"Water for What?" Productive and Environmental Values for Water

Water Planning Tools researcher Carla Mooney was involved in a research project which sought to develop a better understanding of the values people hold for water and of the way they influence responses to changes in water allocations.

To do this, the project reviewed social research relating to values towards water, particularly the dynamic between environmental and productive values for water and the influence this may have on practice regarding changes to water access. The report, Water for What? Productive and Environmental Values for Water: Understanding Social Values, found that while it appears that economic value perspectives have held importance in the past for allocation decisions, there is increasing awareness about a range of other value perspectives in water resource management.

Part 1 of the report reviews literature about social values for water and provides an evaluation of institutional tools and mechanisms by which water values are negotiated in practice. A range of different tools  by which water allocations are negotiated by governments and water users were reviewed, including public (or government) allocation, market allocation and participatory planning processes. The project found that the widespread implementation of participatory processes for water planning in many countries is recognition that resolving problems of resource scarcity requires practical ways of addressing the interests and values of diverse groups. As these processes involve delegation of decision-making responsibility, they have the potential to generate a sense of ownership and commitment to the outcomes, to enhance transparency and legitimacy.

Part 2 built upon on this work and investigates how values for water were negotiated in three empirical case studies of water allocation changes in rural and regional Australia. The three case studies investigated included the Namoi groundwater allocation process (New South Wales), Lake Mokoan ‘return to wetland’ initiative (Victoria) and the Daly River water planning process (Northern Territory). Key findings from the case studies related to:

• Stakeholder and community engagement as a key part of water sharing processes
• Representing a diversity of interests and values
• Expectations about the purpose of consultation
• Capacity of stakeholders to participate
• Indigenous involvement
• Importance of communication flows
• Role of technical and scientific information
• Policy and institutional framework for adjustment assistance
• The role of senior public figures
• Social learning

Reference: Nyree Stenekes, Jacqui Russell, Claire Tucker and Carla Mooney. 2008. Water for What? Productive and Environmental Values for Water: Understanding Social Values. Canberra: Bureau of Rural Sciences.

Download the report here...