MDBC achievements and milestones 2002-2007The Murray-Darling Basin Commission has been managing the natural resources of this vast area of Australia since 1988. However, the past five years has been a time of unprecedented growth and innovation in the organisation’s programs and activities. During this time there have been some major milestones and achievements for the environment and for the 2.7 million people who live in the Basin. Following are some of these milestones. Managing the Murray during record droughtThe most important achievement over the past five years arguably has been to ensure water supplies down the river system during the period of lowest inflows in 113 years. Since the seriousness of this drought became apparent in about 2003, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission has used all the resources at its disposal to communicate the worsening news to a huge range of people within and outside the Basin.Cap reduces amount of water extracted from Basin’s river systemsOver the past five years, all valleys where the Cap is established, in the Murray-Darling Basin, except for the Barwon Darling/ Lower Darling, have complied with the Cap, thus limiting the amount of water extracted from the system. In fact, most valleys have diverted much less water than they were entitled to divert.Bringing salinity under some controlCommunities and Governments have worked together to make significant progress in managing salinity levels in the Basin through the Salinity Management Strategy. Salt interception schemes cumulatively keep 430,000 tonnes of salt out of the Murray each year.Water trade halves the cost of droughtA successful MDBC pilot project from 1998 to 2003 proved the positive economic and environmental benefits of expanding interstate water trading between New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The Productivity Commission has said the move more than halves the impact of reductions in water on the gross regional product of the southern Murray-Darling Basin.Boosting populations and health of native fishThings are looking up for the native fish of the Murray-Darling Basin with population numbers up, innovative new ‘fishways’ being built and ‘resnagging’ helping to re-recreate natural habitats for the fish.Sustainable Rivers Audit discovers new exotic fish speciesEven though it’s only two-thirds of the way through the first ever Basin-wide assessment of fish, macroinvertebrates and hydrology, the Sustainable Rivers Audit already has confirmed a new population of a nationally threatened species (Barred galaxias) and the presence of a new exotic species (Crucian Carp) in the Basin.Restoring the health of the Murray RiverImportant infrastructure and water recovery mechanisms have been achieved to take the program on its way to returning the target of 500GL of water by 30 June 2009 (with most of the water becoming available in the final two years..Carrying out the most active period of environmental managementJune 2005 to February 2006 was the most active period of environmental management in the history of River Murray since its regulation resulting in significant benefits.Working with Indigenous nationsAn historic Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations in March 2006 and the Cultural Landscape Plan of Management developed with the Barkindji Nation at Lake Victoria are just two major milestones of the MDBC’s consultation process with Indigenous people.Creating sound scientific and technical knowledgeThe MDBC’s major achievements have all been underpinned by first class science and knowledge, especially through the MDBC’s Strategic Investigations and Education Program – a work program spanning 15 years from 1990-2005)_____________________Managing the Murray during record droughtThe most important achievement over the past five years arguably has been to ensure water supplies down the river system during the worst drought in 113 years.Carried out by the River Murray Water (RMW) division, this has included careful management of dams and weirs along the length of the river, varying water levels where and when necessary. Other RMW achievements have included:
Communicating the worsening droughtSince the seriousness of this drought became apparent in about 2003, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission has used all the resources at its disposal to communicate the worsening news to a huge range of people within and outside the Basin.Some of the communication has included:
Cap reduces amount of water extracted from Basin’s river systemsThe Cap is a limit on the volume of water which can be diverted from the Basin’s rivers for human uses. It dates back to 1996 and is now a statutory requirement under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement. The Cap is independently audited every year. While the Cap restrains increase in water diversions, it does not constrain new developments provided the water for them is obtained by using water more efficiently or by purchasing water from existing developments.Over the past five years, all valleys where the Cap has been established in the Murray-Darling Basin, except for the Barwon Darling/Lower Darling, have complied with the Cap, thus limiting the amount of water extracted from the system. In fact, most valleys have diverted much less water than they were entitled to divert. Bringing salinity under some controlCommunities and Governments have worked together to make significant progress in managing salinity levels in the Basin through the Salinity Management Strategy. The following milestones so far have been achieved:
Water trade halves cost of droughtA successful MDBC pilot project from 1998 to 2003 proved the positive economic and environmental benefits of expanding interstate water trading between New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.The Productivity Commission has said the move more than halves the impact of reductions in water on the gross regional product of the southern Murray-Darling Basin. During the pilot, water users in the South Australia River Murray and the Mallee regions of Victoria and New South Wales were able to buy and sell water across state boundaries. The Pilot Project demonstrated that irrigators wanted the ability to trade water interstate and led to the 2006 Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council endorsement which enabled the geographic expansion of interstate water trade within the jurisdictions of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Achievement of this milestone was a major commitment of the Council of Australian Governments to the National Water Initiative Intergovernmental Agreement on water reform within Australia. Boosting populations and health of native fishThings are looking up for the native fish of the Murray-Darling Basin. According to the second annual implementation report of the MDBC’s Native Fish Strategy released late in 2006 milestones have included;
Restoring the health of the Murray RiverIn 2002 the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council established The Living Murray program in response to signs that the Murray River is suffering.The program’s “First Step” phase is focusing on protecting and improving the environment at six sites along the River, known as “icon sites”. Ultimately, the Living Murray program aims to return an average of 500GL of water by 30 June 2009, with most of the water becoming available in the final two years. However, before water is recovered, extensive project development needs to occur, much of which is now taking place. Achievements so far in developing projects which will recover the water have been:
From 2000-2004, the MDBC and a Community Reference Panel held 28 meetings to provide community input into the development and implementation of The Living Murray. This group evolved to become The Living Murray Community Reference Group in 2005, which has met seven times to February 2007. Sustainable Rivers Audit discovers new exotic fish speciesThe Sustainable Rivers Audit is a program designed to measure the health of the Basin’s rivers. The Audit aims to:
Even though it’s only two-thirds of the way through, the first ever Basin-wide assessment of fish, macroinvertebrates and hydrology, the Sustainable Rivers Audit already has confirmed a new population of a nationally threatened species (Barred galaxias) and the presence of a new exotic species (Crucian Carp) in the Basin. The project – due to be completed by the end of 2007 - will produce the first Basin-wide river health assessment based on scientific research principles. Consistent site selection and sampling techniques are being used to sample all river valleys. Already the SRA sampling has identified a new population of the nationally threatened Barred galaxias (Galaxias fuscus) in the Goulburn valley, range extensions of the native Climbing galaxias (Galaxias brevipinnis) and confirmed the presence of the exotic species Crucian Carp (Carassius carassius) in the Basin. Carrying out the most active period of environmental managementJune 2005 to February 2006 was the most active period of environmental management in the history of River Murray since its regulation. Existing allocations in the River Murray system helped water over 36,000 hectares of floodplain at the icon sites for environmental purposes. The benefits from this environmental watering included high levels of fish spawning, bird breeding and regeneration of stressed vegetation. Other positive activities have included
Working with Indigenous nations
Creating sound scientific and technical knowledgeThe MDBC’s major achievements have all been underpinned by first class science and knowledge. Over a period of 15 years, from 1995 to 2005, the MDBC’s Strategic Investigations and Education Program developed sound scientific and technical knowledge for the Commission’s policy and strategic development. The program operated four sub-programs which achieved the following significant results:
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