Irrigation Ban in Australia

Since 2006, drought was reported to be one of the biggest problem that Australia is facing. Australia is suffering the worst drought in the history and as a consequences the production of irrigated crops in the Murray-Darling river basin has been affected. On Thursday, the Australian Federal government warned that Irrigation in most places in the country will be banned from mid-May, unless a substantial rainfall in the coming weeks. (BBC News online, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6570589.stm, accessed 20th April 2007)

Drought has not only affected crops plantations in Australia, but also water drinking in major cities. In late January, the premier of the state of Queensland warned that the people of the state "will soon have to start drinking water containing recycled sewage" (BBC News Online, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6308715.stm). Water recycling has been carried out in Singapore and UK to solve the water shortage issue. Nevertheless, water recycling is costly.

Murray-Darling basin, located in the southeastern of Australia, is the country's major food basket. The river provides water supplies for most of the country's irrigated farm. However, due to the recent drought, the river is running on empty.

The Straits Times on 21st April 2007 reported that the irrigation ban in Australia is likely to lead to an increase in the food prices by five-fold within weeks after the water shut off. The water shut-down will affect the crops production in Australia, including fruit, almond, olive, cotton and dairy farmers and lead to a significant impact to its economic. The Prime Minister John Howard said that the drought might cause Australia to import food although that isn't what he wants to see. "We always like to see ourselves as being capable of meeting our own food needs and, in fact, providing the food needs of others..." the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.

Having say that, is the drought problem mainly caused by the climate change? Although scientists are linking drought problem with the climate change, there isn't any convincing proof. Quoted from Channel News Asia, Wendy Craik, the government's Murray-Darling Basin Commission chief commented that "we'll never prove it's climate change until after the event…".

"You can't say that definitively…" Professor Wayne Meyer from Adelaide University Natural Resources Science told AFP as reported by Channel News Asia.

Similar issue was raised in October last year when Sir Nicholas Stern, the former chief economist in the World Bank warned that global warming could affect global economy, unless drastic action was taken.

The drought in Australia could be possibly caused by climate change. The weather patterns have changed over the years in many places over the world. Professor Meyer said that the South Australia "rainfall patterns appear to have shifted". Australia might be "the first countries in the world to be hit by the hardship of global warming", he told AFP as quoted by Channel News Asia.

Australia exports a wide range of food products overseas. The Straits Times reported that Singapore imports a large amount of meal, seafood, fruits, vegetable, cereal and sauces from Australia. The same products can also be imported from China and South Africa. Nevertheless if human do not take immediate action to prevent further climate changes, drought or any other natural disaster caused by climate changes will become one of the common problems in more places, and as a consequences, the food products will be severely affected. At that time, starvation will be worsened as a consequences of the decreasing in crops products.

While surfing on Channel News Asia website few days ago, I saw a posters "Say No to plastic bag". Plastic bag plays a role in leading to the global warming, but it is not the sole factor. Human activities such as transportation, land reclamation, excessive cities development and many other activities have led to the production of green house gases. While spending millions of dollars in developing its cities, Governments should also pay attention to its countries' public transport system and encourage the use of public transport to decrease the production of carbon dioxide. Humans are always greedy (well, I couldn't deny I am greedy too), with the current space they have, they will never satisfy but try to bring some impact to its environment to seek for more comfortable life that they are already having...