Balancing water use for food and the environment: Looking to the North based on

lessons from the South

Gary JonesChief Executive, eWater

Adjunct Professor, University of Canberra Institute of Applied Ecology

Fenner Conference 2013Population, resources & climate change: implications for Australia’s near future

Environmental impacts of agriculture

• What have we learned from >100 years of agricultural production in southern Australia?

• Have we learned enough to expand agriculture in the north without the ecological damage that occurred in the south?

• Is there a good case for northern agricultural development?

R

Australian Water Resources (2005)

Land clearing

Land clearing and poor irrigation practices

causing salinity

Erosion

Sand slugs

River mouth sedimentation and closure

Fertiliser run-off

Dams impact on

flow regime

Floodplain harvesting

Low river flows leading to toxic algal

blooms

Loss of floodplain inundation

Loss of hydrologic connectivity

Decreased flooding leading to loss of

Water Birds from floodplain wetlands

1,983 1,989 1,995 2,001 2,007Years

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

Num

ber o

f wat

erbi

rds

Fish-passage

Degraded riparian habitat

Stockimpacts

Northern Australia

Northern Australia Land & Water Task Force Final Report (2010)

Key findings• There are critical gaps in our knowledge and data sources, and in our understanding of Indigenous knowledge.• Despite high rainfall, the north is seasonally water limited.• The ability to capture and store surface water for consumptive use is constrained by climate and topography.• The development of groundwater resources provides the best prospect to support new consumptive uses of water. • There are approximately 600 gigalitres of groundwater potentially available across northern Australia that could support new consumptive uses.

Flinders-Gilbert Rivers

May 2013 - QDNRM has granted 6 water licences, including three licences in the Flinders River catchment totalling 80,000 megalitres, and three in the Gilbert River catchment totalling 14,220 megalitres.

Developing the North

• Liberal Party (June 2013) 2030 Vision for developing northern Australia

• Developing a food bowl in Northern Australia which could double Australia’s agricultural production by 2030

• CSIRO say 3-4% increase more likely• Australia already produces enough food to

feed 60 million people - we export 2/3

Food export/import

Integrated groundwater and surfacewater use

Coastal fisheries dependent on river flows

Indigenous water use and cultural values

Agricultural expansion in Northern Australia

• We have learned much from >100 years of agricultural production in southern Australia

• We probably know enough to expand agriculture in the north without the ecological damage that occurred in the south ….but there are gaps

• From a sustainable growth perspective, there appears not to be a strong case for further northern agricultural development - improving productivity in the south may be more beneficial to Australia