Managing Water for the Environment: Impediments and Challenges

摘要

The management of Australia's water resources has, until recently, focused upon meeting the needs of consumptive users. This focus has been driven by economic imperatives, combined with a government commitment to industrial/agricultural development and expansion. While expansionary policies have produced significant economic benefits for Australia, it has become increasingly apparent that such development has come at a price. The regulation of Australian rivers has resulted in the alteration of natural flow regimes to the extent that many ecological processes have been severely disrupted. This has not only had biological repercussions, but also produced agricultural problems such as algal blooms, salinity and rising groundwater tables.