Valuing Water: variability and the Lake Eyre Basin, central Australia

Abstract

‘Environmental values’ form an increasingly important component of natural resource management, but use of the term ‘value’ is dominated by a narrow and limiting utility-based definition. In this paper I consider theories of value and practices of valuing water in the arid and semi-arid Lake Eyre Basin, central Australia. While value is the subject of diverse meanings—both within a range of academic disciplines and as understood by people in specific places—methods of valuing water in natural resource management are limited by reductionism, anthropocentrism and cultural specificity. This conceptualisation of value does not adequately capture what people in the Lake Eyre Basin value about water. I propose valuing variability as a new framework for valuing water that embraces diversity, change and complexity, and emphasises interconnections between water, humans and the non-human world. While physical variability is gaining acceptance in both the academy and management, the variability of social, cultural and ontological aspects of water has elicited less discussion. The theme of variability provides a useful framework for thinking about water, and for understanding relationships between water, place, people and the non-human world.

Keywords:

• Water
• environmental value
• nature
• natural resource management
• central Australia
• Lake Eyre Basin

This paper is based on my current PhD research at CRES, ANU. My thanks to my interviewees living and working in the Lake Eyre Basin, in particular to those whose words appear here. Thanks also to John Jansen and Michael Tyghe for field assistance, to Nick Gill, Lesley Head and Gordon Waitt, of the University of Wollongong, for organising the Applied Natures workshop held in April 2005; and to the workshop participants for stimulating and engaging discussion around an earlier version of this paper, and to Ingereth Macfarlane and two reviewers for valuable comments.

Notes

1. Mungerannie and South Galway are two pastoral properties in the field area.

2. References appearing in this form refer to interviews undertaken for my PhD research, and identify interviewee by surname, followed by date of interview. Interviewees referred to by name gave permission to be identified in my thesis and papers emerging from it.