'Integrated' approaches to water and natural resources management in South Australia

Bruce Mitchell, Kathryn Bellette and Stacey Richardson

International Journal of Water Resources Development, 2015, vol. 31, issue 4, 718-731

Abstract: In the context of criticism that the definition and scope of integrated water resources management have not been clearly defined, experience in South Australia from the early 1970s to 2014 related to a holistic and integrated approach to water and natural resources management is examined. Three different approaches have been used in South Australia, each striving to be more holistic and integrated than its predecessor. A key challenge for managers is to achieve efficient and effective implementation of related policies, programmes and plans as more aspects become incorporated into a holistic and integrated approach. A main conclusion is that to successfully implement a holistic and integrated approach it is essential to be clear what 'integrated' and 'holistic' mean, because they are not the same or interchangeable. Furthermore, integrated and focused approaches are not mutually exclusive, and can be pursued simultaneously. This conclusion questions the argument that an integrated approach inevitably leads to so many variables being considered that it becomes so complex, unwieldy and cumbersome that it leads to non-actionable initiatives.

Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/07900627.2014.979399 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:cijwxx:v:31:y:2015:i:4:p:718-731

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/cijw20

DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2014.979399

Access Statistics for this article

International Journal of Water Resources Development is currently edited by Cecilia Tortajada

More articles in International Journal of Water Resources Development from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().