1. Integrated Drought Management in Australia
Dr Dasarath (Jaya) Jayasuriya
Assistant Director Water Forecasting Services
Bureau of Meteorology
Climate Change, Food and Water Security workshop
February 24 and 25, IWMI Sri Lanka

2. Presentation outline
• Recent history
• Approach to managing droughts
• Our contribution to the global initiatives
• How can we collaborate?
• Avoid information paralysis (more a plea)

3. Australian Temperatures
• All of Australia has experienced warming over the past 50 years
• Some areas, have experienced a warming of 1.5 to 2 C

4. Australian Rainfall
• Substantial increases in many parts of northern and central Australia
• Substantial decreases across much of southern and eastern Australia

6. Flash flooding in Brisbane, February 2010

7. Normanton to Karumba Road cut, February 2010

8. Number Issued
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
0
50
Jul-04
Oct-04
Jan-05
Apr-05
Jul-05
Oct-05
Jan-06
Apr-06
Jul-06
Oct-06
Jan-07
Apr-07
Jul-07
Oct-07
Month
Watches
Warnings
Jan-08
Apr-08
Jul-08
Oct-08
Jan-09
Apr-09
Jul-09
Oct-09
Jan-10
Apr-10
Jul-10
Flood warnings issued

9. Current drought service: rainfall maps
• maps of 1, 3, 6,
9, 12, 18, 24, 36
months and wet
season for
„drought‟, deciles,
percentages etc
Gibbs and Maher 1967 Rainfall Deciles as drought indicators

11. Dam storages - Perth
• Perth storages (SW Australia)
– Now only 27% full compared to 44% this time last year
• Steady decline since October 2010

12. Australian drought policy: objectives
• To encourage primary producers and other sections to adopt self-
reliant approaches to managing risk
• To limit damage to agricultural, water and environmental resource
base during drought
• To ensure early recovery consistent with long-term sustainability
• Proactive sharing of climate risk „.. Strategies to manager, or address,
the effects of climate change‟ , (after Water Act 2007)
• The environmentally sustainable of take „.. the amount which, if
exceeded, would compromise key environmental values or the
productive base of the water resource‟ , (after Water Act 2007)

13. Australian drought policy: Applications
• Government support through „Safety Net‟ and „Exceptional Circumstances‟
• The event must be “rare” (one in 20-25 years), and “severe” (lasting more
than 12 months, and significant in spatial scale)
• Sustainable diversion limits: provides inter-annual variability in water
availability
• Greater focus on dry years and „critical humane needs‟
– Enduring ecosystem functionality
– Increase administrative certainty
– Perfect water share
• New Murray Darling Basin Plan 2010-2011
• Greater efficiency on consumptive water use, restrictions

14. Urban sector initiatives
• Investment in infrastructure
• Increasing connectivity
• Increasing recycling (sewage and stormwater)
• Water conservation (education and regulation)
• Improved planning (Sustainable Water Strategy Framework)
• Pricing reform (Independent regulator)

15. Rural agricultural sector
• Clear water rights and entitlements
• Tradeable water entitlement regime
• Water market (water move)
• Investment in refurbishing aging infrastructure
• Monitoring and recording water use/take

16. Good Governance
• COAG Water Reform
• National Water Commission (NWC)
• Productivity Commission
• Victorian „Water Trust‟ type entities providing incentives
• Independent pricing regulators

17. How can we collaborate and what
can we offer?
• Science and emerging services
• Links to Pacific initiatives, sharing information and products
• WIRADA outcomes (plug and play type tools)
• Global initiatives (Integrated Drought Management Framework,
WMO)
For the next session (4.30 to 6.30) Can we identify and harvest the
low hanging fruit? Specific example next

18. Seasonal Streamflow Forecast Service
Website

19. AND ITS FREE………….

20. All cartoons: acknowledgement to Queensland Dept of Primary Industries and Fisheries and the Emerging Technology Company

21. Thanks for listening
Visit www.bom.gov.au/water
Dr Dasarath Jayasuriya
d.jayasuriya@bom.gov.au
+61 3 86388251