The sharing of scarce water resources |
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| Institution: | 1. Division Smart Grids, Fraunhofer-Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, 79110 Freiburg, Germany;2. Chair for Energy Economics, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany;1. School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, 4111, Australia;2. School of Social Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia;1. Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Universidad Antonio Nariño, Bogotá, Colombia;2. Corporación Autónoma Regional de Sucre (Carsucre), Sincelejo, Colombia;3. Organization for the Integral Development of Women and Childhood (Fundimur), Sincelejo, Colombia;1. Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research, School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia;2. Estuaries and Catchments Science Unit, Office of Environment and Heritage, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia;3. IMAS Fisheries and Aquaculture Centre, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia;4. Southern Seas Ecology Laboratories, School of Biological Sciences & Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia;5. School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Warrnambool, Victoria, Australia;6. Healthy Waterways, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia;7. Aquatic Health Unit, Department of Land Resource Management, Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia;8. Inland Waters and Catchment Ecology, South Australian Research and Development Institute, South Australia, Australia;9. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Townsville, Queensland, Australia;10. Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, Department of Primary Industries, Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Abstract: | Australians have long been sensitive about water problems, and water management has been a highly politicised activity. The ‘making the desert bloom’ dream affected Australia as it did the Western United States. The 1950s and 1960s witnessed an extraordinary surge of engineering activity in major water development projects that could not be justified when proper economic analyses of the costs and resultant benefits were conducted. In this paper it will be argued that the ‘engineering fix’ approach owed its existence to the unanimous, unchallenged belief in the scarcity of Australia's water resources. The evidence and rationale for this belief are examined and it is argued that water is not scarce in a physical sense. However, the collection, storage and distribution of supplies are costly and economic scarcity exists, partly a product of resource misallocation and subsidised use. |
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