Sustaining local values through river basin governance: community-based initiatives in Australia's Murray-Darling basin

• Published in: Journal of environmental planning and management Vol. 58; no. 12; pp. 2212 - 2227
• Main Authors: Robinson, Catherine J., Bark, Rosalind H., Garrick, Dustin, Pollino, Carmel A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 02-12-2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Australia; Balancing; Basins; Communities; Community; Community development; Community support; Environment management; Environmental protection; Freshwater; integrated water planning and management; local action; monitoring and evaluation; NGOs; Nongovernmental organizations; Planning methods; River basins; River transport; Rivers; Studies; Sustainable development; Values; Water management; Water quality; Water resources; Water resources management; Australia; Australia, Murray-Darling Basin
• ISSN: 0964-0568; 1360-0559
• DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2014.976699

Australia's Murray-Darling basin (MDB) water plan is an ambitious attempt to balance ecological, social and economic benefits, where a key aspect of the reform process has been recovery of water for environmental use. This paper focuses on a set of initiatives established by a local non-governmental organisation and an Indigenous community designed to engage with local values and priorities and incorporate them into this complex river basin governance system. Contrary to expectations that local and basin-scale interests and outcomes will diverge, the case studies reveal the ability for local groups to collaboratively manage both land and water resources to achieve locally important outcomes, and contribute to basin-scale outcomes. The analysis also highlights a progressive style of community-based environmental management for water management that utilises multiple institutional arrangements and planning pathways to protect the values that are important to local communities, and to nest those values within the broader effort to sustainably manage the basin's water resources.