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7
’SMARTWAYS OF COPING
WITH NATURE’S MOODS’
Ten dry years transformed Australian thinking about weather
and water. The world can learn from their approach. Rob
Vertessy, the director of the Bureau of Meteorology: ‘Our
water-trading systemmakes a combination of long dry
periods and economic growth possible.’
BY PJOTR VAN LENTEREN / PHOTO KRISTIAN GEHRADTE
T
he fact that Dr Rob Vertessy now
heads a meteorological institute
is quite remarkable: he started
out as a hydrologist. It’s hardly
surprising that his institute has
been led by meteorologists for more
than a hundred years. But no longer, and that is
a significant change. Australian scientists have
developed multi-disciplinary, pioneering solutions
for long-term water shortages.
You are the first hydrologist to be
appointed director of a meteorological
institute. Surely meteorologists and
hydrologists are like cats and dogs?
‘Not really, we are all dogs really and we get along
fine: we complement one another. As a hydrologist,
I studied forest water regimes and catchment
modelling, and during the drought crisis I
advised the government to set up a sound water
information system. They asked me to do the job
at the Bureau of Meteorology. And I’m still here.’
Has there been a change in the approach to
water issues now that meteorologists and
hydrologists have teamed up?
‘Absolutely. We used to forecast how much rain
there would be, and where. At least, we did our
best. Nowadays, we are an institute that uses
accurate forecasts to help people to come up with
smart ways of coping with nature’s moods. For
example, we work out how much water you can
remove from a catchment without damaging the
local ecosystem. These are things that you may
not think about in the short term but they make a
world of difference in the long term.’
Australian nature can be a tough
customer.
‘That’s right. First we had a decade-long drought
and then so much rain that we couldn’t get rid
of the water for months. Of course, as such,
droughts are nothing new but the population and
the economy have grown so fast that we reached
a tipping point at the end of the last century. We
have enormous catchments on which four states
depend at the same time. So disputes about water
are always a possibility. One of the things that we
have got good at is preventing situations of that
kind.’
Which solutions are you proud of?
‘Australia has a healthy water market. To extract
water, you need a permit and then it is possible
to trade the water that has been extracted within
regions. Of course, the drought put a lot of pressure