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Mascher, Sharon; Curran, Deborah --- "The role of private property rights in Australia’s and Canada’s modern water allocation regimes" [2017] ELECD 1477; in Hollo, J. Erkki (ed), "Water Resource Management and the Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2017) 196

Book Title: Water Resource Management and the Law

Editor(s): Hollo, J. Erkki

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781785369827

Section: Chapter 7

Section Title: The role of private property rights in Australia’s and Canada’s modern water allocation regimes

Author(s): Mascher, Sharon; Curran, Deborah

Number of pages: 17

Abstract/Description:

Based on the natural history of property rights, in the face of water scarcity and as demand increases, one might expect to see the articulation of comprehensive individualized property rights to allocate access to this resource. However, because of the special nature of the water resource, modern water allocation regimes must balance the desire to provide security to water users and create incentives for efficiency with the need to manage water in a manner that incorporates public values for ecological health. In so doing, these regimes create use entitlements or rights that possess characteristics of private property while incorporating mechanisms to allow for adaptive management of the water resource. Using modern Australian and Canadian water law, this chapter explores the question of whether the result can be characterized as private rights. Keywords: Chapter 7 (Mascher and Curran): Water allocation, private property, right to use water, adaptive management, Australian water regimes, Western Canadian water law regimes