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Water planning and hydro-climatic change in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia.

Authors :
Grafton RQ
Pittock J
Williams J
Jiang Q
Possingham H
Quiggin J
Source :
Ambio [Ambio] 2014 Dec; Vol. 43 (8), pp. 1082-92. Date of Electronic Publication: 2014 Feb 26.
Publication Year :
2014

Abstract

More than a third of humanity lives in regions with less than 1 million liters of fresh water per person per year. Population growth will increase water demand while climate change in arid and semi-arid areas may reduce water availability. The Murray-Darling Basin in Australia is a region where water reform and planning have been used to reduce consumptive extraction to better sustain river ecosystems under climate variability. Using actual data and previously published models that account for climate variability and climate change, the trade-off between water extractions and water essential to the long-term ecological function of river systems is analysed. The findings indicate that better water planning and a more complete understanding of the effects of irrigation on regional climate evapotranspiration could: (1) increase the overall benefits of consumptive and non-consumptive water use; (2) improve riparian environments under climate variability; and (3) be achieved with only small effects on the profits and gross value of food and fiber production.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0044-7447
Volume :
43
Issue :
8
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Ambio
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
24570213
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-014-0495-x