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ABSTRACTThe Murray–Darling Basin Plan, a major initiative to return water from irrigators to the environment, has been lauded as world-class water reform. The enabling legislation for the Basin Plan, the Water Act, gains its constitutional legitimacy from international treaties such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This Act mandated that water be returned from consumptive uses to the environment. An allocation of 2,750 GL/yr was set but has been reduced by the ‘Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism’ (SDLAM), intended to achieve equivalent environmental benefits with less water. We present a synthesis of changes in decision contexts that have led to water reforms being ‘watered down’. We analysed the policy discourse of water reform to assess whether SDLAM projects will achieve outcomes congruent with Australia’s international treaty obligations. We found little or no alignment between the purpose of the SDLAM projects and the principles of the treaties and the Water Act. As water scarcity increases under climate change, attempting to conserve wetlands (including rivers) with less water while maintaining or increasing irrigation diversions is likely to prove maladaptive. A major reframing of environmental water policy and management is required to enable meaningful and effective adaptation to climate change.

ABSTRACTRisks to shared water resources in the Murray–Darling Basin are reviewed after the report by CSIRO on the same topic in 2006. CSIRO outlined six major risks to shared water resources in the Basin. Herein, six groups of researchers have reviewed the risks of climate change, forest growth, groundwater, water infrastructure, water quality, and governance. These reviews bring an updated understanding of risk assessment and management that can contribute to the forthcoming reviews of the Water Actand Basin Plan in 2024–26. Drawing on these six papers, the authors synthesise knowledge of the risks to shared water resources and identify policy and management options and information gaps. We find that few risk factors have decreased in significance. Most risks remain and new risks are identified. Water managers must plan for a significant decrease in water availability and governments need to actively manage these risks under conditions of increasing uncertainty.

ABSTRACTThis paper explores how the state-led ‘freshening the coastal zones’ policy has been implemented in pursuit of sustainable development in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Drawing on a case study of the Ba Lai irrigation scheme in a coastal district of Ben Tre Province, the paper argues that the state’s ideology of ‘freshwater over saltwater’ results in contested land-use policies that, in turn, drive forced transformation of resource-based livelihoods. By unraveling the political ecology of these social-political dynamics, the study shows how contemporary land-use approaches have modified coastalscapes, evidenced by the continued expansion of freshwater-based agricultural systems. These agriculture-favored development policies have negatively affected agrarian communities’ options to sustain their traditional livelihoods (e.g. shrimp farming), which otherwise help yield higher incomes. This paper raises doubts about the ‘freshening coastal zones’ policy in addressing saltwater intrusion at the delta scale, while recognizing the equal role of saltwater in supporting coastal livelihoods.

ABSTRACTWorldwide, floodplains have been alienated from river channels for flood protection and water resource development, but several recent programs have restored connectivity, generating considerable ecological and , socio-economic benefits. In Australia, under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, water purchased from irrigators is used to restore wetlands. Maximising ecological benefits with limited water requires constraints relaxation, whereby high flow volumes for ecologically effective floods are released from headwater dams and allowed to flood public and private land en routeto wetlands downstream, requiring infrastructure works and rights to inundate private land. We examined five focal areas in the Basin Constraints Management Strategy to determine ecosystem services benefits generated by floods on land between dams and target wetlands We found multiple examples where significant co-benefits could be realised but had not been identified. Accordingly, the assessment of costs and benefits was primarily focussed on costs. We categorised ecosystem services for each focal area as of low, medium or high importance andassigned monetary values where possible. Regulating and cultural services, rather than provisioning services, ranked highest across all focus areas, including groundwater recharge, regulation of riparian habitat quality, aesthetic appreciation, recreation and tourism, Indigenous and community values. The business cases seek to maximise costs and thus the transfer of public funds in compensation to landholders. However, there are important public policy considerations of equity, accountability and transparency, including proof of damage prior to compensation, as well as offsetting losses against ecosystem services benefits. We consider that an ecosystem services approach could greatly improve acceptance of constraints relaxation amongst landholders and the development of novel policy options and instruments that can help advance the implementation of the Basin Plan.

The social-ecological systems of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) are under stress driven by accelerating impacts of climate change, upstream hydropower development, and local flood management policies. These combined complexities have prompted the rural societies to make significant efforts to adapt to changing conditions. While local adaptation represents diverse patterns of communication and interactions across the social sectors, far less attention has been given to how these learning processes occur in the rural communities of practice. This paper attempts to delineate the learning dynamics in which farming households are key practitioners. The mixed methods approach that guides data collection includes focus group discussions, in-depth interviews with key informants and household surveys. The analysis suggests that social learning plays a significant role in facilitating the adoption and dissemination of experiential and experimental knowledge across geographical boundaries. This study highlights important aspects of households' social learning system characterized by informal networks with various forms of bonding and bridging relationships. These learning patterns suggest that informal communication is a dominant learning approach in the rural delta. This study contributes to advancing the theoretical and empirical knowledge of social learning and its policy implications for rural development in the VMD.

ABSTRACTNarratives emerging from the interaction between science and policy set the common language for understanding complex environmental issues. We explore discourses of contestation over a major environmental policy, the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, intended to re-allocate irrigation water to restore the environment in south-eastern Australia. We examine three areas of scientific knowledge and decision-making at the science-policy interface: (1) water accounting and availability; (2) perspectives on ecological change and (3) issues of trust and the management of environmental water. Engagement and communication between scientists, bureaucrats and the public forms the basis for understanding contestation: over different sets of values, expectations of what scientists can deliver, perceptions of risk and uncertainty, interpretation of conflicting messages and economic development versus conservation. The Basin Plan was shaped by institutional processes not designed to account for such differences and has inadvertently promoted contestation through exclusion of world views that do not fit those of the decision makers. We consider how the Basin Plan can be re-framed by changing the values, rules and knowledge that set the decision context. These changes enable the Basin Plan to be re-conceptualised from a problem to be solved to an idea that can mobilise imaginative engagement by agents with diverse perspectives.

Rice intensification programs target poverty reduction and improved food availability in Asia. Vietnam adopted a rice intensification policy aimed at a rice surplus for export by the 1990s. The intensification policy replaced an annual wet season crop with two to three High Yielding Variety (HYV) rice crops a year. These multiple annual crops required changes in hydraulic systems in areas such as the Mekong Delta (MD) with the introduction of low and high dikes for wet season flood control and dry season irrigation. This study examines the impacts of rice intensification and hydraulic changes in the MD between the 1990s and 2000s on rural household food sources, both wild and cultivated. Across study sites representing three flood management regimes, 165 households were sampled for data on household demographics, the collection and consumption of fish, other aquatic animals, wild and cultivated vegetables and fruit, and other food sources. The results indicate that rice intensification programs and dike construction have significantly increased rice production. However, farm household catch, collection and consumption of wild foods has decreased. Household use of wild fish, other aquatic animals, and wild vegetables was reduced significantly over the period. Significant wet and dry season variation in food availability emerged. Poor households experienced most loss. Overall household food security was affected. This study suggests that rice intensification policies aimed at global food security need to balance wider population access to a food staple with the need for rice farming communities to maintain access to high quality wild foods obtained from the fields and waterways of rice farming landscapes.

•Water resilient food systems will be critical for meeting future food demands under changing climates.•Six foundational elements of good governance are proposed that could reduce future water insecurity in food systems.•Greater understanding of the role of working with nature will be central to achieving water resilient food systems.•Incentives, innovations in institutions, and technology will be critical to address trade-offs, make difficult decisions and make sound investments.

This article revisits four Australian framework policies with implications for ecologically sustainable development to consider lessons for climate change adaptation. The competition, disaster resilience, sustainable development and water policies examined underline the difficulty in developing and implementing effective policy frameworks. We find that to succeed, a national policy in this federation needs: a coalition of stakeholders advocating for their implementation; medium to long-term bipartisan support; a focus on a perceived urgent national issue; significant socio-economic benefits; a focus on a limited number of core principles and systemic legislative reform with incremental implementation over many years; the allocation by the federal government of substantial funds for state implementation; requirements to report to the Council of Australian Governments; and support from central government agencies rather than marginalisation in the environment portfolio. These qualities are not inherent in the 1992 National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development and this explains why it is now moribund. These findings suggest that it will be particularly hard to develop and difficult to implement an effective national climate change adaptation policy.

The article examines the new efforts to manage freshwater use in a more sustainable manner in 2014. According to the author, about 72 percent of global groundwater abstraction takes place in only 10 countries, which include India, China, the U.S. and Pakistan. The author adds that the United Nations (UN) has recognised that more sustainably managed groundwater resources can significantly contribute to meet future water demand.

The threats of climate change and the trade-offs between extractions and flows are examined for the Colorado, the Murray, the Orange and the Yellow Rivers. In all four basins, and over a long period of time, outflows have greatly reduced as a direct result of increased water extractions. Although climate change will aggravate hydrological impacts on river systems, currently high levels of water extractions remain the principal contributor to reduced system flows. Changes in governance, including sharing the variability between the environment and consumers, are urgently required if the health of these rivers is to be maintained.

Avoiding dangerous climate change, conserving biodiversity, and sustaining water resources are three of the greatest environmental challenges facing humanity: their expression and management are inextricably linked. National governments have adopted multilateral environmental agreements to respond to these issues by providing mandates for action, setting higher environmental standards, mobilizing resources, and sharing knowledge. This article examines whether three relevant, global conventions—the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands—are being implemented as effectively and efficiently as possible by managing conflicts and enhancing positive synergies among them through integrative mechanisms. Systematic analysis of the conventions identifies many conflicts between measures adopted under the UNFCCC and the two biodiversity-related conventions, as well as unrealized positive synergies. Detailed assessment of integrative mechanisms reveals isolated examples of good practice. More commonly, integrative measures were not being used, particularly by the UNFCCC. After more than a decade of attempts to expand interconvention collaboration and harmonization, I conclude that voluntary efforts need to be replaced by financial incentives or governance reforms if perverse impacts are to be avoided and these agreements are to be better implemented.

AbstractFreshwater biodiversity is in significant decline and existing conservation strategies have not stemmed the loss to date. The damage is due to growing threats from traditional pressures and now the direct impacts of climate change, as well as from human responses to climate change. A suite of tools is required to address these threats, and one of these -- protected areas -- has been underutilized and poorly applied to freshwater conservation. We outline how the effectiveness of investments in maintaining and improving the resilience of freshwater systems within protected area systems for conserving freshwater biodiversity can be enhanced. Measures for better protected area network design and management, and for restoration of connectivity required to build resilience are summarized. Strategies for aiding societal adaptation to climate change through protected area establishment in a river basin context are also proposed. We conclude with a call to ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation policies better integrate conservation objectives to avoid more serious impacts on freshwater biodiversity.

The article discusses importance of managing groundwater recharge and saving water for future usage. Topics discussed include recovery of evaporative losses from brine management systems, views of Dr Robert Maliva, principal hyrdologist at Schlumberger Water Services USA on the same and aquifers as potable water resources for urban areas.

The article discusses justifiable rules and regulations for water ethics and justice including advices for water management, applications offered and its importance. Topics discussed include avoiding of water conflicts on river Nile basin, water governance and distribution agreements and pragmatic approach for analyzing water distributions.

The article discusses the role of water accounting in the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals. Topics discussed include the definition of water accounting in the United Nations' international System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, the importance of water accounting at Murray-Darling Basin Authority according to its director Russell James and four key challenges faced in establishing the practice.

The article discusses the water management situation in Africa and possible solutions to resolve the challenges facing water supply and resource management in Africa. Topics covered include the impact of climate change on the water supply in Africa according to Cap-Net global Director Dr. Temba Gumbo, the best use of water to gain socio-economic benefits according to WaterNet Network Manager Dr. Jean-Marie Kileshye Onema and the important role of African water managers.

The article discusses the potential contribution of computer models and how those who are new to modelling can best start to make use of them. It states the seven principles for sustaining water supplies which include investing in water conservation, allocating a specific volume to each user then monitor and enforce, and building a shared vision. It adds that computer models helps water managers find ways to govern and manage water by teaching efficiency, productivity, and adequacy.

The article discusses the management of the cross-sectoral links between the demand for and supply of water, food and energy and their effects on the environment. Topics discussed include the maintenance of food, energy and water security without damaging the environment, sustainable development in developing countries, and the involvement of all relevant government agencies in the planning of infrastructure projects for the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainability. INSETS: The value of networking;Nexus Dialogue to conclude with symposium.

The article discusses environmental concerns associated with the degradation of estuaries around the world. Topics explored include the classification of estuaries according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the significant role of estuaries in establishing connection between the ecosystem and biodiversity, and various factors that contribute to estuary degradation including freshwater inflow reduction, eutrophication and overfishing.

The article presents an interview with Jakob Lundberg, Jan Lundqvist and Junguo Liu, researchers of a study which suggests that water demand can be met by changing consumer behavior and limiting food waste. Lundberg addresses the question on how much adequate food for sustainable diets can be made available and accessed by the poor. They talk about the current strategies employed in securing food. Lundqvist speaks on a governance system needed for food and nutritional security.

The article presents an interview with Jeremy Bird, director-general of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). He addresses the intractable problem of over exploitation of groundwater in agriculture and how to promote sustainable agriculture. Bird suggests ways on how the challenges in the food for water gap may be met. He explains the role that water managers can play in implementing solutions.

Deep water floating rice (DW-FR) production has declined substantially across Asia, despite being a source of nutritious, culturally-important and flood-adapted food. Low perceived commercial value, and the desire for increased rice exports, has led to intensified farming of high yielding variety (HYV) rice. We used a commodity-value-chain analysis to investigate the values of DW-FR in Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. Poor communication and value-transference along the supply chain lead to farmers receiving poor returns for DW-FR despite its high ecological, cultural and commercial value in downstream markets. With minor adjustments, DW-FR systems could provide more sustainable livelihoods for farmers and greater food system security. For better returns we suggest implementation of improvements to breeding, farming, transport, processing, better access to finance, improved communication and development of other rice products.

The article discusses four scientific papers focusing on the impact of global warming on flood risk published as of August 2013. A study by University of Tokyo scientist Yukiko Hirabayashi and colleagues used 11 climate models to assess global flood risk for the end of the current century. Australia's National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility has commissioned an Australian National University (ANU) team to review lessons from the floods in Queensland and Victoria in 2010-2011.

The article focuses on the controversy over competing visions for hydropower projects on the Mekong River. The Xayaburi hydropower project is said to be the first dam on the Mekong mainstream. Michael Simon of the Mekong Water Governance Program emphasizes that better management is needed to ensure that natural resource-dependent livelihoods are managed in a way that gives food and economic security. The impact of dams on fish is also discussed.

The article explores the energy-water nexus in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to 21,135 billion cubic metres of renewable freshwater or about 38% of the water resources of the world. According to Green Growth, demand for water in the region is expected to increase in the coming years and that the rapid rate of economic development could also bring great demand for energy. ESCAP's Salmah Zakaria says governments should be in charge of national socioeconomic planning.

The article ponders on the impact of ecosystem services on the sustainability of water ecosystems and resources. It states that the conservation of natural resources and ecosystems may be interpreted as a balance between environment quality maintenance and the socio-economic needs of people. It also presents the views of Australian National University professor Steve Cork on the concept of ecosystem services.

The article explores plans by African governments to expand the area of irrigation by 6% annually at an estimated yearly cost of 42 billion U.S. dollars. Some of the national plans on irrigated agriculture are allegedly ambitious, and international donors willing to give for the establishment or refurbishment of irrigation schemes. The Great Ruaha and Mara rivers in East Africa reportedly illustrate the challenges ahead and potential solutions.

The article discusses the developments in the river management efforts in China. It cites the warning issued by Chinese Vice Minister of Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing in June 2012 that the country's rivers, lakes and seas are already heavily polluted. It presents the "River Health and Environmental Flow in China Project," which is a partnership between the International WaterCentre in Australia, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) and the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

The article looks at the implications of the growth of unconventional gas production for the conservation of water resources. Unconventional gas production is defined as the new techniques for extracting natural gas from coal seams, shale and tight sands. It discusses the World Energy Outlook report on unconventional gas entitled "Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas," released by the International Energy Agency (IAE) in 2012.

The article discusses various reports on the state of water resources all over the world. It is noted that the Millenium Development Goal for drinking water has been achieved, improving drinking water sources of over two billion people. The "Global Water Security" report from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence noted that countries essential to national security will be affected by water problems, such as shortage, poor quality and floods.

The article focuses on the water-food nexus and offers advice from four experts on management of the links between water management and food security. The management of the nexus among food, water and other key sectors is reportedly the fundamental issue of water management. It is about collaboration, data sharing and proactive decision making that is not made in a vacuum. To move forward, several suggestions are offered, including identifying forces driving the adoption of nexus thinking.

In the article, the author discusses the innovative BioFresh project that is being implemented in Europe that aims to develop the tools required for better freshwater biodiversity conservation. He also cites the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) that was established by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for biodiversity conservation. The BioFresh project is led by professor Klement Tockner.

The article discusses the highlights of the scientific workshop at the Australian National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) in Queensland on June 23, 2011. Topics include the impact of climate change on riparian ecosystems, the ecological options for such ecosystems and how climate change adaptation strategies can capitalize on the role of riparian ecosystems. The event featured scientists including Samantha Capon of NCCARF and University of Washington professor Bob Naiman.

The article discusses the highlights of the Managing water-related energy use in cities workshop held in California in April 2011. Speakers emphasized how the interrelationship among water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions affect urban water management. The event also highlighted urban water management in California.