Water, Land and People - Goulburn Broken Catchment ...

• The broad implications of the scenarios are
designed to enable users to readily identify
strategies to maintain and increase the
attractiveness of the region and consider how
to build those strategies into their business
or organisation.
• The implications of the scenarios for specific
issues are tailored recommendations for
individual organisations in the region.
One example of the project findings and how they
are being adopted is:
• The region has an extensive network of
irrigation water supply infrastructure that
has the ability to deliver water to the
vast majority of properties in the region.
However, much of this infrastructure
is degrading and nearing the end of its
design life. The scenarios highlight that
water availability for irrigation may change
significantly in the future due to variability
and change in climate as well as potential
changes in water policy. Water trade may
also affect the amount of water used in the
region and its spatial distribution. Therefore,
there is great uncertainty in the size and
location of the irrigated area and amount of
water used in the future. There may even be
periods of rapid contraction and expansion
of irrigation. Thus there is a need to build
flexibility into irrigation infrastructure, so that
it is adaptable to future demands. Flexibility
may be achieved through innovative system
configurations, distribution technologies,
a mix of infrastructure ownership, and
improved management systems.
To assist G-MW to implement this
learning, the project team has initiated a
further investigation aimed at providing
a Handbook of Flexible Technologies for
Irrigation Infrastructure. This will provide
a conceptual framework for the provision
of flexibility in irrigation infrastructure, and
identifies the range of technologies available
for the provision of flexibility in irrigation
infrastructure.
Where To From Here
A key output from the project is the report
“Scenarios of the future: Irrigation in the Goulburn
Broken region”. It provides the principal regionallevel
output from the Goulburn Broken Irrigation
Futures project.
This includes background information on the
catchment, the four Scenarios, their broad
implications for the region, and strategies for the
region to protect and strengthen the features
that make it attractive for investment and living.
It is intended to be a living document which is
continually used and updated by agencies, industry
associations and enterprises within the region.
Policy Instrument Choice Framework
A Policy Instrument Choice Framework has been
developed to help policy practitioners from natural
resource organisations such as State government
and CMAs to select a package of policy instruments
that achieve outcomes effectively and efficiently.
To develop this framework we reviewed a number
of existing frameworks and funding guidelines
that policy practitioners have used when selecting
instruments. We found that these frameworks
placed an emphasis on efficiency at the expense
of flexibility. As a consequence, we concluded
that the existing frameworks were of limited
value when policy practitioners were faced with
a high level of uncertainty about the responses
of landholders and institutions to new policy
instruments. Consequently we perceived there was
a need to develop a new framework - the Policy
Instrument Choice Framework (PCF) - for choosing
policy instruments that enabled both efficiency and
flexibility to be considered.
The PCF has been trialled on case studies from the
Water $mart Farms Program as implemented in the
SIR to evaluate the usefulness of the framework.
The trial to date has shown that the PCF is valuable
in:
• Helping policy practitioners to systematically
rationalise the selection of policy
instruments by identifying and explaining
PROGRAM REPORTS
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