Groundwater governance regimes in Australia - how to achieve multiple objectives in

complex socio ecological systems-lessons for

India and Pakistan

Professor Jennifer McKaySenior fellows program Australia Nov06-March 07

Groundwater governance in South Australia

PREPARED BY:• Writing and Summary workshop 27-30 March 2007, New Delhi

Groundwater governance in Asia in theory and practice-training and research program.

SPONSORED BY:• IWMI, Groundwater governance in Asia, CGIAR Challenge Program on Water ,Food and Environment.

Acknowledgements

• Dr Villholth, Dr B Sharma, Mark Gordiano, Dr Sabatier.• University of SA especially Adam Gray, Ganesh

Keremane and Prof Atique Islam• DLWBC John Bourne, Steve Barnett and Dr John

Radcliffe SA NWI COMMISSIONER, National Groundwater School SA

• Senior fellows Dr Dutta and Professors Sudan and Lashari.

• RV Rama Mohan and Aamir Nazear

Groundwater management

Best practice scheme has these elements• 1 conjunctive with surface water,• 2 has a licensing systems for users

through State or Crown ownership or another mechanism,

• 3 sets SAFE YIELD and regulates allocation and use

Commons poem

They hang the man and flog the woman

That steal the goose from off the common,

But let the greater villain loose

That steals the common from the goose.

English folk poem, circa 1764

Plan of this talk

1. Australian methods to achieve Best Practice model as above

details about Share of Consumptive pool allocation and use model being implemented in all States in next 3 years. Background on area conversion and volumetric approaches.

Golden opportunity for Senior fellows to monitor this roll out and the social problems. Learn form our mistakes.

Plan of this talk cont…

2. Lessons for India 3. Lessons for Pakistan4. Dr Peck and I have a proposal for a legal

aspects senior fellows program5. Support for Dr Dutta to pursue the Groundwater

data infrastructure plan6. Dr Sudan to set up NGO and7. Dr Lashari to work on volumetric conversion

Surface and groundwater irrigation

Great Artesian basin

Declarations of drought

Complex socio-ecological systems

• The issue for all water management is how to create sustainable socio- ecological systems.

• the dimensions of these systems vary in place and time as we have heard from the junior fellows and the Senior fellows from this program.

Framework

Dethridge wheels

• Equivalent of Persian wheels

Modern total channel control

• Solar powered flume gates, NSW

Modern total channel control

Water law in Australia• State has power and replaced the common law

riparian rule and groundwater ownership rule( land owner owns water and can use all he likes) with licensing system soon as agriculture provoked conflict

• Commonwealth through funding has EXERTED of influence ie CoAG in 1994 and NWI in 2004.

• NWI has 80 objectives one of these is Consumptive share approach to replace area irrigation allowances and volumetric allocation.

Land and water nexus

• OWNERSHIP OF WATER• Australia moved from riparian system to

licensing system area based to volumetric to now % of consumptive pool.

• over use and over allocation a problem especially under riparian greed but under licensing system as poor hydrological info

Land and water ownership• land and water not tied together anymore

since 1994 which has created flexibility and retirement of some land from irrigation.

• Facilitated water markets and revisions of water allocation amounts

• objective is to achieve ESD use so environmental allocations worked out first and the remaining water is the consumptive pool.

Institutions, organisations and laws

Share of consumptive pool

• New concept under NWI but foreshadowed in 1994 reforms

Share of consumptive pool

• This will reduce water use as growers will only get a % of the permissible annual volume PAV allowed from a GW or SW source. PAV set by State Governments and part of water plan.

• The amount of water is not fixed as before but will vary annually.

Ground water used instead of surface

Other aspects of NWI

• A common lexicon for water terms in the State acts.

• more data sharing and common platforms between the States.

The Labour in Carrying Water

Australia India and Pakistan GW

Australia India Pakistan

Ownership

Crown in right of State

State subject SW

Private GW

State SW

Private GW

Land nexus

Not linked

linked linked strongly

Allocation

Volumetric now% share of consumptive pool

Groundwater bill adopted in 7 States difficult implementation

Warabandi for surface only

Australia, India Pakistan GW

Australia India Pakistan

Duration

Every 5 year review

No license for GW No License for GW

Priority

Equal losses to satisfy ESD

None None

Australia, India and Pakistan GW

Australia

Rights issued by?

Crown

India

GW Act for drillers but difficulty implementing

Pakistan No License for GW but surface system managed by Provincial Irrigation Department

Australia, India Pakistan GW

Australia

Conflict resolution

Court of each State

India Water users Associations at that level.

Members of Panchyats then civil court

Pakistan Ist at Farmers organisations level then to irrigation department lastly civil court

Lessons

• Need an allocation system for water separate from land.

• Need to encourage more Group sharing of GW wells.

• Need to get the data to work out the PAV and educate growers about the need to preserve the resource ie safe yield

Lessons

• need to separate land and water but be careful to regulate water monopolists through law

• need to get the States and Provinces to have uniform laws

• need to have external dispute resolution means see Halanaik and Mckay on Meshana.

Thank you

• Thank you for the opportunity to work with the fellows and IWMI persons and Prof Peck.

• There will be long term impacts of the Program and it will be important to keep in touch Prof Sudan has a mechanism for this.

IWMI and CGIAR Summary workshop

Groundwater Governance in Asia

30 March 2007