ISSUE: LAND AND WATER MANAGEMENT
Since Australia has been settled by Europeans, the focus has been meeting the needs of people.
The environment has often been a casualty, with land degradation and declining water quantity and quality becoming increasing issues of concern. Water is now considered to be of critical concern to the future of Australia
Dryland salinity in Western Australia
Blue Green Algae bloom in the Darling River
1. The geographical processes relevant to land and water management:
a. Australia is an ancient, fragile continent with infertile soils and low, unreliable rainfall. Yet species evolved to survive these harsh conditions eg. deep rooted native grasses adapted to drought and sclerophyll forests that could live on the phosphate poor soils. Complex ecological processes kept the biophysical environment in balance.
b. The Aborigines are believed to have occupied the continent for over 50 000 years. Whilst they may have impacted on the flora and fauna (especially the megafauna), their actions did not damage land and water resources. Their subsistent, nomadic, hunting and gathering existence was well suited to the difficult environment. When food resources diminished they simply moved elsewhere and the land was able to recover. Traditional land management by the Aborigines was ecologically sustainable.
A tribal elder from Mt Liebig in central Australia
Aborigines removing bark from a mangrove to make a shield
This canoe tree in the Backwater area of the Northern Tablelands of NSW shows the scar left when bark was removed in order to make a canoe.
Photo taken about 1984
River fish traps like these near Brewarrina, New South Wales, were built using a complex network of rock walls designed to channel fish of varying sizes into specific catchment areas.
http://dl.filmaust.com.au/module/19/
Acacia needles plunged into a wart
This traditional management involved an intimate knowledge of the biophysical environment and when resources started to become in short supply, the Aborigines simply moved on. This gave the fragile land a chance to recover and the biophysical environment was kept in balance.
c. European settlers arrived over 200 years ago and introduced inappropriate farming practices because they did not understand the difficult environment:
· They cleared trees in the name of progress and replaced the deep-rooted native grasses with shallow rooted pastures and crops that failed in the drought. The bare, unprotected land surfaces suffered sheet, rill and gully erosion in the infrequent, but heavy storm events. This resulted in land degradation: a decline in the quality of the land.
Trees have long been regarded as an obstacle to progress as pastures and crops cannot grow as well under them.
Unprotected surfaces attacked by active gullying rendering the land unproductive
· An even greater problem emerged with the slow, but insidious rise of the water table. The loss of native vegetation that kept water table in balance, meant that rising water table resulted in dryland salinity. Salt encrusted land surfaces lost their agricultural productivity because the toxicity of salt within the root zone of plant (see diagram).
· Water quality was also affected by salt as the over-application of irrigation water resulted in irrigation salinity (see diagram)
The first signs of dryland salinity are bare patches on the ground because plants are poisoned by the salt. Stock may even begin to lick the ground and boggy areas appear.
Worst case scenario ….a salt encrusted surface with dead trees and withered plants.
· Water is becomingly an increasingly critical resource in Australia. Regulating rivers by constructing dams, weirs, levee banks and floodgates have all interfered with surface water discharge and changed river flow. Building water storages for irrigation, power generation, urban water supplies, flood mitigation and recreation has placed considerable demands on our water.
Increasing demand for water coupled with the worsening drought has made water management one of the most urgent issues threatening Australia.
2. The perceptions of different groups:
a. Traditional land management by the Aborigines did change the environment (through the burning of the vegetation and hunting the megafauna) but their nomadic existence was ecologically sustainable in the harsh environment.
The Aborigines had a spiritual connection with the land. They were grateful for what they were able to take and treated the land with great respect. They protected ‘story places,’ prime habitat for breeding and people were forbidden to enter. Through their totem practices, each individual was responsible for the welfare of their chosen animal. Their sophisticated management of the harsh environment was so effective because their link with the land was central to their culture.
b. Contemporary management by Europeans created problems. For too long, land and water resources have been taken for granted. The economic benefits derived from exploitation has supported a rising standard of living in Australia. The land has supported food and fibre crops, animal products and water has been utilised for agriculture, industry and urban settlements.
Similarly waterways have been used as a means of disposing of wastes (eg. sewage discharge). There is clear evidence of the decline of water quality with blue green algae blooms in rivers and lakes and increased levels of salt and sediment loads. With dam levels falling across the country, concerns have been expressed that some communities may well run out of water in a future where drought prevails and water consumption remains high.
· Conservationists are those who management to maintain the quality of land and water resources through its controlled use following an environmental ethic. With the ‘silent flood’ or salinity threatening Australia’s productive capacity and water scarcity at a critical level, many people have been galvanised into action. The spectre of global warming has raised public awareness even more with extreme weather events likely as climate belts may shift.
3. Individual, group and government responses:
a. Individuals: individuals can alter their own practices and join community group with others who are like- minded.
Land resources: farmers can implement a number of measures to reduce land degradation:
· Planting trees: 20% of the land surface should be kept under tree cover to retain the water balance and guard against salinity (a recommendation from the, NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources).
· Construction of conservation earthworks such as contour banks and grassed waterways.
· Conservation farming methods such as strip farming and direct drilling of seeds with no-till farming.
Strips farming following the contour to combat water erosion on a slope.
Water resources:
· Reducing water consumption by installing water tanks, half flush toilets and changing showerheads to water efficient models.
· Reducing pollution by switching to low phosphate household products and washing the car on the lawn.
b. Groups: Australia leads the world in community-based groups to remedy the environmental problems associated with land and water resources. Ordinary Australians are contributing to conserving and protecting their environment. It is important to realise that each of us contribute to the problems, however indirectly. These groups demonstrate how each of us can become involved in addressing the problems. It is our land, our water, our future and the future of our children and grandchildren.
Landcare:
Greening Australia:
Bushcare:
c. Governments:
Total Catchment Management :
· The concept of TCM was introduced into NSW in 1984 as a State Policy to coordinate natural resource management using whole catchments as the basis for planning and management.
· The initial legislation (law) defined TCM as “the coordinated and sustainable use of land, water, vegetation and other natural resources on a catchment basis so as to balance resource utilisation and conservation”.
· TCM involves getting all stakeholders (farmers, community groups, local councils and other government departments) working together to tackle problems associated with land and water resources.
Task: With the aid of a diagram explain why TCM would be necessary to combat salinity effectively.
The National Dryland Salinity Program (2005): was a national forum provided by the Federal Government Department Land and Water Australia. It provided a national forum for exchange of knowledge, building links and providing government, communities and individuals with the information and technology required to manage dryland salinity in Australia.
Bottom of Form
The National Dryland Salinity Program (NDSP) 1993 - 2005NDSP was Australia's lead research and development program investigating dryland salinity causes, impacts and management options between
The forum published a Managing Dryland Salinity in Australia resource kit providing advice/tools/solutions to land and water managers
Recent Developments in managing the Murray Darling Basin
4. Decision-making processes involved in management:
· In developing an understanding of geographical processes involved in land and water management we are better able to develop strategies and allow humans to make use of these resources and at the same time minimise their impact on the environment.
· The management strategies we need to adopt must be compatible with sustainable development.
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present generation without affecting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Model of sustainable and unsustainable approaches to the use of land and water resources
Take into account the short-term and long-term impacts:
Apply the Precautionary Principle:
Consider the global dimension:
Promote community involvement:
5. Implications for social justice and equity:
To be truly sustainable land and water management must deliver…
Principles of Intrageneration equity…..
and Intergeneration Equity …….