The dream of turning Australia’s tropical north into a major food bowl to replace drought-stricken southern farmlands and feed a future Asia has been shattered by a new report released yesterday.
Despite 1 billion liters of annual rainfall, the equivalent of 2,000 Sydney harbors, northern Australia has limited water, with 65 percent of rain lost through evaporation and 20 percent in rivers, while only 15 percent recharges groundwater reserves.
And climate change will make northern Australia hotter and drier by 2030, reducing water availability, the report by the Northern Australian Land and Water Taskforce said. Northern Australia’s resources boom, with miners Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton fueling China’s growth, is forecast to continue to grow significantly.
However, water scarcity in the north will be a major issue for future mining, along with access to skilled labor, the report on sustainable development in northern Australia said.
“Given the significant growth anticipated in this industry, it will be important to monitor the impact of the mining and resources industry on the water balance in northern Australia,” the government-commissioned report said.
Farmers and rural politicians have for decades called for the “Top End” of Australia to be developed into a food bowl, citing the success of the nation’s largest irrigation scheme, the Ord River Irrigation Scheme in the far northwest. The Ord scheme produces fresh fruit and vegetables, mainly for export to Asia.
“It will not be the food bowl for the world,” Western Australian state politician Gary Gray said after the reports release.
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