Practical responses to water and climate policy implementation challenges

Abstract

Water and climate are two of the most important public policy challenges facing Australia. They have pervasive impacts on how and where people can live and what they are likely to be able to do in the future. Policy implementation in these areas suffers from a range of challenges, including how to improve horizon scanning and preparedness, learn from past policy experiences, deal with policy interdependencies, and develop forms of more citizen-centric policy. When these challenges are responded to effectively, it can lead to enhanced foresight and planning, better understanding and communication of policy complexity, and communication of uncertainty and ambiguity, that are key to effective policy implementation. In this context, this paper presents and analyses a number of practical responses to water and climate policy implementation challenges, including the development of "low regret" policy and infrastructure options that encourage flexibility in responding to possible futures. It also highlights the important role that collaboratively acting now across sectors, issues, governance levels and groups of stakeholders to plan for a range of future scenarios can have on enhancing the capacity of all involved and building pathways to more sustainable and resilient futures.