Enhancing viticulture sustainability in the Murray-Darling Basin through innovative green finance mechanisms

Vineyards provide landscapes that both deliver and use many ecosystem services such as soil carbon fixation, nutrient cycling, buffering hydrology dynamics, natural pest control and weed suppression. Though vineyards are economically, environmentally, and socially important assets, challenges in both biophysical and socioeconomic aspects currently threaten the sector, which reduces economic viability and sustainability. The project is designed
to address these challenges by reviewing and critically assessing global forms of green financing and evaluating them for suitability to support vineyard producers in the Griffith and Mildura areas of the Basin region. By combining agricultural economics, finance, viticulture, agroecology and ecosystem services, the project will deliver robust insights that can be applied across various other One Basin CRC hub regions and potentially in other industries. Further, this project seeks to help vineyard producers transition toward environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance.

About this project

Viticulture in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) is increasingly susceptible to various biophysical and socioeconomic stressors, including climate change, water scarcity, deteriorating water quality, salinity, environmental degradation, erosion of ecosystem services, soil degradation, and financial constraints. Though these require adopting sustainable technologies and practices, high upfront costs, uncertain returns, and perceived risks hinder adoption, particularly among small and medium-scale producers. Green finance (GF) is a potential pathway to bridge this funding and adoption gap.

Nonetheless, barriers to the adoption of GF schemes highlight the imperative for innovative, context-specific mechanisms to identify key factors, such as appropriate circumstances for use. This study aims to understand how GF might be utilised to enhance viticulture sustainability in the MDB, guided by institutional theory and an extended theory of planned behaviour (ETPB). The first phase of this study will use secondary data sources to evaluate global GF applications and to assess their potential viability for supporting MDB viticulturalists. Findings will be validated qualitatively using interviews and focus group discussions with stakeholders, followed by thematic analysis using NVivo and stakeholder mapping.

Finally, Q-methodology will be used to explore viticulturists’ intention to adopt GF instruments, developing Q statements based on TPB constructs and indirect influences of contractual, institutional, and adopter characteristics. This study theoretically addresses the TPB’s weaknesses in informing variations in intention by incorporating identified external factors into its primary constructs and practically by informing the design of innovative GF instruments and policy recommendations to promote sustainable viticulture in the MDB.

About this project

The research is expected to:

• Assess green finance instruments deployed worldwide according to application, environmental, and economic outcomes, drivers, barriers, and transferability to MDB.
• Verify these identified instruments for their practicality and suitability using stakeholders’ viewpoints.
• Identify viticulturists’ willingness and participation in GF mechanisms within the MDB.
• Provide practical recommendations for policymakers, financial institutions, and industry groups.
• Contribute to peer-reviewed publications and doctoral thesis outputs.