nature

The Murray-Darling Basin is Australia’s largest river system, and an ecological, agricultural and cultural asset. Craig Wilkins Co-Director of the Murray-Darling Conservation Alliance explains the complexities of the river system, how the Basin is experiencing severe stress and degradation from over-allocation, weak enforcement, and low public awareness. Critical wetland ecosystems receive insufficient water, with parts of the river system facing risk of collapse.
The Basin Plan is under review and needs to be strengthened through four priorities – climate adaptation, river connectivity, removal of constraints to environmental flows and grater First Nations involvement.