Water availability
encompasses the physical reserves of water as well as the accessibility, use
and sharing of water. Water, being the central node of the water, food,
climate, and energy nexus, the resource plays a critical role in the
sustainable development and livelihoods of a region. Varying socioeconomic and
environmental conditions influence a system's vulnerability to water, with
water availability. In an area of the state where effective management of water
resources is vital for sustaining expanding populations, enabling livelihood
diversification, and sustaining economic growth under increasingly adverse
climate conditions, quantifying water vulnerability is key for generating
effective adaptation responses and coping mechanisms. This research focuses on
the water-climate connection whilst building upon existing approaches to
measuring vulnerability through the development of a comprehensive framework to
assess water vulnerability in Western Australia's Wheatbelt under changing
climatic conditions.
Using a geographic approach, an index was developed to assess climate forced
demand-driven and supply-driven water vulnerability for the region. The index
was spatially applied using a Geographic Information System (GIS) as an
analysis tool incorporating multiple socioeconomic and environmental datasets. Using
regression analysis, the variables with the greatest influence on overall water
vulnerability were identified as well as trends in water vulnerability over several
census periods from 2001 to 2011. The resulting analysis provides a baseline
for examining issues surrounding future water use and sustainable development
in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt.