Risks, Uncertainty and Climate Confusion in the Murray–Darling Basin Reforms

2016 ◽  
Vol 03 (03) ◽  
pp. 1650038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Alexandra
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Cultural Construction ◽  
Policy Integration ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Murray Darling Basin ◽  
Financial Consequences ◽  
Key Dimensions

Risks and uncertainties arising from climate change are increasingly recognized as significant challenges for water governance. To support adaptive approaches, critical examinations of water policy practices and rationalities are needed. This paper focuses on the treatment of climate change in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) reforms over the past decade. While the MDB faces potentially significant drying trends due to climate change no reductions in future water availability due to climate change were formalized in the 2012 Basin Plan — a regulatory instrument agreed to by Australia’s National Parliament. The background, key dimensions and possible reasons for this decision are examined. Possible reasons for not formally reducing water deemed available in the future include the complexity and uncertainty of climate science, the cultural construction of “climate normal” based on long-term averages, and institutional settings that reinforce dominant “hydro-logical” approaches and rationalities. Minimizing the political, legal and financial consequences of attributing reductions in water allocations to climate change are also potential reasons. The case of the MDB, as outlined in this paper, demonstrates some of the ways climate change is causing systemic challenges for adaptive water governance, and that innovative approaches need to be embraced, including better processes for institutionalizing science/policy integration.

Water Governance and Management in Indus Basin - Challenges & Threats

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marium Sara Minhas Bandeali
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Water Policy ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Sustainable Use ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
The State ◽  
Indus Basin

Water governance and management are important challenges for the River Indus Basin in Pakistan. Water governance refers to social, political and economic factors that influence water management. The water scarcity and water security are a major concern for the state to control its water resources. The study aims to give Sindh water policy by exploring the challenges to Indus Basin in managing water resources and to identify opportunities Indus Basin can look to improve water management. Interviews were conducted from water experts and analysts having 5 years’ experience or more in the water sector of Pakistan through a semi-structured self-developed questionnaire using purposive sampling technique and transcripts were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that increasing population, climatic change and rising demand of water are major challenges Indus is facing and Indus with time is getting water-scarce therefore need strong institutions, civil society and legislatures to ensure equitable distribution of water and maintain the ecosystem. The study emphasizes that water governance and management are necessary for sustainable use of water. Pakistan, the water stress country needs to address ‘governance’ at a wider scale to solve problems in the Indus Basin for the livelihood of people. The research will benefit the state, water experts, institutions as well as civil society to promote efficient use of water in Indus Basin.

Science communication and mediatised environmental conflict: A cautionary tale

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252098513
Author(s):  
Claire Konkes ◽  
Kerrie Foxwell-Norton
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
James Cook ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
Tenured Position

When Australian physicist, Peter Ridd, lost his tenured position with James Cook University, he was called a ‘whistleblower’, ‘contrarian academic’ and ‘hero of climate science denial’. In this article, we examine the events surrounding his dismissal to better understand the role of science communication in organised climate change scepticism. We discuss the sophistry of his complaint to locate where and through what processes science communication becomes political communication. We argue that the prominence of scientists and scientific knowledge in debates about climate change locates science, as a social sphere or fifth pillar in Hutchins and Lester’s theory of mediatised environmental conflict. In doing so, we provide a model to better understand how science communication can be deployed during politicised debates.

scholarly journals Estimating economic damage from climate change in the United States

Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 356 (6345) ◽  
pp. 1362-1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Hsiang ◽  
Robert Kopp ◽  
Amir Jina ◽  
James Rising ◽  
Michael Delgado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
United States ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Global Mean Temperature ◽  
Flexible Architecture ◽  
Econometric Analyses ◽  
Business As Usual

Estimates of climate change damage are central to the design of climate policies. Here, we develop a flexible architecture for computing damages that integrates climate science, econometric analyses, and process models. We use this approach to construct spatially explicit, probabilistic, and empirically derived estimates of economic damage in the United States from climate change. The combined value of market and nonmarket damage across analyzed sectors—agriculture, crime, coastal storms, energy, human mortality, and labor—increases quadratically in global mean temperature, costing roughly 1.2% of gross domestic product per +1°C on average. Importantly, risk is distributed unequally across locations, generating a large transfer of value northward and westward that increases economic inequality. By the late 21st century, the poorest third of counties are projected to experience damages between 2 and 20% of county income (90% chance) under business-as-usual emissions (Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5).

Integrated watershed management in Quebec (Canada): a participatory approach centred on local solidarity

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 301-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Baril ◽  
Y. Maranda ◽  
J. Baudrand
Keyword(s):  
Water Policy ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
Master Plan ◽  
Integrated Water Management ◽  
The Government ◽  
Development Perspective ◽  
Initial Process

The Quebec Water Policy was launched in November 2002 in support of reform of the water governance. One of the government commitments is to gradually implement watershed-based management for 33 major watercourses located primarily in the St. Lawrence plain. At the local and regional levels, watershed organizations are responsible for implementing integrated management, from a sustainable-development perspective, by preparing a master plan for water (MPW), which will include watercourses, lakes, wetlands and aquifers. These watershed organizations rely on public consultation, as well as local and regional expertise, on the responsibilities for water of the municipalities and regional county municipalities of the territory, as well as those of the ministries and other government agencies. They are also required to observe national priorities regarding protection, restoration, and development of water resources and to comply with relevant guidelines, directives, standards, regulations, and legislation. The role of watershed organizations is to act as planning and consultation tables. Government representatives are present, on the initial process, as the facilitator and for scientific and technical support. They do not have, at this moment, any voting or decisional rights. After two years, integrated water management mobilized water stakeholders on watersheds and they are on their way to initiating their first MPW.

Understanding and developing communities of practice through diagramming

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Blackmore ◽  
Natalie Foster ◽  
Kevin Collins ◽  
Ray Ison
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Learning ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Water Governance ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Developing Communities

This chapter draws on the authors' experiences over many years of research into social learning systems. The authors particularly focus on their work on communities of practice as social learning systems and reflect on their experiences of using diagramming to map and share understandings and develop knowledge, in the context of water governance and climate change. They build on a range of systemic and participatory traditions to design their research processes. Some of the authors have also taught these techniques and have developed an understanding of how skills in diagramming can be developed both for exploration and for communication. The authors therefore reflect on the effectiveness of diagramming processes for different purposes, reviewing a range of the techniques' strengths and limitations from their use in different contexts.

scholarly journals Alan Betts: Green Energy Times, 2018

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Betts
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Collective Decision ◽  
The Public ◽  
Systems Perspective ◽  
Climate Change Denial ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Future

This is a collection of my 2018 articles in the Green Energy Times (http://www.greenenergytimes.org/ ).This series started in 2016. Many of these articles have been edited or updated from articles I wrote forthe Rutland Herald, sometimes with different titles and pictures.They blend science and opinion with a systems perspective, and encourage the reader to explorealternative and hopeful paths for their families and society. They are written so that a scientist willperceive them as accurate (although simplified); while the public can relate their tangible experience ofweather and climate to the much less tangible issues of climate change, energy policy and strategies forliving sustainably with the earth system.The politically motivated attacks on climate science by the current president have sharpened my politicalcommentary this year; since climate change denial may bring immense suffering to our children and lifeon Earth.I believe that earth scientists have a responsibility to communicate clearly and directly to the public1 –aswe all share responsibility for the future of the Earth. We must deepen our collective understanding, sowe can make a collective decision to build a resilient future.

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