Financial and socio-economic viability of irrigated agricultural development in the Roper catchment: A technical report from the CSIRO Roper River Water Resource Assessment for the National Water Grid

摘要: Sustainable regional development is a priority for the Australian and Northern Territory governments. Across northern Australia, however, there is a scarcity of scientific information on land and water resources to complement local information held by Indigenous owners and landholders. Sustainable regional development requires knowledge of the scale, nature, location and distribution of the likely environmental, social and economic opportunities and the risks of any proposed development. Especially where resource use is contested, this knowledge informs the consultation and planning that underpins the resource security required to unlock investment. In 2019 the Australian Government commissioned CSIRO to complete the Roper River Water Resource Assessment. In response, CSIRO accessed expertise and collaborations from across Australia to provide data and insight to support consideration of the use of land and water resources for development in the Roper catchment. While the Assessment focuses mainly on the potential for agriculture, the detailed information provided on land and water resources, their potential uses and the impacts of those uses are relevant to a wider range of regional-scale planning considerations by Indigenous owners, landholders, citizens, investors, local government, the Northern Territory and federal governments. Importantly the Assessment will not recommend one development over another, nor assume any particular development pathway. It provides a range of possibilities and the information required to interpret them - including risks that may attend any opportunities - consistent with regional values …