Conferences & Events
WIDCORP forums provide an opportunity for researchers, community members, government agencies and resource managers to share knowledge and discuss a wide range of issues about water and regional sustainability. To view information from the recent and upcoming forums, watch this space!
2010 WIDCORP Research Workshop
Posted: 16 December 2009
February 2010, University of Ballarat Campus, Horsham
A two-day research workshop designed for those thinking about undertaking academic research through to early career researchers will be held at the University of Ballarat Horsham Campus. Led by Dr Jim Sillitoe this two day workshop will focus on:
For more information email La Vergne Lehmann at l.lehmann@ballarat.edu.au.
2009 University of Ballarat Research Conference - Research Excellence: Innovation, Creativity and Engagement
Posted: 2 July 2009
The annual University of Ballarat Research Conference features the following keynote speakers: Professor Margaret Alston, Head, Department and Professor of Social Work, Monash University. Professor Jon Borwein, Visiting Conjoint Professor Laureate, Newcastle University, also President of the Canadian Mathematical Society. The conference will be held on Wednesday 11th November 2009 at the Geoffrey Blainey Auditorium, Mt Helen Campus, University of Ballarat. For more information about the conference and abstract submission please refer to the attached Poster.
Dr Brian Walker led WIDCORP's Resilience Forum, 4th Feb 2009
Posted: 27 February 2009
WIDCORP held its 5th Research Forum on The Building Blocks of Resilience at the Greenhill Enterprise, University of Ballarat, Mt Helen Campus. Guest speaker, Dr Brian Walker, is an internationally experienced scientist working on ecological sustainability and resilience in social-ecological systems. He is a Research Fellow with CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and is also Program Director and Chair of the Board of the Resilience Alliance - www.resalliance.org Dr Walker co-authored the 2006 book, 'Resilience Thinking: Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world.'
In this afternoon forum, Dr Brian Walker shared his work on the significance of resilience in the sustainability of ecosystems and social-ecological systems.Following the presentation participant groups identified issues impacting on the social, ecological, and economic variables which are likely to take the region's system to its threshold, and then to nominate those underlying factors which enhance the resilience of the region. This event was sponsored by WIDCORP and Deakin University's School of Life and Environmental Sciences. Notes from the forum and Dr Walker's presentation are provided here: Resilience Forum notes For more information on Resilience Thinking visit the Resilience Alliance website - www.resalliance.org
4th Research Forum Regional Futures 1st July 2008
Grains Innovation Park, Natimuk Rd, HORSHAM
WIDCORP held its 4th Research Forum on Regional Futures.The theme of the forum has emerged as a key research focus of the University of Ballarat. The half-day forum, followed by afternoon workshops, provided an opportunity to learn and share ideas about practical ways forward for the region. Guest speaker Rob Gell shared his vision for sustainable regional futures and clearly identified the challenges we are now facing as a consequence of climate change.David Jochinke and young innovative farmer spoke about his visions for farming in the region stating ' the challenges we are now facing will mean that the region will need to adapt and in some instances rethink current faming practice - something farmers are good at is adapting to change. WIDCORP researchers spoke about their work ranging from how a changing water regime will impact on biodiversity, tourism, regional water use and regional aspirations. See researcher presentations below. The workshop sessions sought to develop research projects to better understand the 'Value of Water' in the Wimmera Mallee. People involved were key researchers, decision-makers and interested community members and the workshops covered projects ranging from post pipeline on-farm water use, decision support systems and optimizing the management of river systems for multiple uses.
WIDCORP Research Presentations
Dr Imogen Schwarz, WIDCORP
Email: i.schwarz@ballarat.edu.au
Using the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline as a case study, WIDCORP's research to date has focused on the social, economic and environmental impact of changes associated with this new water regime. This presentation provides an overview of social research conducted by WIDCORP over the last few years which include findings from community and farmer perspectives towards the water infrastructure changes occurring within the region. Dr Imogen Schwarz is a Research Fellow for the Water in Drylands Collaborative Research Program (WIDCORP). In 2006, she graduated with a PhD in social science from the University of Ballarat. Imogen's current research focus is examination of social impacts of (water infrastructure) change on rural dryland communities. Recent projects have investigated the socio-economic impacts of drought within the Wimmera-Mallee region, farmer typologies, attitudes and aspirations towards water reform, and small business resilience in small rural towns. 2. Northern Mallee pipeline optimisation: planning for the future
Dr Andrew Barton, Senior Water Resources Engineer, GWMWater. (Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Informatics and Applied Optimisation, UB)
Email: Andrew.Barton@gwmwater.org.au
GWMWater has been successful in converting the Northern-Mallee channel system into a pressurised piped system, saving approximately 45,000 megalitres of water per year. In implementing a piped water system there are huge operational cost savings to be achieved in the optimisation of such a system. A multitude of factors exist such as pump operating characteristics, power consumption and tariffs, system storage levels and contingency planning, user demands and water restrictions, and system serviceability (to name a few), that if built as variables and constraints into a global optimisation problem, will identify a unique set of outcomes that have significant costs savings and other benefits attached to them. The ability to consider many of these factors simultaneously, is currently beyond the capability of "off the shelf" products, and there remain considerable hidden benefits that can be revealed to owners and operators of water infrastructure assets. This presentation provides an overview of the current Northern-Mallee Pipeline optimisation project, including a description of the dynamic model and associated optimisation that is aimed at supporting future decision making processes. Dr. Andrew Barton is a Senior Water Resources Engineer at GWMWater and is responsible for providing leadership in and the strategic planning of the operation of the regulated bulk water supply systems. Andrew oversees the day to day operation of the headworks systems, develops seasonal operating plans, conceptualises and implements systems to improve operational capability, manages the Wimmera-Glenelg Bulk Entitlement, manages the hydrographic monitoring network, and develops and refines systems for the management of system data and modelling of system behaviour. Andrew also manages specific projects relating to the modification of the headworks systems, and a number of research projects. Andrew's main areas of expertise are engineering hydraulics and hydrology, experimental fluid mechanics, integrated water cycle management and water resources engineering more generally. Andrew finds interdisciplinary research particularly interesting and rewarding, especially the nexus between engineering hydraulics and biology/ecology. 3. Wetlands and biodiversity into the future
Jonathan Starks, Birchip Cropping Group; Masters student, UB/WIDCORP; Wimmera CMA
Email: j.starks@ballarat.edu.au
The Wimmera Mallee Pipeline is introducing major changes to the way water is managed on farms in the region. The existing open water system of channels and farm dams will be replaced by a closed system of pipes and stock troughs. European settlement, development of the region for agriculture and construction of the original Wimmera Mallee Domestic and Stock Channel System has resulted in major changes to natural hydrology of the region. Water has been harvested from creeks and rivers, flows diverted and controlled, swamps drained and ephemeral lakes turned into water storage reservoirs. Along with large scale clearing of native vegetation, these activities have had a profound impact on the region's biodiversity. Water in the Wimmera and southern Mallee is now largely a human-managed system. Biodiversity in the region has adapted to the current landscape. Many species rely on the open water system of channels and dams for their habitat needs, particularly water-dependent fauna such as frogs, turtles and some birds. The loss of this open water habitat as a result of the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline will be rapid, widespread and permanent. Maintaining biodiversity in this changing agricultural landscape is a challenge. Research conducted by BCG has demonstrated that biodiversity on farms (as measured by birds) can be maintained by the strategic use of wildlife ponds established in a woodland. Current research by BCG, in conjunction with WIDCORP and University of Ballarat, is focussing on applying the wildlife ponds concept to maximise the potential for maintaining frog populations on farms. Jonathan Starks completed a BSc at LaTrobe University in 1982. Jonathan worked in Thailand co-ordinating a national migratory shorebird research project before commencing with Birds Australia in 1985. He was employed in various roles including as threatened species research officer, database manager, author, and reserve warden. From 2004, Jonathan has been employed by the Wimmera CMA co-ordinating a bird monitoring project, and by the Birchip Cropping Group conducting research into strategies for maintaining biodiversity on farms within a piped water delivery system. Jonathan's current project with BCG, 'Maintaining frog populations on farms', is in conjunction with WIDCORP and as a Masters student with University of Ballarat. 4. Socio-ecological values of wetlands as water regimes change
Dawn McBride, PhD student, WIDCORP
Email: d.mcbride@ballarat.edu.au The change brought about by decommissioning of the channels as a result of conversion to the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline has implications for Black Box wetlands. This presentation establishes the importance of these wetlands to the Yarriambiack Creek floodplains system, and considers the socio-ecological values of these wetlands. The study involved nine case studies of privately-held wetlands on farms. Data was collected from ecological assessment of these wetlands and interviews with farmers. The presentation discusses the value of wetlands to farmers and the varied impacts of the channel and dam systems to wetland health. The future of these wetlands is closely linked to the farmers' relationship to them and needs to be considered within regional management. Dawn McBride graduated from La Trobe University with a Bachelor of Social Sciences (honours), majoring in geography. Dawn has been involved in large research projects examining externalities affecting dryland agriculture on the Loddon floodplains and the cultural heritage of the Upper Dawson Catchment. In 2005, Dawn commenced her PhD which examines the consequences of hydrological change to Black Box wetlands brought about by decommissioning of a major stock and domestic supply system in Western Victoria, Australia. This system will be replaced with the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline - an underground piped water system. Dawn's research considers the ecological and human dimensions of change. Governance, community and farmer management actions, responses and responsibilities, in addition to the ecological values of selected wetlands in the Yarriambiack Creek Floodplains are key areas of her research. 5. Water and the sustainability of regions
Holly Foster, PhD student, LaTrobe University/WIDCORP.
Email: hafoster@students.latrobe.edu.au This presentation provides an overview of my PhD research which is aimed at developing sustainable and socially optimal water pricing and packaging recommendations in regional Victoria. The premise of this research stems from the paradoxical nature of water authorities. That is, obtaining simultaneous, conflicting goals of increased profits, but reduced consumption targets. This research examines the Wimmera region, home to a geographically dispersed consumer base and on-going water shortages. The literature reviewed in research examines current water pricing and packaging practices, highlighting perceived inadequacies with pure economic theory being applied to water management. While economics has delivered crucial theory in water management (price elasticities and notions of regulatory pricing), significant issues of inefficiency and inequity have emerged in recent media and academic literature. This research will investigate two fundamental concepts central to the marketing philosophy; price and packaging. The research seeks to draw together an understanding of consumer perceptions, beliefs and attitudes to determine factors influencing domestic water consumption and individual behavior patterns. It will also contribute to current theory examining the price elasticity of water and the 'income-effect'. The primary research will have a 'mixed-methods' approach. A formal, structured questionnaire will be used to infer attitudes regarding water and price variables. Using computer modelling techniques, a predictive model depicting consumer's 'intention to pay' for retail water will be presented. In addition to quantitative techniques, in-depth, one-to-one interviews will be conducted to generate greater detail of the social values attributed to water, including consumer preferences, behavior and price drivers. The value of this data is twofold. Primarily, the research will have further implications for effective market segmentation in regional water markets. Similarly, the research will have implications for sustainable packaging (delivery) alternatives to capture greater value for both water authorities and consumers alike. Holly Foster is a second year PhD student at LaTrobe University, Melbourne. She has a Bachelor of Business with marketing and management majors. Passionate about regional affairs, she completed her honours year in 2006 with her thesis "Regional Marketing: A case study on Mildura." Her PhD thesis once again applies her business background to further examine challenges facing rural communities. Her current research investigates sustainable pricing and packaging of retail (residential) water in dryland districts. 6. Tourism futures in the Wimmera Mallee
La Vergne Lehmann, PhD Student, UB/WIDCORP; Coordinator, Conservation and Land Management, Longerenong College
Email: llehmann@longy.com.au
Water, particularly fresh water, is one of the most critical and scarce natural resources. It is well documented that the tourism industry over-uses water resources by at least a factor of two over permanent residents. In some regions of the world, where tourism is a major industry, this can result in water shortages and degradation of water supplies, as well as increased production of waste water. Water scarcity in some areas has also led to increased interest in water recycling, desalination, improved water storage capabilities and water conservation measures in order to provide greater water security into the future. This paper aims to review and analyse the current literature concerning water management initiatives in the tourism sector and the contrast between water demand and supply for sustainable tourism. The diverse nature of tourism activities makes the analysis of water uses and impacts quite different to other sectors such as agriculture or manufacturing. In effect tourism is defined on the basis of consumption rather than production and there are many ways of consuming water in tourism. The aim of this paper is to identify issues associated with water use and tourism in semi-arid or dryland environments and to inform a wider research project that aims to map the uses of water in tourism, to establish a water valuation method that considers the consumptive nature of tourism and to develop a model to guide tourism policy to achieve sustainable water use for tourism enterprises and communities. La Vergne Lehmann is currently undertaking a part-time PhD with the University of Ballarat while working as the Course Coordinator of Flexible Delivery Programs at Longerenong College and helping to run a family sustainable tourism business. After completing an Honours degree in Ecotourism at Flinders University in 1999, she moved to the Wimmera to take up tourism position with a local council. Since then La Vergne has also completed a Graduate Diploma in Journalism. Apart from keeping her family of seven children organised, fed and involved in various sporting activities, La Vergne is also involved in both state and national native food industry organisations.
