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PDF version (including graphics) of Environment and Energy News, November 2005.

Welcome to the first edition of Environment and Energy News, the newsletter of the ABS Centre of Environment and Energy Statistics (CEES). Environment and Energy News will be published twice a year, highlighting developments in environment and energy statistics particularly at the ABS.

Providing greater leadership and coordination in the field of environment and energy statistics.

In this issue:

• What is CEES?
• Did you know?
• Recent releases
• Future directions
• Planning day
• Special releases
• Water Accounting
• Natural Resources Management Survey
• Putting water to 'best use'
• Environmental issues
• Upcoming releases
• Contact us

• Provide leadership in the development of environment and energy statistics in Australia.
• Coordinate statistical activities across various sectors to develop frameworks and standards and improve data quality, comparability and coverage.
• Improve the understanding of trends and current issues, ·particularly across sectors, through its own analysis, and by supporting analysis by others.
• Compile environmental accounts - water, energy and greenhouse gases (and perhaps other accounts in future years).
• Research, develop and test new environment and energy surveys.
• Maintain and update elements of an Environment Information Development Plan (IDP).
• Examine proposals for client-funded extensions to the ABS core work program.
• Continue the popular time series publication on household data, which covers people's concerns, attitudes and behaviour on water, energy, transport and waste issues.
• Continue to produce a ‘thematic’ publication.
• For more information contact Michael Vardon, CEES Director on (02) 6252 7348 or email michael.vardon@abs.gov.au

Pasture for grazing was the most extensively irrigated crop in Australia in 2002-03, according to a new survey on agricultural water use released in March 2005.

In a period which saw the peak of a severe drought affecting most of Australia, pasture for grazing used 27% of the total volume of irrigation water and amounted to 30% of the total area irrigated nationally.

Further details are available in: Water use on Australian farms, March 2005, (cat. no. 4618.0)

Contact: Ron Just, Tel: (03) 6222 5842 or email ron.just@abs.gov.au

March 2005 Water use on Australian farms 2002-03 (cat. no. 4618.0)

April 2005 Domestic use of water and energy, South Australia (cat. no. 4618.4)

April 2005 Measures of Australia’s Progress (MAP): Summary indicators 2005 (cat. no. 1383.0.55.001)

July 2005 Australian Social Trends 2005 (cat. no. 4102.0)

October 2005 Water Use on Australian farms 2003-04 (cat.no. 4618.0)

Water use on Australian farms, 2002-03
(cat. no. 4618.0)
Release date: March 2005

As the agriculture sector accounts for around two thirds of total water use in Australia, a sound understanding of how much, for what purpose, and where water is used in agriculture, is essential.

During 2002-03, a total of 43,774 farms irrigated, which was nearly a third of agricultural establishments in Australia. These farms applied 10,404 GL of irrigation water to 2.4 million hectares, or 0.5% of agricultural land under pasture and crops.

In 2002-2003, Western Australia reported the highest average application rate (6.5 ML/ha) and Tasmania the lowest (2.4 ML/ha). New South Wales was the largest irrigating state or territory, applying 4,273 gigalitres (GL) (41% of the Australian total volume), followed by Victoria (24%) and Queensland (21%).

The most common source of irrigation water nationally was surface water, such as rivers and dams, reported by 72% of irrigating establishments. Recycled or re-used water from off-farm sources was reported by 2.4% of irrigating establishments. Surface irrigation, such as flood irrigation, was the prevalent irrigation method nationally, used on 1,344,000 ha, or 57% of the area irrigated.

Nationally, 27% of irrigating establishments reported irrigating without a water entitlement of some form.

‘Water use on Australian farms’ will increase the frequency, accuracy, timeliness and comparability of water use by the agricultural sector across Australia. Water Use on Australian Farms, 2003-04, has just been released (October 2005).

Domestic use of water and energy, South Australia
(cat. no. 4618.4)
Release date: April 2005

One in four South Australian households undertook some water conservation actions for the first time during the year ending October 2004. A year after the state government introduced watering restrictions, 10% of households reported that for the first time they used a soaking method to water their gardens and lawns. Other first time activities included using mulch (9% of households), stopping the watering of lawns (8%) and planting drought tolerant plants or lawn (8%).

The survey on domestic water and energy use conducted in South Australia also found:

• One in two households used gas for water heating, 31% used off-peak electricity, 14% used peak electricity and 3% had solar hot water systems.
• Air conditioners were used for heating or cooling in 82% of households.
• Gas heaters were used most often in one-third (34%) of households followed by reverse cycle air conditioners (26%).
• More than one-quarter (28%) of households had a rainwater tank plumbed into their dwelling.
• Almost half (46%) of all households hand watered their garden and lawn, with 35% using fixed sprinkler or drip systems.
• More than one-third (37%) of households reported they had a reduced flow shower head installed.
• Almost two-thirds (61%) of households adjusted water levels when washing clothes or dishes.

In the short term the demand for environment and energy statistics from the ABS far outweighs our ability to supply the required information. There are increasing expectations of the ABS to deliver information on a range of issues. Currently, we are planning to continue to collect and compile the following collections and environmental accounts:

• Annual household surveys covering environmental attitudes and behaviours (with the exception of the environmental concerns topic, which was last collected in 1999).
• Biennial natural resource management (NRM) surveys, along the lines of the 2002 Land Management and Salinity Survey and the 2003 Agriculture Water Use Survey, to produce national and regional estimates.
• Energy and greenhouse gas accounts.
• Water accounts (next due in respect of 2004-05), for which we are aiming to provide greater regional detail.
• Annual environmental thematic publication.

All members of the ABS Environment and Energy team met in Binalong, New South Wales from 30 May to 1 June 2005. Since the team is located in both the ABS Central Office in Canberra and in the Hobart office, we took the opportunity to spend time together with the aim of improving relationships for the benefit of the work of the Environment and Energy Program. As part of the evolution of the program, all members of the team discussed and agreed upon:

• the role of CEES within the ABS, and in the field and environment and energy statistics;
• the importance of gathering environment and energy statistics;
• how we can improve the work produced by the team, our relationships with each other, and internal and external stakeholders; and
• the value of the breadth of knowledge and experience within the team, and the opportunity to capture and develop that knowledge and experience for the benefit of the Environment and Energy work program.

Water accounting at the ABS is progressing on many fronts. Internationally we have been involved in the preparation of a manual for the implementation of the System of Environment and Economic Accounting for Water (SEEAW). In Australia, the ABS and the National Water Commission (NWC) co-hosted a workshop on water accounting on 29 June 2005 at Old Parliament House. The ABS/NWC water accounting workshop was a first step in the development of water accounts to support the COAG Agreement on a National Water Initiative (NWI). It brought together a wide range of stakeholders from industry and conservation groups as well as representatives from all Commonwealth and State/Territory governments. At the workshop, ABS and NWC recognised that NWI water accounting is about integrated national accounting, measurement and monitoring, with specific uses and users at different levels of water management, and is an important point of consensus to build upon. It is also fundamental to achieving the water accounting outcomes as agreed under the NWI. The ABS paper prepared for the workshop, as well as a workshop report, are available on request.

For further information, contact Mette Creaser, Tel: (02) 6252 6161 or email mette.creaser@abs.gov.au

Natural Resource Management Survey

The 2005 Federal Budget provided for an on-going biennial Natural Resource Management (NRM) Survey, beginning with the 2004-05 reference year. The survey will collect data on land and land management; water availability and use; weeds and pests; and native vegetation and other land cover. For each of these NRM topics, data is collected regarding:

• activities to prevent or manage issues;
• whether management is preventative or remedial;
• how much time was spent engaged in the identified management activities;
• the impact of identified issues;
• areas affected; and
• the financial cost associated with addressing issues.

A key objective of COAG’s National Water Initiative is to encourage the expansion in water markets and the trade between regions to ensure that water ‘is put to best use’. To date, assessment of the effectiveness of water use against this objective has been inhibited by lack of information. To help fill that information gap, a study is currently being conducted using unit record information from the ABS Land Management and Salinity Survey (2001-02), the ABS Water Survey - Agriculture (2002-03) and panel data from the Agricultural Survey/Census for the past 4 years, to examine the link between water use, salinity, land management and farm performance.

This study is a collaborative one between the Productivity Commission (PC) and the ABS. The collaborative arrangement provides the ABS with an opportunity to assist and encourage objective research, utilising official data and to ensure timely use of important new survey results. It provides the Commission with key data and analytical support needed to bring the project to fruition. Staff from both agencies are expected to benefit from increased understanding of the data, its use in analysis and its application to some major public policy issues. It is also hoped that this arrangement can be the forerunner of future similar projects whereby data from the ABS agricultural and environmental surveys can be examined at the unit record level to obtain information and test potential longitudinal relationships in the data that will assist formulation and monitoring of natural resource management and environmental policy. This opportunity has not presented itself before, partly due to the traditional (prior to 2001-02) practice of selecting largely unrelated samples for successive years in the agricultural survey, and environmental surveys have not previously been done on the back of agricultural surveys.

An information paper with a descriptive analysis of the data will be available later this year, and final results will follow. Both publications will be jointly authored and published on the ABS and PC websites. Results will be more widely disseminated as public conference/seminar papers.

For further information, contact Steven May, Tel: (02) 6252 5593 or email steven.may@abs.gov.au

Environmental issues: People’s views and practices
(cat. no. 4602.0)
Expected release date: November 2005

‘Environmental issues: People’s views and practices’, the eleventh in a series, will provide data collected in 2005 on environmental behaviour and practices of Australian households and individuals, focusing on energy use and conservation. The survey collected information on energy sources, aspects of dwelling materials and fixtures that impact on energy use, and energy using household appliances. These are some of the main determinants of energy use, which in turn has implications for greenhouse gas emissions, pollution and resource depletion.

Expected release date
November 2005 Environmental issues: People’s views and practices (cat. no. 4602.0)
December 2005 Land management - Eurobodalla Shire, NSW, 2003-2004 (cat. no. 4651.0)
December 2005 Experimental estimates of regional agricultural water use
April 2006 Australia’s environment issues and trends (cat. no. 4613.0)
April 2006 Measures of Australia’s progress (cat. no. 1370.0)