Undertaken by a team of CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship scientists for the National Water Commission (NWC) and Forest & Wood Products Australia, the project developed modelling tools to provide greater confidence in estimating the impact of new plantations on catchment stream flow. Australia’s blueprint for water reform – the National Water Initiative (NWI) – recognises that a number of land-use change activities have the potential to intercept significant volumes of surface and/or groundwater now and in the future. The Commission commissioned CSIRO to develop tools that can be used by governments to meet their agreed interception commitments under the NWI and assess the impacts of large-scale forestry plantations on water availability. Read More