Water markets and trading have played a key role in allocating scarce water resources. The flexibility and autonomy offered by water trading has increased agricultural production, helped farmers and communities to survive severe drought, and provided the mechanism for recovering water for the environment. Governments still have a vital role to play in improving the...

The use of economic analysis in environmental and resource policy issues A number of current policy debates in Australia revolve around natural resource and environmental management issues. In many cases these issues have come to public attention through the efforts of special interest groups. Once such issues are accepted in the political process as requiring...

Deliberative methods provide an effective mechanism for strengthening communities through engagement in decision making. Recently, some of the worst disasters in Australia’s history have led to billions of dollars being spent to rebuild communities. The capacity for these efforts to reshape and revive communities is enormous – but what part have communities played in guiding...

This research project identified key issues affecting collaboration between science; and humanities, arts and social sciences. These concerns include resource imbalance, generalised attitudes and difficulties translating social research findings into practical knowledge. It recommends stronger collaboration right from the outset of projects to jointly define project objectives, scope and processes, rather than seeking to engage...

This report was commissioned by the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy (ACRE) to identify the financial and technical capability of the Australian geothermal energy sector and to identify potential policy mechanisms to accelerate its development.