23-11-2001

Leading scientist Dr Glen Walker has won Australia's most prestigious accolade for innovation in salinity research and development - the National Dryland Salinity Program's 2001 WE Wood Award.

South Australian-based Dr Walker, who is senior principal research scientist with CSIRO Land and Water, is currently seconded to Primary Industries and Resources South Australia.

Australia's National Dryland Salinity Program (NDSP) sponsors this important award for outstanding scientific or technical excellence, which recognises a unique contribution to managing salinity by an individual or group over a sustained period of many years.

The award recalls Walter Ernest Wood, a railway engineer who observed the link between land clearing and the development of salinity in railway dams in Western Australia. His distinguished and far-sighted observations regarding this relationship were first published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia in March 1924.

Previous recipients of the award include inaugural winner, Dr Tom Hatton, CSIRO Land and Water, in 1999 and Dr Richard George, salinity manager with the Western Australia Department of Agriculture, in 2000.

The award was presented to Dr Walker last night by the Governor of Western Australia, His Excellency Lieutenant General John Sanderson AC, at a special ceremony held at the historic Midland Railway Workshops in Western Australia.

NDSP Management Board Chair, Kevin Goss, congratulated Dr Walker on his achievement and cited his work as a major contribution to improved understanding of the causes and impacts of dryland salinity in Australia.

"The judging panel was unanimous in its opinion that Dr Walker more than met the award's criteria of scientific content, innovation and lasting significance to Australia," Mr Goss said.

"Glen has been highly influential in refining our understanding of the groundwater processes that cause salinity, and has made a unique and leading contribution to estimating its future impacts.

"At a time when we needed to 'double check' our methodology for predicting salinity and develop a new approach for assessing the economics of salinity control options, he applied his depth of scientific knowledge and brought credibility to the task."

Dr Walker's recent research has influenced the management of dryland salinity by raising awareness of the scale of the problem, developing groundwater models to predict 'what if' scenarios and highlighting the inadequacy of current farming systems to deal with both groundwater recharge and discharge.

In accepting the award, Dr Walker said he was overwhelmed to be recognised by his peers, particularly in consideration of the depth of excellence in salinity research and development across Australia.

"Clearly for such a complex issue it is vital that we have quality technical information - underpinned by good science - to focus management efforts and investments," he said.

"I have been involved in a number of projects where the real value of research has proven pivotal to effective planning and policy. Such work has been particularly prevalent in understanding the impact of recharge on the River Murray, and determining how different land and water systems in the Murray-Darling Basin respond to various management options."

Key aspects of Dr Walker's work leading to his selection as winner of the 2001 WE Wood Award include:

• Recharge techniques - Dr Walker's basic research and modelling of groundwater processes have led to the current understanding of recharge and discharge in Australian catchments. This work has been undertaken in most States and underpins the recent work of the National Land and Water Resources Audit on groundwater flow systems and salinity provinces.
• Groundwater modelling for salinity management - Dr Walker is one of the authors of FLOWTUBE, a simple computer program for dryland salinity management Australia-wide. His analysis in landmark research projects has supported the development of a fully integrated response to salinity, rather than dependence on solely engineering or agronomic solutions.
• Vegetation impacts over shallow water tables - He has led studies of the sustainability and groundwater use of plantations, natural ecosystems and agricultural species, as well as impacts of floods and inundation events. This work has significantly contributed to a broader understanding of salinity processes in the floodplain of the River Murray and is now leading to new strategies to manage and protect the ecological values of the River Murray floodplain.
• Stream salinity - Dr Walker was the principal investigator for the Murray-Darling Basin Salt Trends report, salt balance studies and the impact of dryland salinity on South Australia's water resources.
  Dr Walker will present the 2001 WE Wood Memorial Lecture on Friday, 23 November at the Constitutional Centre of Western Australia.

The annual lecture celebrates the success of the WE Wood Award winner and provides a thought-provoking forum exploring advances in salinity research and development.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Please contact Land & Water Australia
Email: land&wateraustralia@lwa.gov.au
Phone: 02 6263 6000