Mosaic Map: NRM funded projects
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Water trading in North Central
Landholder Lindsay Gronow returns pasture stalks to the soil to boost carbon content
Checking the soil
Water wheel measures the flow of water entering Lindsay's property
Landholders are often uncertain and confused about water trading and water reform.
To help clarify matters, the North Central Catchment Management Authority has researched the social implications of these issues across Northern Victoria's Loddon Campaspe irrigation region.
"Water trading has been actively encouraged by governments for people to use resources in the best possible way," said Tim Shanahan from the North Central Catchment Management Authority. "But no-one had actually looked at why people were trading, and why they weren't.
"A lot of assumptions had been made, but no-one really knew. This research has been really groundbreaking."
Funding
Funding for the research project came from the Australian and State Governments.
Activities
The project involved 90 in-depth interviews with landholders, community representatives and businesses.
Researchers looked at people's beliefs about permanent water trading. This included its physical, environmental, social and economic impacts.
Responses revealed concerns about continued population loss and the introduction of 'new' farmers coming from outside the region with little farming knowledge.
Potential positive impacts of water trading included debt relief and improved property value, while negative impacts were seen as reduced productivity and lower property values.
"Our aim was to understand the underlying motivation to trade; for example, was it to relieve debt, provide financial security or the capital to leave farming," said Tim. "We also wanted to investigate the potential social impacts and identify any implications for water and land management."
Achievements
The research report provides insights into how people across the region see the impact of permanent water trading on the social fabric of their community, and on individual landholders and their families.
The study highlights the need to:
- understand the changing social profile of farmers and landholders
- understand where the farms are that are changing from irrigated to dryland farming because of permanent water trading
- disseminate information about land and property management to new landholders
- inform landholders about how salinity may be affected by changing farm irrigation
- involve landholders in any scientific research to engender trust and ownership of environmental science and
- take a new approach to informing and involving communities to ease uncertainty and lack of understanding about water reform generally.
"The findings of this study show it's always a trade-off between individual benefits and community costs," said Tim.
More information
- Tim Shanahan, Team Leader Irrigation and Water Resources, North Central Catchment Management Authority: (03) 5448 7124 or tim.shanahan@nccma.vic.gov.au
- North Central Catchment Management Authority website: www.nccma.vic.gov.au
See also
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