Learning Repository

Valuing Water: The Australian Perspective. Cultural values of water in the Murray-Darling Basin

Publication

This is one in a series of four reports that examine how the diverse values placed on water have shaped the development and management of water resources in the Murray Darling River Basin.

The report tells a story of how Australia’s First Nations communities and their cultural values are included in the management of water in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin. It explores themes regarding the recognition or identification of First Nations water values, how these values are considered in decision making, and the protection of these values. Connection to land and waters is fundamental to the cultural values of First Nations people and there is increasing progress in recognising and involving First Nations in restoring sustainable management as Australia continues its journey of dealing with increasing water demands in a highly variable and changing climate. However, only in recent decades has there been a move towards legal and moral recognition of ownership of the lands and waters occupied by its many nations before the colonisation of Australia from 1788.

The report looks at the inclusion of First Nations values and perspectives in water management across the Basin through various statutory mechanisms, tailored engagement processes and mainstream community engagement activities. The case study concludes with some general lessons about efforts in the Murray-Darling River Basin to recognise, assess and realise Indigenous cultural values associated with water that may be useful for others.

Valuing Water: The Australian Perspective. Economic values of water under scarcity in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Publication

This is one in a series of four reports that examine how the diverse values placed on water have shaped the development and management of water resources in the Murray Darling River Basin. The report explores how changing values have affected the management of scarce water resources in the Murray-Darling River Basin.

Four main phases in water management are described, together with an exploration of how changing perceptions of value have shaped policy, objectives and outcomes over time.

This report shows how water management can be adjusted in response to changes in our understanding of value and how this understanding can lead to more transparent valuation processes. Although water policies in the Basin have supported an open and flexible economy, and resilient and adaptive businesses, significant challenges remain in the management of its environmental and cultural values.

Valuing Water: The Australian Perspective. Environmental values of water in the Murray-Darling Basin

Publication

This is one in a series of four reports that examine how the diverse values placed on water have shaped the development and management of water resources in the Murray Darling River Basin.

The report provides an overview of the Australian experience with environmental water reform and gives a detailed account of the current management regime for environmental water, showing how environmental water policy has developed in the context of the Basin’s unique set of social, economic, political, institutional and hydrological variables. Development of a policy framework that recognised the environment as a legitimate water user in the Basin has had to respond to major droughts, competing societal interests, a transboundary system (albeit within a single nation), political power contests and interests, and stakeholder groups with often divergent values.

The report provides lessons about generalisations that can be made from the successes and challenges in management of water for the environment in the Basin. These lessons are presented according to three themes: recognition and acceptance of environmental values, identification of environmental water policy options, and implementation of environmental water policy.

Valuing Water: The Australian Perspective. Lessons from the Murray-Darling Basin

Publication

This is one in a series of four reports that examine how the diverse values placed on water have shaped the development and management of water resources in the Murray Darling River Basin.

The report synthesises and elicits generalisable lessons from three case studies that tell the story of valuing water in the Basin through the primary lenses of economics, environment and Australia’s First Nations cultural values of water. The insights and generalisable lessons presented in this report are primarily intended for policy makers, practitioners, water managers, water engineers, civil society organisations and academics to inform and improve water management in other country contexts. These lessons are provided not as a roadmap for direct transfer elsewhere, but rather as framing and guidance that should be viewed through the lens of the hydrological, ecological, socioeconomic and political context of a specific basin or country.

This series of reports is the result of a collaborative effort between the World Bank and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with support from the Australian Water Partnership, to promote more equitable, transparent and effective management of water resources development. The report is also available to download from the World Bank.

WASH FINANCE: Accessing Commercial Finance for Water and Sanitation Service Providers in Kenya, Cambodia, and Senegal

Publication

This paper presents three case studies from the USAID Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Finance (WASHFIN) Program, which illustrate different approaches to leveraging commercial finance in the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector. The Program implemented activities in ten countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America since 2016 and helped raise over US$118.8 million from a mix of public and private financing sources. These three examples from Kenya, Cambodia, and Senegal are representative of the Program’s efforts to help close financing gaps utilizing both public and commercial funding sources.

WASH Innovation Hub

Technology

WASH Innovation Hub (HIH) for accelerating SDG 6.0

Wastewater Management Expert (WaMEX) Tool

Tool

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the UNESCO-IHE teamed up to develop the wastewater management expert system that will provide decision-makers and planners with a tool to carry out “what-if” scenarios to effectively evaluate technologies and sewer networks.

Water Accounting Plus (WA+)

Tool

WA+ provides independent estimates of water flows, fluxes, stocks, consumption and services supported by a multi-institutional effort from international knowledge centers (IWMI, UNESCO-IHE, FAO, and WWAP)

Water Accounting Plus: ADB irrigation case studies

Publication

IHE Delft, in partnership with International Water Management Institute (IWMI), implemented various studies under the ADB assignment “Expanding support to Water Accounting in River Basins and Water Productivity Measurements in Irrigated projects” (42384-012). The studies aim to support (a) ADB’s lending and non-lending assistance in the water sector, and (b) the design of irrigation projects at an early stage at selected candidate projects. The main focus is on making the best use of remote sensing data and information to inform decision making. The analyses contributed to various ADB funded projects in six countries (Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Philippines and Sri Lanka).

Water Insight

Technology

Towards Data-as-a-Service for water quality monitoring using Earth Observation data and optical sensors.