105
Technical Features
Content
Official documents
I
Submissions
II
Participants at Water Allocation Plan public consultation
Analysis
Face-to-face Interview Taskf orece Members
III
Ref erence Group Members
Figure 2. Research design.
BOX 1. MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE PRE-2008 PERIOD. 2004
Review and amendment of the 2001 WAPs commenced. Development of a proposal statement (Concept Statement under the NRM Act 2004).
2005
Concept statement was adopted by the Minister. A1 statutory community consultation.
2006
Development of draft forest water policy by SENRMB.
2007
A2 non-statutory consultation.
The research includes three phases, as shown in Figure 2, with content analysis being an ongoing exercise. This paper is based on the data collected during the first phase, which includes selection and review of official documents.
(local level development); 2008–2012 (policy development transition from local to state level); and 2012-present (back to local level development).
INCORPORATING FORESTRY AS A WATER AFFECTING ACTIVITY – THE LLCWAP DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
During this period the focus was mostly at the local level and the major achievements during this period are presented in Box 1.
The development process of LLCWAP is an important part of the forestry water policy transition in South Australia, which started in 2004 with the review and amendment of the 2001 WAPs and has run for almost eight years. A timeline of the development of the LLCWAP is presented in Figure 3. The entire development process is divided into three periods for ease of understanding. The periods are: pre-2008
PRE-2008 (LOCAL LEVEL DEVELOPMENT)
The review and amendment of the 2001 WAPs commenced in 2004. Managing the impact of afforestation was first proposed in a Concept Statement in 2004. A draft forest water policy was developed by the South East Natural Resources Management Board (SENRMB) in 2006: at first it considered regulating the runoff recharge from plantation forestry, but it later included the impact of forestry interception on the shallow aquifer as well, because irrigation in the area mainly
depended on groundwater resources. During this period, a reference group was formed and two community consultations were organised by the SENRMB in order to obtain the views of the community and industry (South East Natural Resources Management Board, 2012). The draft forestry water policy generated intense debate and the science behind this policy was constantly challenged by the forestry industry. Meanwhile, when licensing became the preferred mechanism for forestry water management in the consultation process, there was no legislation to enable SENRMB to license forestry. Therefore, the need for legislative change and strong opposition from the forestry industry caused a deadlock in policy development at the local level. As a result, the development process was transferred to the State level. 2008–2012 (POLICY DEVELOPMENT TRANSITION FROM LOCAL TO STATE LEVEL)
The policy process at the State level made great progress. Box 2 presents the major achievements. To deal with the complex situation the Water Resources and Forests Interdepartmental Committee (IDC) was formed in 2008. The committee comprised representatives from the relevant government agencies but did not include a representative from the SENRMB. The legislative change and an independent science review were two main tasks of the IDC. In 2009, a state-wide policy framework for managing the water resource impacts of plantation forests was released and proposed to “establish a forest water licensing scheme similar to other licensed water users” (Government of South Australia, 2009), and the Natural Resources Management (Commercial Forestry)
BOX 2. MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS DURING THE 2008–2012 PERIOD. Forming of the Water Resources and Forests Interdepartmental Committee (IDC).
2009
State-wide policy framework for managing the water resource impacts of plantation forests. Science review organised by IDC; The Natural Resources Management (Commercial Forests) Amendment Bill – first introduction
2010
Forming of the Lower Limestone Coast Taskforce and a Reference Group to the Taskforce Science Review organised by the Taskforce. Release of the Draft Lower Limestone Coast Water Allocation Plan Policy Issues Discussion Paper. Revised draft Natural Resources (Commercial Forests) Amendment Bill was introduced.
2011
Public consultation on the Discussion paper. The Natural Resources Management (Commercial Forests) Amendment Bill was passed.
2012
Release of Policy Principles.
WATER JUNE 2013
JUNE 2013 WATER
WATER RESOURCE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT
2008