Fellowship winner puts people power into irrigation

Download » NPSI Media Release 20th August 2007 (pdf - 59KB)

One of the major issues facing Australia at the moment is lack of water, and nearly everyone has a view on the 'right' solution.

The key to developing effective irrigation policies that have widespread support is a better understanding of the issues facing irrigators - and importantly, their perception of those issues.

That's the view of Kimberley Graham, this year's winner of the prestigious 2007 Travel Fellowship sponsored by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation (NPSI) and Australian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ANCID).

The annual Fellowship provides $10,000 to enable a young person to travel overseas and investigate an issue relevant to the irrigation industry. It was presented by Senator Bill Heffernan at the ANCID conference in Bundaberg, Queensland.

Kimberley is an Honours student in Natural Resource Management at the University of Melbourne, surveying stakeholders and asking them to define the issues surrounding water scarcity.

The Fellowship will allow her to build on this and look more deeply at the implications for policy outcomes if the perceptions are not reflected in the policy and, more importantly, not incorporated into the process.

Kimberley will also develop a plain language account of the points in the policy process that are most conducive to influence by interested, involved and affected individuals.

Kimberley will also visit Brazil and China through the Fellowship. As rapidly developing countries approaching irrigation policy development from very different angles, they will offer insights that might be applied in Australia.

Land & Water Australia Chief Executive, Michael Robinson, commended the practical focus of the work.

"These Fellowships and other programs run by NPSI make an enormous contribution because they target the end users - the irrigation industry.

"Advances in knowledge through NPSI have led to improvements and water savings at the farm and landscape scales, as well as new tools and information."

ANCID chairman Stephen Mills said applicants for the Fellowship had to demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of major strategic issues facing the industry in the next ten years.

"The Fellowship has been developed to give young people the chance to travel overseas and learn all they can, and to bring that experience and knowledge back to Australia to share with our irrigation industries," said Mr Mills.

Last year's Fellowship winner was Anna Price, who used the funds to visit irrigation regions overseas with similar climates to northern Australia, and to develop an understanding of their sustainability issues and how that might be used to improve irrigation in northern Australia.

The National Program for Sustainable Irrigation is managed by Land & Water Australia on behalf of 13 partners, including irrigators, water authorities, research agencies, government agencies.

Editors please note - a photo is available on request

For more information contact Lynne Sealie on 0419 876 370 or lynne.sealie@lwa.gov.au