.
National Water Initiative. <www.pmc.gov.au/docs/national_water_initiative>.
Norris, R. et al. (2001). Snapshot of River Health. Report to Murray-Darling Basin
Commission. CRC for Freshwater Ecology, Canberra.
Water Resources Strategy Committee for the Melbourne Area. (2002). 21st century
Melbourne: a WaterSmart City. Final report. Water Resources Strategy Committee,
Melbourne.