Water and Land Management
Dharmadeva
Water and Land Management
Water management is poised to become a politically explosive issue in many parts of the world. At the time of writing, even economically developed areas such as Australia and California are facing severe water shortages. I started writing this essay in 2007 when Australia’s worst drought in 100 years was dominating headlines around the country. My initial motivation to broach this topic was the intense and often perplexing debate about the best water policy for Australia. It quickly became apparent that water policy cannot be discussed in isolation, even though this is how politicians attempt to frame the debate. A holistic approach is required, which at the very least includes land use policy. It then became clear that water and land use policy are implemented within a social and economic framework and from a Proutist perspective, water and land use planning should be the starting point for block level planning.
Block level planning is one of the key features of Prout’s economic agenda. The block, in Prout parlance, is equivalent to a local government area (LGA). Prout broadly supports economic decentralisation and therefore promotes cooperatives (locally owned and managed businesses) and economic planning at the local (LGA) level as well as at the federal or country level.
Proutists wishing to promote a block level plan for their area will have to turn their minds to water and land use policy. But developing policy is not easy. The Australian Greens summarise their water policy in just seven points (see Appendix 3), the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists in just five points (see Appendix 4) but behind these summaries lies the deliberation of some of the best informed minds in the country. Likewise, it may be necessary for Proutists to present water policy in succinct statements, but such statements must be supported by a depth of research – sufficient to handle the controversies that will undoubtedly arise. This essay offers some general background information for a water and land use policy informed by a Proutist perspective. While the focus is on Australia, the ideas should be applicable to most parts of the world.
The politics of water is intense. Supposing a community or country could come up with a water policy that represented the best possible compromise between the desires of urban consumers, farmers, environmentalists, miners and business, the reality when it came to implementation would be something different. Water scarcity threatens livelihoods which fuels fear and greed. If you want to get some taste for the intensity and complexity of water politics in Australia, an arid country suddenly confronted with water scarcity, read Watershed, a highly readable account by Ticky Fullerton.
Developing policy is also difficult because one has simultaneously to deal with big picture thinking (ethics, culture, long term future) and technological detail. Furthermore, water policy must vary from place to place, so it is difficult to make definitive statements that suit every situation. Nevertheless it seems worthwhile to make the effort because water policy is not just about water, but about land management, resource management, agriculture and industry, all of which are located at the heart of block level planning.
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WaterAndLandManagement_v2.7.pdf