Integrated Water Resource Planning provides practical, evidence-based guidance on water resource planning. In a time of heightened awareness of ecosystem needs, climate change, and increasing and conflicting demands on resources, water professionals and decision-makers around the world are on a steep learning curve. This book presents an international examination of water reform experiences, and provides lessons in how to manage environmental uncertainties, long term management, and increase in demand. It breaks the process down into a series of common steps, applies program logic and evaluation theory, and discusses best practices in assessment, decision making and community engagement. Importantly it recognises the large variation in available knowledge and capacity, risk and scale, and discusses a range of approaches that can be used for different circumstances.
The book will fill in the gaps for professionals in interdisciplinary teams including sociologists, hydrologists, engineers, ecologists, and community consultation specialists, by providing a basic grounding in areas outside their usual expertise, and will provide ammunition to community stakeholders in their quest to ensure that water planning outcomes are justified and justifiable.
Case studies provide an understanding of the context, practical tools and implementation techniques for achieving sustainable outcomes, and the multi-disciplinary approach and insights offered in this book will be transposable and instructive for water professionals worldwide.
About the Author: Claudia Baldwin lectures in regional and urban planning at the University of Sunshine Coast, researching in social, institutional issues, governance and collaborative processes in water, coastal and land-use planning and management. Where possible, she uses interactive and visual research techniques. She has more than 30 years experience in policy, planning and management positions in Queensland government, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and as a consultant overseas and in Australia.
Mark Hamstead is a respected water resource policy and management specialist with 29 years experience. He provides advice and analysis to government agencies and the private sector. His areas of expertise include water policy and legislation, water planning and management, water entitlements, water trading, water accounting, water resource assessment and water usage metering and monitoring. In recent years Mark has prepared, or been a major contributor to, a range of reports for Australian water authorities including such things as water planning, water trading and managing water for environmental outcomes. Prior to becoming a consultant in 2005 Mark worked for many years in government water agencies in Australia.
