hen they do occur.
As with virtually all forms of management,
strategies for dealing with drought can be broadly
classified as either reactive or proactive. Proactive
strategies include those implemented to reduce the
impacts of droughts when they occur, and need not be
triggered by the occurrence of drought. The construction
of large dams provides a good example in
terms of securing water resource needs for cities and
agriculture. In contrast, reactive strategies are typically
implemented only once a drought (or other
disturbance event) occurs. The recent (2007) proposal
to build a north-south pipeline connecting the city of
Melbourne to the north flowing Goulburn River
provides a clear example (Gardiner, 2007), and
conflicts absolutely with existing government policy
statements from as recently as April 2006 (Department
of Sustainability and Environment, 2006)