Water efficiency improvements through environmental farming systems: a study conducted for the Pratt Water Murrumbidgee Valley Water Efficiency Feasibility Project

This study is concerned with an investigation of innovative farming methods that take advantage of natural processes, rather than of introduced land management practices, which are often environmentally damaging and expensive to maintain. Farming practices in the public domain will be listed with reference to existing literature. Practices currently being developed will be described briefly so as to garner support for their further development with the aim of making them more widely available. The project will also outline the main constraints to the implementation of these innovative approaches, possible means for overcoming them, and procedures for facilitating desirable changes to management of Australian farming landscapes. Particular attention will be paid to the overall objectives to deliver water efficiency gains that will produce major environmental, economic and social benefits, address the need for significant new investment in water saving infrastructure, develop and deploy technologiesfor water recycling and enhanced water use efficiency in regional and urban areas, and provide sustainable, long-term benefits to the environment, the economy, and human society from better water management. This brief review will then form the basis for recommending particular courses of action that are most likely to yield sustainable, cost-effective results.