Managing Externalities: Opportunities to improve urban water use

This report identifies a range of opportunities to adopt policies that improve the efficiency of water use, reduce the extent of undesired externalities and to enhance the quality of urban environments.Australia;urban water;externalities;policy

Robust Separation:A search for a generic framework to simplify registration and trading of interests in natural resources

This report is about the search for an economically efficient and equitable system of defining, allocating, and managing use of natural resources that proves to be robust. Robust in the sense that the fundamental principles and foundations upon which it is based remains unchanged over time. We focus on the notion of “interests” in natural resources, and obligations associated with use. We search for a generic robust approach to the definition of interests, rights and use obligations that sits comfortably within an economically efficient trading system. Pricing and charging issues and the question of how to convert from existing systems to the proposed one are left for subsequent reports.audit;Australia;natural resource management

Concepts of Landscape Redesign - A Background Paper

A recent report prepared for the Australian Conservation Foundation and National Farmers Federation states that there is a need for the development of new production systems that are in tune with the needs of the natural environment. It is this need that has prompted the concept of landscape redesign, a challenge to develop profitable and environmentally sustainable land use options that help attain desired future landscapes. Natural resource managers are only starting to grapple with how Australian landscapes can be managed, or where appropriate redesigned, to achieve improved outcomes. There are many unanswered questions relating to landscape redesign. These represent the range of unknowns that need to be addressed to permit effective scientific research, policy formulation and on-ground change. These questions resurface throughout the remainder of this paper.Australia;landscape;natural resource management;agriculture

Robust Reform: Implementing robust institutional arrangements to achieve efficient water use in Australia

The focus of this report is on implementing institutional arrangements for the efficient allocation and management of water. Water is an input into human use including economic production and recreation activities that generate many externalities. It also provides many valuable ecosystem services only partially captured in the market. Institutional arrangements are required that are dynamically efficient and low cost, and robust enough to withstand the test of time. Robust administrative arrangements are characterised by the lack of a need for change.water reform;institutional;trading;Australia

An Economic Analysis and Cost Sharing Assessment for Dryland Salinity Management: A case study of the Lower Eyre Peninsula in South Australia

Report to Primary Industry and Resources SA. This report has 2 components. Firstly, it discusses issues relating to cost sharing for dryland salinity management. Secondly, it presents an economic analysis and cost sharing assessment of six dryland salinity management options for the Lower Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The report includes a benefit-cost analysis of revegetation to control salinity.Australia;dryland;salinity;economic analysis;cost sharing;revegetation

"Who Dares Wins": Opportunities to improve water trading in the south-east of South Australia

Report to the South East Catchment Water Management Board. Water policy in the South East has just completed a period of review and revision. The result has been a pro-rata rollout of most of the unallocated water in the unconfined aquifer of five Prescribed Wells Areas. With this roll-out completed further development of these water resources is heavily dependent on the development of water trading arrangements. Consistent with the terms of reference, this report seeks to: Identify the issues currently restraining water trading; Develop/identify a range of processes for the establishment of an effective water market; Identify the critical success factors for water trading; and Identify the experiences from elsewhere, which have proved to be unsuccessful or inappropriate for prudent resource management.Australia;catchment;water trading;water management

A Case-study of the Murray-Darling Basin

Consultancy report for the International Water Management Institute. This case study was commissioned by the International Water Management Institute as part of an Asian Development Bank supported regional study on water management institutions. This case study is one of three case studies of advanced river basins (Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, Omonogawa in Japan and Brantas in Indonesia), and five other river basin studies in North China, West Sumatra of Indonesia, Philippines, Nepal and Sri Lanka.Australia;river;natural resource management;Murray-Darling

Value of Returns to Land and Water and Costs of Degradation Vol 1 of 2

Volume 1 (Main Report), Consultancy report for the National Land and Water Resources Audit, Theme 6.1. This report presents new datasets developed through the National Land and Water Resources Audit that relate to economic aspects of natural resource management in Australia. There is a focus on resources used to support agriculture and resources impacted by agriculture. Consistent with protocols used by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics, the database provides a new capacity to integrate natural resource information in Australia. The datasets are primarily built for the 1996/97 financial year, the year of an agricultural census.audit;Australia;natural resource management