Incentivizing improved runoff accounting for healthy and safe agricultural catchments

About this project

Improve water security for agriculture in Australia

If you are seeking to advance your career in water management, natural resources accounting and policy and are concerned about sustainable catchments, the University of South Australia – Australia’s University of Enterprise – is offering a hands-on project-based PhD within our Centre for Markets, Values and Inclusion (CMVI).

Dams are essential infrastructure for many farming operations. Pressure on storing water for food production is growing and already there are around 1.8 million farm dams in Australia, including more than 650,000 in the Murray-Darling basin. Despite their prevalence and importance, there is a lot we don’t understand about farm dams. Dams can create a risk for communities and environments, through exacerbating drought and flood conditions downstream. Yet, we don’t know where at least 15% of them are, let alone what the rest are designed to hold, or how they are managed.   The higher underwriting risk has now become untenable for the insurance industry. The industry has called for attention to the correlation between business risk and the increased risk of flood and drought under a changing climate that is impacting water storage assets. 

Through this project you will explore how to develop an integrated dam risk accounting tool that can guide equitable and safe dam management decision-making at the farmer level, whilst also supporting policymakers with improved insight into runoff stored in farm dams.  

The aim is to uncover current tools that provide reliable information about the volume/storage and flood safety capacities of farm dams in catchments, and the dam management behaviours that can influence the reliability of these tools. You will also work toward development of an accounting tool that links farm dam-related business risk to biophysical/sensed information to incentivise better farm dam measurement and monitoring.  

You will join the collegial team at the Centre for Markets, Values and Inclusion, which consists of social scientists, accountants, economists, engineers and policy experts. You will also be supervised by researchers from the Federation University through their Drought Resilience farm dams project, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Water & Food Systems Lab, MIT, which prioritises innovation and solutions for urgent global water and food system challenges. This world-class mentorship offers you a career-advancing competitive edge.

What you’ll do

In this project-based research degree, you will explore the available tools that provide reliable information about the volume/storage and flood safety capacities of farm dams in catchments. Then, you will administer surveys and conduct interviews to determine the dam management behaviours that can influence the reliability of these tools. Finally, you will determine how an accounting tool can be developed that links farm dam-related business risk to biophysical/sensed information to incentivise better farm dam measurement and monitoring.  

Working with key stakeholders in environmental and land use policy, agricultural extension, the insurance industry and farm business owners and their accountants, you will explore the key interconnected farm dam measurement and management issues and develop an integrated risk measurement accounting tool for improved farm dam measurement and monitoring. We will encourage and support you to disseminate your findings through presentations at partner institutions virtually and in person, creating valuable career networks and the potential for funded project collaborations.

Where you’ll be based

You’ll be based within the Centre for Markets, Values and Inclusion (CMVI). We combine specialist skills and multidisciplinary perspectives to provide a trans-disciplinary approach to delivering meaningful research, which informs innovative, evidence-based solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable future. 

Operating locally, nationally and internationally, CMVI researchers provide evidence to inform public and private sector choices and policies, resolve global development and governance issues in populations experiencing inequity, and develop incentives for business and not-for-profits to develop, monitor and report on socially responsible enterprises. Our vision is a world in which social and economic development is sustainable and inclusive of all in society. Our mission is to combine specialist skills and multidisciplinary perspectives to provide innovative and enterprising solutions that support inclusive and sustainable communities locally, nationally and internationally. Financial Support

This project is funded for reasonable research expenses. Additionally, a living allowance scholarship of $32,500 per annum is available to Australian and New Zealand citizens, and permanent residents of Australia, including permanent humanitarian visa holders. Australian Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander applicants will be eligible to receive an increased stipend rate of $46,653 per annum (2023 rates). A fee-offset or waiver for the standard term of the program is also included.  For full terms and benefits of the scholarship please refer to our scholarship information. International applicants are not invited to apply at this time.

Eligibility and Selection

This project is open to applications from Australian or New Zealand citizens, and Australian permanent residents or permanent humanitarian visa holders. International applicants are not invited to apply at this time.

Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria for entrance into a PhD. Additionally applicants must meet the projects selection criteria: 

• Have a water management/technology background with evidence of studies, or significant interest, in business and accounting

All applications that meet the eligibility and selection criteria will be considered for this project. A merit selection process will be used to determine the successful candidate.

The successful applicant is expected to study full-time and to be based at our City West campus in the heart of Adelaide.

Essential Dates

Applicants are expected to start in a timely fashion upon receipt of an offer. Extended deferral periods are not available. Applications close on Thursday 28 September 2023.