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Archive for January 20th, 2014
Murray-Darling water sell-off scheme announced
Posted by Guardian: Oliver Milman on January 20th, 2014
Guardian: The government is to sell off water allocations to farmers who operate alongside the Murray-Darling river system for the first time since a deal that aims to end two decades of arguments on how to manage the resource.
The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder, which manages the government's water licences, said up to 10 gigalitres of water allocation would be available for sale in the Gwydir valley, a region of New South Wales which forms part of the Murray-Darling basin.
The government owns...
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United Kingdom: Round one went to the anti-frackers. But now round two begins
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2014
Telegraph: Countryside campaigners are to try to bridge the ever-growing gap between fracking firms and protestors by providing neutral forums to debate the issues involved in exploiting shale gas and oil. The Council for the Protection of Rural England, which has been careful not to come out against the industry, says it will take the initiative so long as it can find a prominent partner, like the Royal Society, and so long as it is not financed, even partially, by the oil and gas industry.
The move comes...
Trading away sustainable water is a blow to rural Australia
Posted by Guardian: Lee Rhiannon on January 20th, 2014
Guardian: Water trading cannot deal with the enormity of the problems confronting the Murray-Darling Basin. The current heatwave moving across inland Australia, the severe impacts of climate change and the years of over allocation of water for unsustainable agricultural practices add up to a massive burden that needs a planned sustainable response, not a market trading policy, which is why the Coalition's planned water sell off for the Murray-Darling Basin is a blow to rural Australia. This move will mean...
Australia: Murray-Darling basin water sell-back plan welcomed by irrigators
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on January 20th, 2014
Guardian: Irrigators have welcomed a plan by the federal government to sell back environmental water entitlements to farmers in the Murray-Darling basin.
The move comes as a large part of the basin experiences a drying-out phase brought on by extreme hot weather and below average rain during spring and summer.
The National Irrigators Council says water can and should be sold and put to agricultural use without compromising the environment.
"We've had some hot weather which has spiked the water use,"...