The contribution of spatial analysis to water management: a case study of the MDB, Australia

Abstract

The relevance of spatial economic analysis to water management issues is reviewed to highlight its contribution to the understanding of economic behavior and regulatory or management processes in the context of water security problems. Spatial analysis refers to mapping and analyzing the spatial distribution of biophysical factors and accounting for spill-over effects at global, regional and local scales. Given predicted decreased water availability in the future, spatial analysis can contribute to the understanding of regional and local changes to the water quantity and quality level by highlighting the impact of regional and local spatial processes in agriculture, e.g. land-use changes, water trading, adoption behavior of farm management practices. We review spatial theories and methodologies and their application in the empirical literature in (water) resources management. Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin is used as a case study to highlight how spatial analysis can be increasingly used in the future to inform rural water management policies.