ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the current understanding and use of best available science (BAS) in water resource management from science, policy and management perspectives. It discusses a case study which explores the use and misuse of BAS in the development and implementation of environmental flows, a highly contentious management and policy option that aims to improve the ecological health of regulated river systems, yet removes consumptive water that sustains rural populations. BAS is being increasingly used as a criterion to inform and prioritize the evidence used to shape well-informed resource management decisions. The many and varied types of scientific inquiry that can generate multiple forms of scientific outputs affect the evidence available for water resource management. As policy develops and craves an objective evidence base for water resource management, managers worldwide are already grappling with the legislative requirement for using BAS in environmental decision-making.