COMM5001 Advanced Communication Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : COMM5001
• University : Southern Cross University My Assignment Services is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university.
• Subject Name : Communication

Australian Ecosystem

Executive Summary

The research aimed to identify the problems that are face by the agriculture industry in Australia due to floods as well as the scarcity of water. It was observed that the majority of Australia is inhabitable as most parts of the continent are nothing but deserts. It was also observed that agriculture practices that are applied throughout the world are major determinants of a flood-like situation. However, it was also, identified that Australia has a scarcity of water and almost 70 to 80 percent of water is used by the agriculture industry so the country needs to take corrective measures and use the water responsibly. Although the government has posed some policies they can only be successful when the farming sector can apply that in their day to day operations.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Relationship between flooding and agriculture practices throughout the world

Water management practices in Australia for agricultural purposes

Analysis of the water management practices for agricultural use in Australia

Water management policies for agricultural purposes in Australia

National Water Initiative

The Water Act

Water Regulations 2008

Recommendation

Discussion

Conclusion

References

Introduction

This particular report associates agriculture practices with flooding, the report also identifies whether or not agricultural practices are liable for flooding or not. Apart from that, it was also identified in this particular report that climate change plays a major in flooding (CSIRO, 2020). However, the main focus of the research is on the sustainability of water. As Australia is dry land the government and the individuals need to produce water management techniques that can be used for agriculture as well as for survival purposes. The report sheds light on the government policy imposed on the locals which are directly related to water management, these policies clarify the main agenda of the government that is, to increase the efficiency of usable water present in the continent.

Relationship Between Flooding and Agriculture Practices Throughout the World

Agriculture practices and flooding go hand in hand. If good agricultural practices are followed by the farmer then the chances for a situation like a flood decrease substantially and if not then the results are just the contrary. The main reason why flooding takes place is that the forest is being cut down significantly for agricultural and other uses because of which the land is not able to hold the water. The European countries have faced major flooding scenarios throughout history and the main perpetrator for these floods was the land degradation that was being caused by animals and crop farming. It was observed in the scenario that the farming methods used by the farmers were negatively impacting the soil.

There has been evidence about how the modern agricultural practices deteriorate the soil and along with that use of heavy machinery also plays a major role to enhance the chances of a flood-like situation. It has been scientifically proven that the use of heavy machinery in the hilly regions for farming or any other purpose can be catastrophic still people use these heavy machineries in their agricultural land. If the farmers of the hilly region in Australia can focus more on stubble farming they can easily tackle the problem of flooding in the coming years (Bowmer, 2011).

Water Management Practices in Australia for Agricultural Purposes

The agriculture sector is the biggest consumer of water in Australia, almost 50 to 70 percent of water is used by the agriculture sector in Australia (Delany-Crowe et al. 2019). The main purpose of water is for irrigation which is for farm use only. Previous data has shown that there was an increase in the usage of water by almost 32 per cent of which 11.9 million megalitres were used only for crops like cotton, sugarcane, and vines. However, water is scarce due to which the government had to restrict the usage of water at times (ESCAP, 2009).

Water management is undertaking by the department of primary industries and regional development that is put in place to help the drylands and the industries related to irrigation. The department tries to empower the knowledge of the people by providing useful information about the best practices which can be used for the water management scenarios in the agriculture sector. During the water management practice, the department of primary industries and regional development provides useful information on storage and usage of the water, how to capture water at the time of rainfall and different management systems that can be an asset in the process of preventing degradation of land (Waterloo, 2017).

Basic guidelines and support are provided to the farmers so that they can efficiently use the irrigation water and how the farmers can save water during climate changes. The Australian weather is quite unpredictable and because of that, the whole nation is engulfed by rapid climate change. Apart from these, the government of Australia provides special grants to the farmers so that they can increase efficiency without harming the sustainability. In addition to this technical service, arrangement for emergency water and information on how the water supply can be enhanced is provided to the local farmer as well as the different people of the society (Department of Primary industries and Regional Development, 2018).

Analysis of The Water Management Practices for Agricultural Use in Australia

The majority of the continent is nothing but a desert (ESCAP, 2009). Australia is facing a scarcity of water from the past few years the main reason behind this is the increase of population along with climate change which is becoming dynamic on day to day basis.

As most of the country is dry it becomes very hard for the country to get water. However, when the country gets access to water then the country must use the water responsibly. According to researchers, the country is drying out slowly which can become a major issue in the coming years. This has posed many concerns for the agriculture sector as they are the major users of this particular commodity.

Whether it is agriculture or the survival of humanity water plays a major role in survival. If the water in the country is not used properly the people might die because of thirst. However, using the water responsibly is not the only option as it is quite clear from the recent event that bush fire is also liable to pollute the water which cannot be used for agriculture purposes. In addition to this, this particular phenomenon quite common in the country, this makes it even more important to manage the water resources for the agriculture processes so that the country can feed itself. According to Waterloo et al. (2007), pine trees can play a major role in water management if the government can cultivate pine trees in the country can easily fight with the scarcity of water.

Water Management Policies for Agricultural Purposes in Australia

Multiple policies are set up by the government to safeguard water in the country so that the future generation can use this particular resource freely. Some of the policies are listed below

National Water Initiative

This particular document is said to be a blueprint for all the reforms that are spread across Australia. The NWI is liable to increase the efficiency of the usage of water in the country with the help of the entire government official whether it is state government or territory government. This particular document can be very helpful for the agriculture sector as they can get a brief idea of how much water they can afford to use (Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, 2020).

The Water Act

The Water Act was passed in the year 2007. This particular act was introduced so that water can be a manager more effectively and efficiently (Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, 2020). So that most of the farmers can irrigate their land.

Water Regulations 2008

This particular policy aims to find out how much water is used by a particular sector, the organizations have to revert to the government and provide them with the details of the usage (Federal Register of Legislation, n.d). Also, there is a time restriction the information has to be provided in a given time. This will help the agriculture sector to understand whether their usage has increased or decreased and they can take actions accordingly.

Apart from these policies, many more policies are imposed only to enhance the resourcefulness of water.

Recommendation

The Australian government should cultivate their land so that they can grow pine trees. The best advantage the Australian government has is that this particular plant can easily survive in dry conditions and can also help in water management.

Heavy machinery should not be used in the farmland especially in the hilly terrain of the country as the usage of heavy machinery causes degradation of soil which will ultimately lead to flooding. The farmers should also look after their other agriculture practices too as some of the practices might lead to flooding and other disasters.

Discussion

In the report, it was discussed that climate change is one of the biggest factors for causing floods. This statement was verified by other researchers as well. According to Miller & Hutchins (2017), Climate change is one of the biggest reasons why flooding occurs.

Also, it was identified that the pine trees can be helpful in water management, same has been identified by other researchers, According to Klein et al. (2016), pine trees can easily survive in dry weather and they are also helpful to safeguard the soil from the impact of the water droplets during heavy rainfall, which could otherwise cause soil erosion.

Lack of data on the agriculture sector of Australia became the biggest shortcoming while working on this particular repot

Conclusion

Through this report, it was identified that the country of Australia is facing a major crisis in its agriculture sector as there were water-related issues in the continent. At times the country has an abundance of water and at times the whole continent has a drought-like situation. In addition to this, it was also identified that bad agricultural processes are the major reason for the excessive flood throughout the world. However, the main aim of this report was to find the importance of water in the agriculture sector. It was observed that water management is a key component in the country concerning agriculture processes. There are different policies imposed by the government so that the agriculture industry can operate without any concern. With the bush fire taking place on an annual basis, the water quality is also degrading rapidly if the government becomes lenient then the whole agricultural sector might have to suffer.

References

Bowmer, K. H. (2011). Water resource protection in Australia: links between land use and river health with a focus on stubble farming systems. Journal of hydrology, 403(1-2), 176-185.

CSIRO. (2020). Understanding the causes and impacts of flooding. Retrieved from. https://www.csiro.au/en/Research/Environment/Extreme-Events/Floods/Causes-and-impacts

Delany-Crowe, T., Marinova, D., Fisher, M., McGreevy, M., & Baum, F. (2019). Australian policies on water management and climate change: are they supporting sustainable development goals and improved health and well-being?. Globalization and health, 15(1), 68.

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. (2020). Water management policy and legislation. Retrieved from: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/water/policy

Department of Primary industries and Regional Development. (2018). Water management. Retrieved from: agric.wa.gov.au/climate-land-water/water/water-management

ESCAP, U. (2009). Sustainable agriculture and food security in Asia and the pacific. Bangkok: UN ESCAP.

Federal Register and legislation. (n.d). Water Regulation 2008. Retrieved from. https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2016C01074

Klein, T., Cohen, S., Paudel, I., Preisler, Y., Rotenberg, E., et al. (2016). Diurnal dynamics of water transport, storage and hydraulic conductivity in pine trees under seasonal drought. iForest-Biogeosciences and Forestry, 9(5), 710.

Miller, J. D., & Hutchins, M. (2017). The impacts of urbanisation and climate change on urban flooding and urban water quality: A review of the evidence concerning the United Kingdom. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 12, 345-362.

Waterloo, M. J, Schellekens, J., Bruijnzeel, L. A., & Rawaqa, T. T. (2007). Changes in catchment runoff after harvesting and burning of a Pinus caribaea plantation in Viti Levu, Fiji. Forest Ecology and Management, 251(1-2), 31-44.

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