Freshwater Related Environmental Management Principles and Guidelines: Principles and Guidelines Distilled from the Reports of the High Level Steering Group on Water - An Issues Paper for Consideration by ANZECC
Environment Australia, 2000
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About the paper
This paper sets out principles and guidelines derived from a number of sources including the following Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC)/Agriculture and Resource Management Council of Australia and New Zealand (ARMCANZ) High Level Steering Group on Water Reports:
- Consistent National Approach for Water Trading (Marsden Jacob Associates)
- Draft Revised Principles for the Provision of Water for Ecosystems (National Working Group on Water for the Environment)
- Managing Groundwater Over-allocation (Sinclair Knight Merz)
- Groundwater Trading (Sinclair Knight Merz)
- Groundwater Quality Protection (Sinclair Knight Merz)
- Draft guidelines for managing Externalities - restoring the balance (CSIRO Land and Water)
In addition, the following two Environment Australia reports commissioned under the National River Health Program were also drawn upon:
- Environmental Water Requirements of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (Sinclair Knight Merz)
- Environmental Water Requirements for Wetlands (Murdoch University)
The principles and guidelines outlined in this paper are not a comprehensive re-iteration of those recommended by the above reports, but a sub-set of principles of particular environmental relevance for the following 4 priority areas:
- Water allocation;
- Water trading;
- Groundwater management; and
- Environmental externalities.
The evolving nature of the Natural Resource Management (NRM) policy context (eg the recent Council of Australian Governments (COAG) commitment to a National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality) provides an opportunity for a re-commitment to the recognition of the environment as a legitimate user of water as agreed within the 1994 COAG Water Reform Framework, and for progression of the debate in areas of evolving priority such as water trading and groundwater management.
The principles identified in this paper should assist jurisdictions in meeting the COAG Water Reform Framework obligations as well as setting the scene for the post-COAG Water Reform Framework agenda.
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