Balancing Consumptive and Environmental Water Use –An Australian Perspective - Water and Agriculture: Sustainability, Markets and Policies - page 185

Actions under the Salinity Strategy include capacity building through communication
and education, identifying and quantifying assets at risk, redesigning farm systems to
improve the control on groundwater recharge, constructing salt inception works and
ensuring Basin-wide accountability through the establishment of monitoring, evaluating
and reporting frameworks.
The Living Murray First Step
In response to evidence that the River Murray system's health was in serious decline,
and amidst concerns that the decline would threaten the Basin's industries, communities,
and natural and cultural values, significant work was undertaken in 2002 and 2003 to
investigate options for improving river health through the provision of additional water
for the environment. The outcome was the establishment of The Living Murray Initiative
(The Living Murray) by the Ministerial Council. Activities within The Living Murray
relate to environmental management, communication, consultation and communications
for water recovery. All work is executed in consultation with the wider community and
Indigenous representatives.
As an initial plan for progress, the 'First Step' for The Living Murray was endorsed in
late 2003. The First Step decision included input from communities through meetings,
submissions, the Living Murray Community Reference Panel, the CAC to the Ministerial
Council, and an Indigenous consultation process undertaken with Murray-Lower Darling
Rivers Indigenous Nations. The First Step focuses on maximising environmental benefits
for six sites along the River Murray, termed Significant Ecological Assets (SEAs) for
their regional, national and international ecological significance (Figure3).
Environmental objectives include forests, floodplains and river systems.
Actions undertaken for the First Step consider environmental, social and cultural
implications for the individual SEAs and include the recovery of water for environmental
outcomes, an Environmental Delivery Project to develop the water application
arrangements across the River Murray system, an eight-year Environmental Works and
Measures Programme to provide the operational flexibility to deliver and manage
environmental flow allocations, an Indigenous Partnerships Project to provide for an
agreed approach for Indigenous peoples' spiritual, cultural, social and economic
considerations within The Living Murray initiative, and the development of a Community
Consultation and Communications Strategy.
The political and financial support for the implementation of the First Step is
provided for through an intergovernmental agreement signed by the New South Wales,
Victoria, South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and the Australian
governments. The “Murray-Darling Basin Intergovernmental Agreement to Address
Water Overallocation and to Achieve Environmental Objectives in the Murray-Darling
Basin” provides a commitment of AUD 500 million for the venture over five years, to
address water over-allocation to human-related activities in the Basin to minimise adverse
social and ecological impacts, with the Living Murray First Step Decision the priority
investment. The AUD 500 million funding was agreed to by the COAG as part of the
National Water Initiative. Additional funding of AUD 225 million is provided through
other sources.