The Murray-Darling Basin’s rivers, floodplains and wetlands are vital for sustaining its communities, cultures, and economies. Unsustainable levels of water use had led to long-term declines in the health of the Basin. In response, the Australian Government has recovered over 2000 gigalitres of water that was previously used to supply agricultural and other consumptive uses. This water is now managed by an independent federal entity, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH), to protect and restore the rivers, wetlands and floodplains of the Murray-Darling Basin.
Since its establishment in 2008, the CEWH has delivered environmental flows that have benefitted over 22,000 kilometres of rivers and inundated over 370,000 hectares of lakes, wetlands, and floodplains. The flows have supported native animals to migrate, move between habitats and complete their life-cycles. Working alongside state government agencies, the CEWH partners with First Nations peoples, local landholders, community groups, the irrigation sector and scientists to plan, deliver and monitor environmental flows. This collaborative effort draws on the latest science, knowledge and experiences; lessons learnt from previous actions; and builds awareness and trust in this relatively new natural resource management action.