Sustainable Water Use in Australia - Assignment Example

SUSTAINABLE WATER USE IN AUSTRALIA by Sustainable Water Use in Australia Introduction Australia has been experiencing a water scarcity problem for many decades. Sustainable use of the scarce water is seen as the most viable solution to curb this challenge, which has suppressed the Australia’s economy. In the context of ecology, sustainability can be defined as the process of meeting the current environmental needs without compromising the future generation’s water-related needs. Major challenges to sustainable water use are brought about by factors such as population growth, climate change and environmental degradation, among others. Sustainable use of water resources enables maintenance of national prosperity, growing productivity and enhancing the quality of life. Solutions to challenges revolve around reducing demand and increasing the supply of water. However, it is evident that the political climate created by various institutions in Australia inhibits sustainable usage of water and realisation of opportunities associated with efficient use of water. Challenges to Sustainable Water Use in Australia The South Western parts of Australia are the driest parts, which experience varying climatic conditions. In addition to the global climatic change, variability in rainfall in these regions poses a significant challenge towards achieving sustainability in the usage of water. The irrigation methods used by farmers consume a lot of water resulting in water deficits in towns. Due to the increased demand for Australia’s food exports, farmers tend to exploit the water resources to the fullest. Therefore, the fact that some parts of the continent have inadequate water resources makes it hard for the entire continent to achieve sustainability in water usage. In the attempts to ensure adequacy of water in all areas, some politicians in Australia have hindered the achievement of water use sustainability. The political climate, in this case, is created and facilitated by the actors (politicians) who want to protect their interests and stay in power (Filho 2012, p. 243). Another significant challenge to the sustainable use of water is population growth. Most people living in rural areas, as well as urban centres, use water for domestic and industrial purposes. Thus, the increase in population raises the demand for water from the scarce water resources such as rivers and lakes. Population growth is usually associated with environmental pollution and degradation. An increase in the number of people in a certain area without an equal increase in water provision results to over-exploitation of water resources (Thangavel and Sridevi 2014, p. 323). Due to scarcity of water resources in most parts of the country, most people have settled around the available water resources, for example, the Murray-Darling Basin. This brings forth the idea of political influences in water sustainability. The recent changes of 2007, which involved improving the rivers surrounding the basin, have received criticisms from the political arena (Richter 2014, p. 343). The changes brought about by MDB Authority can be explained using the Luke’s dimensions of power. The authority’s goal was to conserve the rivers leading the basin in the western part of the country. The goal was to eliminate the human water consumption as the first purpose of the basin, but, the second one. In this sense, the authority used the second face of power by setting the agenda of what to be done without consulting the community and other stakeholders. Some politicians claim that the changes will compromise with people’s life due to limited access to water, and this illustrates how environmental politics is influencing the issue of water sustainability in Australia. The institutional arrangements of Australia have posed a significant challenge in meeting the objectives of sustainable development, particularly concerning water usage. With the increased global warming effects, the Australian governments have formulated many environmental policies to curb this challenge for the past decades. However, Australian citizens have continued to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere despite the Australia having Green Political parties. It has been argued that the federal system in Australia is dominated by political parties, which pose a significant challenge in achieving a national policy consensus in sustaining the ecological systems. In addition, the role of stakeholders in the federal system has contributed to degradation of the environment. The stakeholders such as political parties, government and the citizens tend to perceive environmental issues based on political lines. As a result, it becomes hard for the environment-related policies to be implemented in most parts of the continent (Prosser 2011, p. 190). Opportunities for Sustainable Use of Water Sustainable use of water means that the continent must embark on improving the irrigation methods, recycling of water, desalination and water harvesting. As a result, there will be technological innovations in terms of equipment and scientific development. The creation of new technologies in food production and recycling of water will create job opportunities and improve Australian citizens’ quality of life. Although the sustainable use of water would need wide community acceptance, it will open up job opportunities and increase food security, as well. There have been issues surrounding the Murray-Darling Basin concerning human water consumption in the few years (Pigram 2007, p. 111). In 2007, the Murray-Darling Basin Authority was established to rehabilitate the tributaries of River Murray and their adjacent wetlands. The political criticisms that these rehabilitations are not necessary have hindered the realisation of opportunities such as the use of water-efficient irrigation methods. Water use efficiency and productivity gains can be achieved when water is used sustainably. As a result, farmers can learn how to increase food production even when there is a scarce provision of water. In addition, people can on better ways of recycling water without consuming a lot of energy, for example, using solar energy. In this way, Australia can continue exporting food to the overseas markets and opening up export opportunities. However, productivity gains cannot be realised if the political systems in Australia do no reach to a national policy consensus concerning environmental issues (Maheshwari 2014, p. 122). The conflicts concerning the exit fees usually imposed by irrigation companies and the effects of trading on health among regional communities illustrates how political conflicts are embedded in the process of sustainability of water usage. The ongoing disagreements in the political arena have failed to address these issues accordingly leading to low productivity especially in the irrigation schemes. Sustainable use of water will open up the opportunity to maintain national prosperity and enhance the living standards of the Australian citizens. Sustainable use of water would mean that there is an adequate supply of water to urban centres and industries, now and in the future. Additionally, there will be a fair distribution of water in the regional communities, which reduces conflicts. It has been argued that sustainable use of water is an integral process of achieving sustainable development. Therefore, Australian citizens may achieve a balance between, social, environmental and economic factors if they use the scarce water efficiently (Keremane, McKay and Wu 2012, p. 63). With such a balance, the continent can further promote new technological innovations, the growth of new industries and enhance the quality of life. However, the federal system of Australia seems to have hindered sustainable development in that they have not solved water-related conflicts accordingly. For example, over pricing and costing of water have not been addressed because most urban residents face these exploitation charges on water services (Rizwan, Denis and Liu 2008, p. 123). Solutions for Sustainable Use of Water The solutions being put in place to curb the water shortage problem in Australia revolves around reducing demand and increasing the supply of water. Due to population growth, it means that the demand for fresh water has increased in most parts of the continent. It has been argued that conservation water usage is the most efficient way of alleviating demand on fresh water. There should be installations of efficient equipment such as taps and piping systems that minimize loss of water. In Australia, today, most people are migrating from the rural to urban areas (Hussey and Dovers 2007, p. 367). The Australian government have identified this as a significant challenge towards achieving sustainable usage of water. However, the unsolved conflicts surrounding water usage in Australia have hindered the conservation of water significantly. For example, there have been ‘water wars’ in the past few decades. The political parties tend to take sides and never resolve the water-related issues. Desalination is a method, which involves extracting fresh water from the seas, oceans and rivers. Due to the increased need of water supplies in urban centres, desalination has been found to be the most efficient solution to water shortages. In towns such as Canberra and Sydney, water is used for domestic and industrial activities. Increasing water supplies to these centres would alleviate the acute water shortage, but, will bring about certain environmental impacts. It is important to note that desalination plants have been previously used in power generating factories and mining (Hurlimann and McKay 2006, p. 170). The move to set up large scale desalination to support small urban environments will increase water supply to the urban people. However, desalination has raised a lot of environmental issues where the plants are feared to increase greenhouse gases emissions. The concerns can be linked to the first face of Luke’s dimensions of power where the government, in this case, presents an issue to the citizens and other stakeholders and wins the argument. The argument is based on the premise that desalination will increase water shortages in urban towns. The tensions and political conflicts surrounding this issue have hindered the increase in water supply, which affects sustainable usage of water among the citizens. Conclusion The political climate created by certain institutions has posed a challenge in achieving sustainable use of water in Australia. Additionally, the political systems have hindered the realisation of opportunities brought about by efficient use of the scarce water. The Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) is a good example of a project that illustrates how politics has impacted environmental issues. The Murray-Darling Basin Authority was formed in 2007 to rehabilitate the rivers, which has been overexploited through irrigation. Some political parties in Australia criticized the project claiming that it compromised with human water consumption. Therefore, it seems that when policies and strategies are formulated to curb the water shortage problem in Australia, there are certain institutional frameworks, which hinder the implementation process. With the inabilities to reach a national policy crisis, it has been argued that the federal system of Australia has not resolved water-related conflicts such as high pricing and costing. As a result, the political system has hindered the entire process of achieving sustainability in water usage. Word Count: 1746 References List Filho L W 2012, Climate change and the sustainable use of water resources, Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Hurlimann A C and McKay J 2006, What attributes of recycled water make it fit for residential purposes? The Mawson lakes Experience, Desalination 187 (3), 167-177. Hussey K & Dovers S 2007, Managing water for Australia: the social and institutional challenges, Collingwood, Vic, CSIRO Pub. Keremane G B McKay J and Wu Z 2012, Sustainable water planning in Australia: a survey of attitudes of our sustainability water policy entrepreneurs, Water: Journal of the Australian Water association 39 (5), 62-65. Maheshwari B 2014, The security of water, food, energy and liveability of cities: challenges and opportunities for peri-urban futures, Sydney, Springer. Pigram J J J 2007, Australias water resources: from use to management, Collingwood, Vic, CSIRO Pub. Prosser I P 2011, Water: science and solutions for Australia, Collingwood, Vic, CSIRO Publishing. Richter B D 2014, Chasing water: a guide for moving from scarcity to sustainability, New Delhi, Springer. Rizwan A M, Denis Y C L and Liu C 2008, A review on the generation, determination and mitigation of urban heat island, Journal of Environmental Studies 20(2) 120-128. Thangavel P & Sridevi G 2014, Environmental sustainability: role of green technologies, New Delhi, Springer. Read More