Improving water security and agri-environmental sustainability in the North China Plain and the Murray-Darling Basin


Executive: XIA Jun

The project draws upon world-class research insights by organizing collaboration between major research projects underway in Australia and China. Water scarcity and agri-environmental sustainability are pressing issues for both the North China Plain(NCP) in China and the Murray-Darling Basin(MDB) in Australia. Specifically, the project will address following questions:

(a) How does climate change influence the water cycling in MDB and NCP?
(b) How can the actual water resources be determined and reconciled, taking account of uncertainty in MDB and NCP?
(c) How can rivers and groundwater be managed to meet environmental targets and the needs of water consumers in MDB and NCP?
(d) How do the farm practices influence the greenhouse gases accounting in MDB and NCP?
(e) How can policy and institutions be designed to improve water production efficiency and decrease the negative effect of water over-use on environment in MDB and NCP?