Adelaide Now has an article on the sorry state of the Murray-Darling basin -
Food bowl on brink of $5bn catastrophe.
THE nation's key food bowl, the Murray Darling Basin, is on the verge of economic collapse as the value of production plunges by at least $5 billion, experts say.
Drought and declining irrigation water have plunged inland Australia's heartland into crisis with the loss of at least one third of the basin's $15 billion annual income. Worse is predicted for the coming financial year if the drought continues.
The demise of the economic powerhouse has pushed towns throughout the basin, particularly along the River Murray, into a severe downturn and population decline.
An ABS report last week showed the population throughout the basin is declining, or static at best, with the District Council of Berri and Barmera suffering the largest and fastest recent drop in SA with 130 people moving out between 2007 and 2008.
Authorities warn the problem has become the biggest crisis Australian agriculture has experienced, threatening the nation's food supply.
Murray Darling Association general manager Ray Najar said the basin's plight will worsen substantially next financial year if the long-running drought continues and there is no water available for irrigation.
Mr Najar said the $5 billion loss of production is very conservative and the actual loss may be nearer to $7 billion.
Triage is the word openly used now.
ReplyDeleteIn my old blog (not updated for a while) I commented that that was the way things were heading. And now it has come to pass.
Australia may only have a population of ~20 Million, but we used to grow enough food for at least twice that.
Those days are passed now...
Triage makes life difficult and easy.
Difficult in that our choices are diminishing.
Easy in that the decisions themselves become easier/"clearer".
What do you choose - save a wetland "for some water birds" or kill the wetland for the irrigation district?
Birds don't vote.
Rational idnut.
I've simplified but you get the picture.
Well - I get the picture but it doesn't seem too many decision makers do.
ReplyDeleteExcellent and obvious comment. In fact it's the same comment that came out of a Murray Futures stakeholder management workshop I ran the other day. Who is the custodian of the wetlands?
ReplyDeleteHowever, there have been decisions made and we are trying to change it. http://www.murrayfutures.sa.gov.au/riverine.php
Thanks for that link Mark - its good to see there seems to be some progress being attempted.
ReplyDelete