Integrated Drought Management in Australia, by Dr Dasarath Jayasuriya

transcript

Integrated Drought Management in Australia

Dr Dasarath (Jaya) Jayasuriya

Assistant Director Water Forecasting Services

Bureau of Meteorology

Climate Change, Food and Water Security workshop

February 24 and 25, IWMI Sri Lanka

Presentation outline

• Recent history

• Approach to managing droughts

• Our contribution to the global initiatives

• How can we collaborate?

• Avoid information paralysis (more a plea)

Australian Temperatures

• All of Australia has experienced warming over the past 50 years

• Some areas, have experienced a warming of 1.5 to 2 C

Australian Rainfall

• Substantial increases in many parts of northern and central Australia

• Substantial decreases across much of southern and eastern Australia

Flash flooding in Brisbane, February 2010

Normanton to Karumba Road cut, February 2010

Flood warnings issued

Watches

Warnings

Current drought service: rainfall maps

• maps of 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36 months and wet season for „drought‟, deciles, percentages etc

Gibbs and Maher 1967 Rainfall Deciles as drought indicators

Dam storages - Perth

• Perth storages (SW Australia)

– Now only 27% full compared to 44% this time last year

• Steady decline since October 2010

Australian drought policy: objectives

• To encourage primary producers and other sections to adopt self-reliant approaches to managing risk

• To limit damage to agricultural, water and environmental resource base during drought

• To ensure early recovery consistent with long-term sustainability

• Proactive sharing of climate risk „.. Strategies to manager, or address, the effects of climate change‟ , (after Water Act 2007)

• The environmentally sustainable of take „.. the amount which, if exceeded, would compromise key environmental values or the productive base of the water resource‟ , (after Water Act 2007)

Australian drought policy: Applications

• Government support through „Safety Net‟ and „Exceptional Circumstances‟

• The event must be “rare” (one in 20-25 years), and “severe” (lasting more than 12 months, and significant in spatial scale)

• Sustainable diversion limits: provides inter-annual variability in water availability

• Greater focus on dry years and „critical humane needs‟

– Enduring ecosystem functionality

– Increase administrative certainty

– Perfect water share

• New Murray Darling Basin Plan 2010-2011

• Greater efficiency on consumptive water use, restrictions

Urban sector initiatives

• Investment in infrastructure

• Increasing connectivity

• Increasing recycling (sewage and stormwater)

• Water conservation (education and regulation)

• Improved planning (Sustainable Water Strategy Framework)

• Pricing reform (Independent regulator)

Rural agricultural sector

• Clear water rights and entitlements

• Tradeable water entitlement regime

• Water market (water move)

• Investment in refurbishing aging infrastructure

• Monitoring and recording water use/take

Good Governance

• COAG Water Reform

• National Water Commission (NWC)

• Productivity Commission

• Victorian „Water Trust‟ type entities providing incentives

• Independent pricing regulators

How can we collaborate and what can we offer?

• Science and emerging services

• Links to Pacific initiatives, sharing information and products

• WIRADA outcomes (plug and play type tools)

• Global initiatives (Integrated Drought Management Framework, WMO)

For the next session (4.30 to 6.30) Can we identify and harvest the low hanging fruit? Specific example next

Seasonal Streamflow Forecast Service Website

AND ITS FREE………….

All cartoons: acknowledgement to Queensland Dept of Primary Industries and Fisheries and the Emerging Technology Company

Thanks for listening

Visit www.bom.gov.au/water

Dr Dasarath Jayasuriya

d.jayasuriya@bom.gov.au

+61 3 86388251