Can a collaborative focus on solutions improve our capacity to achieve sustainable water management?
Ben Gawne A B D , Lin Crase B and Alistair S. Watson C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Murray–Darling Freshwater Research Centre, PO Box 991, Wodonga, Vic. 3689, Australia.
B LaTrobe University, Wodonga, Vic. 3689, Australia.
C Freelance economist, Melbourne.
D Corresponding author. Email: B.Gawne@latrobe.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 61(7) 814-820 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09075
Submitted: 3 April 2009 Accepted: 9 June 2010 Published: 23 July 2010
Abstract
Despite the influence of freshwater ecology on investment and management worldwide, many aquatic ecosystems remain severely degraded. By using the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia, as an example, we examined the relationship between freshwater ecological research and interventions implemented to achieve management objectives. We explored four related issues about why freshwater ecologists are rarely satisfied with management solutions and why some adopted remedies have not achieved sustainable management outcomes. We argue that, as a discipline, freshwater ecology does not focus enough on the development of solutions. Many proposed solutions create problems elsewhere and implementation of these solutions can prove unduly problematic. Although there is no simple panacea, changes to the training and career structure of freshwater ecologists could increase researchers’ focus on solutions and enhance their capacity for cross-disciplinary collaboration, especially with social scientists. Such cross-disciplinary outputs are more likely to be palatable because of their system focus. Professor Peter Cullen advocated the importance of undertaking collaborative research to generate predictive capacity. We extend that call by advocating greater cross-disciplinary collaboration and the need for research to focus on the development of solutions rather than problem delineation.
Additional keywords: cross-disciplinary, environmental flows, policy, research training, restoration.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Darren Baldwin for his valuable input to both the genesis and production of the manuscript. The authors also thank two anonymous referees and Darren Ryder and Andrew Boulton for helpful reviews of the manuscript. We also acknowledge the support of the guest editor, Moya Tomlinson.
References
Benda, L. , Poff, N. , Tague, C. , Palmer, M. , and Pizzuto, J. , et al. (2002). How to avoid train wrecks when using science in environmental problem solving. BioScience 52, 1127–1136.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brisbane Declaration (2009). ‘The Brisbane Declaration on Environmental Flows.’ WaterPlanning.org, Brisbane, Qld. Available at http://waterplanning.org.au/related-research/the-brisbane-declaration-on-environmental-flows [verified May 2010].
Connell D. (2007). ‘Water Politics in the Murray–Darling Basin.’ (The Federation Press: Sydney.)
Crase L., and Dollery B. (2009). The institutional setting. In ‘Water Policy in Australia: The Impact of Change and Uncertainty’. (Ed. L. Crase.) pp. 74–89. (Resources for the Future: Washington, DC.)
Crase, L. , and O’Keefe, S. (2009). The paradox of national water savings: a critique of ‘water for the future’. Agenda 16, 45–60.
CSIRO (2008). Water availability in the Murray–Darling Basin. A report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Sustainable Yields Project. CSIRO, Canberra.
Cullen, P. (1990). The turbulent boundary between water science and water management. Freshwater Biology 24, 201–209.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Cullen P. (2006). Science and politics – speaking truth to power. Plenary address. In address to the annual conference of the North American Benthological Society. Anchorage, Alaska.
Cullen P., Andrews K., Cottingham P., Doolan J., Edgar B., et al. (2001). Knowledge seeking strategies of natural resource professionals. Land and Water Australia, Canberra.
Cumming G. S., Cumming D., and Redman C. L. (2006). Scale mismatches in social-ecological systems: causes, consequences, and solutions. Ecology and Society 11, 14. Available online at http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art14/
Davies P., Harris J., Hillman T. J., and Walker K. F. (2008). SRA report 1: a report on the ecological health of rivers in the Murray–Darling Basin, 2004–2007. Prepared by the Independent Sustainable Rivers Audit Group for the Murray–Darling Basin Commission. Murray–Darling Basin Commission, Canberra.
Davies, P. E. , Harris, J. H. , Hillman, T. J. , and Walker, K. F. (2010). The Sustainable Rivers Audit: assessing river ecosystem health in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 764–777.
DECC (2008). ‘NSW Ahead of the Pack on Environmental Water with $34 Million Purchase.’ NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change, Sydney. Available at http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/media/DecMedia08111408.htm [verified May 2010].
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (2009). ‘Water Policy and Programs.’ Commonwealth Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts, Canberra. Available at http://www.environment.gov.au/water/policy-programs/srwui/index.html [verified March 2010].
Fausch, K. , Torgersen, C. , Baxter, C. , and Li, H. (2002). Landscapes to riverscapes: bridging the gap between research and conservation of stream fishes. BioScience 52, 483–498.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Funtowicz S., and Ravetz J. (1991). A new scientific methodology for global environmental issues. In ‘Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability’. (Ed. R. Costanza.) pp. 137–152. (Columbia University Press: New York.)
Hillman, T. J. , Crase, L. , Furze, B. , Ananda, J. , and Maybery, D. (2005). Multidisciplinary approaches to natural resource management. Hydrobiologia 552, 99–108.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
MacMynowski D. (2007). Pausing at the brink of interdisciplinarity: power and knowledge at the meeting of social and biophysical science. Ecology and Society 12, online. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss1/art20/
Mahon, R. , McConney, P. , and Roy, R. N. (2008). Governing fisheries as complex adaptive systems. Marine Policy 32, 104–112.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Marglin S. (2008). ‘The Dismal Science: How Thinking Like an Economist Undermines Community.’ (Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.)
Marsh, S. , and Pannell, D. (2000). Agricultural extension policy in Australia: the good, the bad and the misguided. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 44, 605–627.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
MDBA (2008). ‘About Basin.’ Murray–Darling Basin Authority, Canberra. Available at http://www.mdba.gov.au/water/about_basin [verified 15 May 2010].
MDBC (2008). ‘The Living Murray.’ Murray–Darling Basin Commission, Canberra. Available at http://www.thelivingmurray.mdbc.gov.au/ [verified 15 May 2010].
Molden, D. , and Sakthivadivel, R. (1999). Water accounting to assess use and productivity of water. Water Resources Development 15, 55–71.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Molle F., and Turral H. (2004). Demand management in a basin perspective: is the potential for water saving overestimated? In ‘International Water Demand Management Conference’. Dead Sea, Jordan. (International Water Management Institute.) Available at http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Assessment/FILES/pdf/publications/ConferencePapers/Demand%20management%20in%20a%20basin%20perspective(1).pdf [verified 15 May 2010].
Morse W., Nielsen-Pincus M., Force J., and Wulfhorst J. (2007). Bridges and barriers to developing and conducting interdisciplinary graduate-student team research. Ecology and Society 12, 8, online. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss2/art8/
Mullen, J. (1996). Why economists and scientists find cooperation costly. Review of Marketing and Agricultural Economics 64, 216–224.
Musgrave W. (2008). Historical development of water resources in Australia: irrigation policy in the Murray–Darling Basin. In ‘Water Policy in Australia’. (Ed. L. Crase.) pp. 28–43. (Resources For the Future Press: Washington, DC.)
Nilsson C., and Renöfält B. M. (2008). Linking flow regime and water quality in rivers: a challenge to adaptive catchment management. Ecology and Society 13, 18. Available online at http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol13/iss2/art18/
Nilsson C., Jansson R., Malmqvist B., and Naiman R. J. (2007). Restoring riverine landscapes: the challenge of identifying priorities, reference states, and techniques. Ecology and Society 12, online. Available online at http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss1/art16/
Ostrom, E. (2009). A general framework for analyzing sustainability of social-ecological systems. Science 325, 419–422.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
CAS |
PubMed |
Pielke R. (2007). ‘The Honest Broker: Making Sense of Science in Policy and Politics.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK.)
Popper K. R. (1968). ‘The Logic of Scientific Discovery.’ (Hutchinson: London.)
Rogers, K. (2006). The real river management challenge: integrating scientists, stakeholders and service agencies. River Research and Applications 22, 269–280.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Roux D. J., Rogers K. H., Biggs H. C., Ashton P. J., and Sergeant A. (2006). Bridging the science–management divide: moving from unidirectional knowledge transfer to knowledge interfacing and sharing. Ecology and Society 11, 4, online. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art4/
Ryder, D. S. , Tomlinson, M. , Gawne, B. , and Likens, G. E. (2010). Defining and using ‘best available science’: a policy conundrum for the management of aquatic ecosystems. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 821–828.
Seckler D., Molden D., and Sakthivadivel R. (2003). The concept of efficiency in water-resources management and policy. In ‘Water Productivity in Agriculture: Limits and Opportunities for Improvement’. (Eds J. Kijne, R. Barker and D. Molden.) pp. 37–51. (CABI Publishing: Wallingford, UK.)
Sheldrick J. (2005). Goyder’s Line: the unreliable history of the line of reliable rainfall. In ‘A Change in Weather: Climate and Culture in Australia’. (Eds T. Sherratt, T. Griffiths and L. Robin.) pp. 56–65. (National Museum of Australia Press: Canberra.)
Webb, J. A. , Stewardson, M. J. , Chee, Y. E. , Schreiber, E. S. G. , and Sharpe, A. K. , et al. (2010). Negotiating the turbulent boundary: the challenges of building a science–management collaboration for landscape-scale monitoring of environmental flows. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 798–807.
Yencken D., and Wilkinson D. (2000). ‘Resetting the Compass: Australia’s Journey Towards Sustainability.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)
