CNAS

Australia

Matt Kendall, General Manager, Water Science Group, National Water Commission

"Drought and its role in shaping water policy in Australia"

I love a sunburnt country
A land of sweeping plains
Of ragged mountain range
Of drought and flooding rains

"My Country," by Dorothea McKellar

The classic poem about Australia was penned by Dorothea McKellar in 1904 soon after Australia’s recent birth as a nation, and in the shadows of the infamous 1895-1902 Federation Drought. A century later Australia again finds itself in the grip of a drought that is testing the resolve of Australia’s Federation in several capital cities and across the iconic Murray-Darling Basin. In both the Federation and the current 2002-2009 drought, severe water shortages have proved a catalyst for significant changes to Australia’s water sharing arrangements. The 2004 Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative (NWI), signed by the Commonwealth and all states and territories, is Australia’s national blueprint for water reform (see www.nwc.gov.au). The overall objective of the NWI is to achieve a nationally compatible market, regulatory and planning-based system for managing surface and groundwater resources for rural and urban use that optimises economic, social and environmental outcomes.

The chapter will explore the evolution of water management in Australia including the intergovernmental governance arrangements in the Murray-Darling Basin, the 1994 Council of Australian Government water reforms, the 2004 National Water Initiative and the establishment of the Commonwealth Water Act (2007), along with current progress and challenges for future water reform in Australia.

California

Wendy Martin, Executive Project Manager and Statewide Drought Coordinator, California Department of Water Resources

"California’s drought – A glimpse into the future"

From 2007 through 2009, California has experienced three consecutive drought years, with the outcome of the 2010 water year uncertain. These years also mark a period of unprecedented restrictions in State Water Project and federal Central Valley Project diversions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect listed fish species. In December 2009 the Department of Water Resources made the lowest initial State Water Project water supply allocation in the history of the project – 5%, which is a reflection of both the continuing water shortages and high levels of regulatory uncertainty. Exhausted water supply reserves, modest precipitation levels and increasing regulatory restrictions are having a significant impact on the ability to meet the state’s water supply needs. Californians are faced with an uncertain water future unless significant changes are made in how we manage and use our available water supplies. This presentation will examine large scale policy issues related to a drier future in California. It will explore water related innovation and technology being implemented in other countries that can help meet California’s water needs. Finally it will challenge us all to re-evaluate how we think about and use water as part of our everyday lives.

Mexico

Liliana Meza García, Technical Secretary of the Social Cabinet, Office of the President

“Mexican Responses to Drought: Stabilization of overused groundwater sources, support for rain fed agriculture and restoration of the main system that provides water to Mexico City Metropolitan Area.”

Policy interventions are an integral part of the Federal Government of Mexico in combating drought in various sectors. This paper will discuss three different types of public policy interventions the Mexican Federal Government is implementing in order to face drought in different regions of the country. The interventions are (1) Stabilization of overused groundwater sources, (2) Support for rain fed agriculture, and (3) Restoration of the main system that provides water to Mexico City Metropolitan Area. The chapter will describe the rationale for each intervention, how they were designed, how they are operated and how the Office of the President supervises and keeps track of the actions. The final part of the chapter will include the expected results of these policy interventions.

South Africa

Rachalet Cronjé, Director, Water Resource Management Support, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria

"Managing hydrological drought in South Africa"

Droughts will not affect water supply only, but also the demand for water which illustrates the negative economic and environmental impact of it. Regulation plays a major part in ensuring good governance and informed decision making with regard to managing of drought. The importance of adopting a proactive approach to managing hydrological drought has been realized. Planned strategies will have to advocate self-reliance in managing hydrological drought as an inherent climate risk.

Spain

Josep Puxeu Rocamora, Deputy Secretary for Rural Environment and Water

"Drought policy in Spain. Past, present, and future"

The chapter begins with a brief description of the agro-climatic characteristics of the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Spain, in terms of the climatic, edaphologic and hydrological aspects that have shaped Spanish agriculture. Concerning the irrigation policies of the past, a historical reference is made to the origins of irrigation in Mediterranean civilization, including an account of some of the milestones in irrigation policies in recent centuries.

Current irrigation policy is framed in the context of Spain’s integration in the European Union which has dictated Spanish agricultural policy making, since in the EU decisions over agricultural policy there are issues of exclusive competence of the EU, others of the national competence or shared. A broad reference is made to Spain's national policy of agricultural insurance which has evolved from previous one-off interventions in response to climatological disasters, to establish a model of agricultural insurance which now serves as a worldwide benchmark. Furthermore, an explanation is given of how competitive, sustainable agriculture operates in Spain under semi-arid conditions, with a detailed account of the current irrigation policy and the functions of irrigation within Spanish agriculture. The future is tied to climate change forecasts and the need to adapt to the encroaching frontiers of arid zones as well as increasing variability in climatological patterns. This will require the strengthening of insurance policies and intensified water conservation efforts in irrigation, which will continue to be an inevitable part of Spanish agriculture. Likewise, the adaptation of agriculture to increased aridity will bring about structural and technological efforts especially in the use of genetic materials, both animal and vegetable, adapted to the new conditions. In Europe, work is ongoing on the design of the Common Agricultural Policy, (CAP) starting in 2013 (“Horizon 2020”), which will necessarily include all these concerns. Spain takes over the turning Presidency of the European Union Council in the first half of 2010 and will be raising all these issues for reflection.