December 5, 2008 at 12:52 pm · Filed under related research and tagged: CSIRO, modelling, social learning, virtual water, visualisation tools, water markets
CSIRO economists have developed the Australian Knowledge Exchange (AKX) – an online prediction market which aims to forecast water availability.
The AKX has been set up by CSIRO to test whether trading knowledge online can work for water management and decision-making. The AKX is effectively a prediction market which aims to forecast future events. Traders in the AKX use their knowledge to buy and sell ‘virtual stocks’ in an online marketplace. The market price for these stocks represents the consensus forecast of the traders in the market.
In the current simulation study, the researchers are assessing whether traders can combine their knowledge to predict dam levels in the region, in much the same way as stock market traders predict future prices of commodities like oil.
Interested people can register online, get $100,000 play money and start trading predictions. At the end of each month for three months, the trader who has predicted the dam levels most closely will win a small cash prize.
Visit the AKX Website…
November 11, 2008 at 10:03 am · Filed under related research and tagged: barriers, institutions, irrigation, uncertainty, water markets, water policy, water reform
A new report released by the University of New England (UNE) has found government bureaucracy is preventing improvements in the use of water in Australia.
The inter-governmental National Water Initiative was created in 2004 to provide a simplified approach to water management.
But UNE researchers have found too much red tape is stifling sustainable water practices in regional and rural communities.
Dr Jacqueline Williams says there are too many government policies and they need to be reformed.
She says there needs to be a system that harmonises the market and regulatory instruments.
The results of the study, which was funded by the Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Futures, are presented in a report titled “Transaction costs and water reform: the devils hiding in the details”.
Download the report here…
External Links
ABC News Report
UNE Media Release
October 8, 2008 at 9:45 am · Filed under presentations and tagged: public participation, social assessment, water markets
John Mackenzie from the Collaborative Water Planning Project delivered a presentation at the Designer Carrots: National Market-Based Instruments Forum on the role of social research in the development and delivery of market-based approaches to resource management. John’s presentation highlighted the importance of understanding social drivers, values and aspirations as the basis for enhancing participation in market-based instruments (or MBIs). He also explored established techniques of communication and social marketing for improving the design and delivery of MBIs for the achievement of desired resource condition improvements.
More information on the Designer Carrots National Forum
About Designer Carrots
The Designer Carrots program arose out of the National Market Based Instruments (MBIs) Pilot Program Round Two selection process. During the selection process, the selection advisory panel identified the need for a National MBI Capacity Building Program as they felt additional capacity building was essential to increase the potential for widespread success of well-designed MBIs for natural resource management (NRM).
The $1.2 million national MBI Capacity Building Program, which runs under the banner of Designer Carrots, is developing a number of products to help regional NRM groups and government policy makers build their capacity to better understand and use MBIs as an incentive to encourage land managers to implement best practice NRM.
More on Designer Carrots
