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Using an ecosystem services approach to re-frame the management of flow constraints in a major regulated river basin

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Worldwide, floodplains have been alienated from river channels by dams, levee banks and other infrastructure, constructed for flood protection and water resource development for irrigation, constraining flows within-channel. Recently, several programs have restored connectivity, generating considerable ecological, social and economic benefits. As part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, water purchased from irrigators is used to restore wetlands. Maximising ecological benefits with limited water requires constraints relaxation, whereby high flow volumes needed for ecologically effective floods are released from headwater dams and allowed to flood public and private land en route to wetlands downstream, which requires infrastructure works and rights to inundate privately managed lands. We examined five focal areas identified in the Basin Constraints Management Strategy to determine ecosystem services benefits generated by floods on land between dams and target wetlands. From a document analysis of focus area business cases, we found multiple examples where significant co-benefits could be realised but had not been identified. Accordingly, the assessment of costs and benefits was primarily focussed on costs. We categorised ecosystem services for each focal area as of low, medium or high importance and, where possible, assigned indicative monetary values. Regulating and cultural services, rather than provisioning services, ranked highest across all focus areas, including groundwater recharge, regulation of riparian habitat quality, aesthetic appreciation, recreation and tourism, Indigenous and community values. The business cases seek to maximise costs and thus the transfer of public funds in compensation to landholders. However, there are important public policy considerations of equity, accountability and transparency, including proof of damage prior to compensation, as well as offsetting losses against ecosystem services benefits. We consider that an ecosystem services approach could greatly improve acceptance of constraints relaxation amongst landholders and the development of novel policy options and instruments that can help advance the implementation of the Basin Plan.
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The original publication is available at: Australasian Journal of Water Resources (2021), 25(2), 222233.
https://doi.org/10.1080/13241583.2020.1832723
Using an ecosystem services approach to re-frame the management of flow constraints in a major
regulated river basin
Georgia Kahan, Matthew J. Colloff* and Jamie Pittock
Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian
Capital Territory 2601, Australia
*corresponding author: Matthew.Colloff@anu.edu.au
Abstract
Worldwide, floodplains have been alienated from river channels by dams, levee banks and other
infrastructure, constructed for flood protection and water resource development for irrigation,
constraining flows within-channel. Recently, several programs have restored connectivity, generating
considerable ecological, social and economic benefits. As part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan,
water purchased from irrigators is used to restore wetlands. Maximising ecological benefits with
limited water requires constraints relaxation, whereby high flow volumes needed for ecologically
effective floods are released from headwater dams and allowed to flood public and private land en
route to wetlands downstream, which requires infrastructure works and rights to inundate privately
managed lands. We examined five focal areas identified in the Basin Constraints Management
Strategy to determine ecosystem services benefits generated by floods on land between dams and
target wetlands. From a document analysis of focus area business cases, we found multiple examples
where significant co-benefits could be realised but had not been identified. Accordingly, the
assessment of costs and benefits was primarily focussed on costs. We categorised ecosystem
services for each focal area as of low, medium or high importance and, where possible, assigned
indicative monetary values. Regulating and cultural services, rather than provisioning services,
ranked highest across all focus areas, including groundwater recharge, regulation of riparian habitat
quality, aesthetic appreciation, recreation and tourism, Indigenous and community values. The
business cases seek to maximise costs and thus the transfer of public funds in compensation to
landholders. However, there are important public policy considerations of equity, accountability and
transparency, including proof of damage prior to compensation, as well as offsetting losses against
ecosystem services benefits. We consider that an ecosystem services approach could greatly improve
acceptance of constraints relaxation amongst landholders and the development of novel policy
options and instruments that can help advance the implementation of the Basin Plan.
Key words: environmental flows, constraints relaxation, wetlands, environmental management,
environmental policy, floodplain
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Introduction
Around the world, floodplains have been cut off from their channels by river regulation: the control
of flows though the construction of levee banks, dams and impoundments for flood mitigation and
the development of water resources, due to growing demand for consumptive water use driven by
rising populations, economic growth and climate change, as well as protection from flooding
(Grafton et al., 2013). The effects of river regulation and water resource development have included
the degradation of riverine and floodplain ecosystems, their functions and biodiversity (Vörösmarty
et al., 2010), as well as the increased risk of extreme flooding and loss of benefits to people from
declining floodplain ecosystem services (Richter et al., 2010; Talbot et al. 2018).
For decades, researchers have argued that risks can be reduced and benefits enhanced by
reconnecting floodplains with their rivers (White, 1945; Opperman et al., 2009). Over the past
twenty-five years, major programs have restored floodplains to reduce flood risks in the United
States (Galloway, 1995), Europe (Ebert et al., 2009) and China (Yu et al., 2009). These programs have
generated considerable ecological and socio-economic benefits, and such activities are becoming
more important for ecosystem-based adaptation to flow extremes, exacerbated by climate change
(Wenger et al., 2013). Under the name constraints relaxation, Australian governments are now
proposing to apply similar floodplain restoration principles to the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB). A key
difference from the aforementioned programs is that a major policy objective is to restore and
conserve more wetlands with the limited water available, rather than to achieve flood risk reduction.
Accordingly, constraints management involves identifying and addressing the physical, operational
and institutional constraints that affect delivery of environmental water (MDBA, 2013, v).
The flow-dependent ecosystems of the MDB have been extensively modified by human activities
since the latter half of the 19th century; by grazing, timber harvesting, gold mining, harvesting of
waterbird plumage for the fashion industry, clearing of channels for navigation, commercial
freshwater fisheries, hunting of waterfowl, land clearing for agriculture, river regulation and water
diversions for irrigation, and the construction of levee banks that have alienated many floodplains,
particularly in the Southern Basin (Colloff, 2014; Colloff et al., 2015a). These stressors, combined with
seven severe multi-year droughts since 1895, have resulted in many rivers and wetlands being
assessed as in poor condition by the early 21st century (Davies et al. 2010; 2012). The diversion of
about 48 percent of surface water flows from Basin rivers and the regulation of peak flows means
that extensive areas of floodplain wetlands no longer receive floods to meet the water requirements
of their biota (Roberts and Marston, 2011; Rogers and Ralph, 2011). These ecosystems are at risk of
further degradation until effective regimes of environmental watering are established and
maintained.
Under the 2012 Murray-Darling Basin Plan (hereafter, ‘the Basin Plan), a legal instrument of the
Water Act (Cth., 2007), the Commonwealth Government intends to recover an additional 2,750 GL
yr-1 of water from irrigation use for environmental flows to restore the health of wetlands and rivers.
Since 2008, the Commonwealth Government has recovered approximately 2,075 GL of water from
irrigators (Grafton et al., 2020). Providing water for wetlands, as mandated by the Water Act, is
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intended to fulfil Australia’s obligations under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, which is to
maintain the ecological character of all wetlands (Pittock et al., 2010).
Water for the environment delivers ecological benefits to wetlands only if there is an adequate
water volume to flood them with sufficient frequency, depth, extent and duration in the right
season. Environmental water in the MDB is currently managed within a constrained system, whereby
constraints are defined as “river management practices and structures that govern the volume and
timing of regulated water delivery through the river system” (MDBA, 2013, vii). To conserve wetlands
with limited water, managed environment floods are required. Such events make best use of the
water available where constraints can be relaxed to allow flows to inundate floodplains. The
government-proposed constraints relaxation includes removal of levee banks, relocation or
protection of flood-prone infrastructure and acquisition of flood easements, ensuring that farmers
and property owners are adequately compensated for any damage from periodic flooding of private
land. In terms of property rights, it is important to note that owners of flood-prone land do not
receive compensation due to natural floods, raising the question of why compensation should be
considered as a policy option for environmental flows if there are benefits to private landholders.
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) Constraints Management Strategy (CMS) identifies
six focus areas in the southern Basin for constraints relaxation: Hume to Yarrawonga (Upper Murray),
below Yarrawonga to Wakool Junction (Mid-Murray), Goulburn, Murrumbidgee, Lower Darling and
South Australia (Lower Murray) (Figure 1; MDBA, 2013). Relaxation of constraints in these focus
areas enables coordination of environmental flows from different tributaries to converge and flow
on to inundate floodplain wetlands in the South Australian River Murray, a proposal known as
Enhanced Environmental Water Delivery (MDBA, 2017a). As part of the CMS, state governments
were tasked to develop business cases that assess the feasibility of constraints relaxation for each
focus area. The purpose of the task was to “give governments a perspective on how important the
constraints are to achieving system level outcomes” and to “inform decisions regarding the final suite
of constraints measures to be implemented” (MDBA, 2013 p. 32). In 2012, the Commonwealth
Government committed $200 million
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from a ‘special account’ to address constraints. The amount
was inadequate and Basin state and territory governments later agreed to allow constraints
relaxation projects to be included in the ‘sustainable diversion limit adjustment mechanism’ program
(MDBA, 2017a), that has a $1.1 billion allocation.
Given this substantial public funding, it would be reasonable to expect that business plans would
take into account not only the risks and damage to assets, but also an assessment of the ecological
benefits from environmental flows under constraints relaxation and their wider social and economic
effects. For private landholders, these benefits may include increased timber and pasture
production, improved soil moisture storage, carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling, as detailed
below. The benefits need to be properly counted as well as the costs. However, such assessments
are lacking. One way to address this issue is by using the ecosystem services framework (Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment, 2005) , which focuses on the links between benefits from nature that
1
Monetary figures in this article are in Australian dollars
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Figure 1. The southern Murray-Darling Basin showing the location of the constraints management focus areas
(extent is indicative) and places mentioned in the text: 1 = Hume to Yarrawonga; 2 = Goulburn; 3 =
Murrumbidgee; 4 = Yarrawonga to Wakool Junction; 5 = Menindee Lakes; 6 = South Australian Murray
contribute to human livelihoods and wellbeing.
Previous research on ecosystem services in the MDB has demonstrated the importance of healthy
wetlands for livelihoods and wellbeing. Reid-Piko et al. (2010, p.7) concluded an ecosystem services
framework could be used to inform water resource planning but noted this approach was relatively
underdeveloped in Australia. In 2010 the MDBA commissioned the Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to undertake an integrated ecosystem services assessment
of the Basin Plan, including estimates of monetary value. Supply of most ecosystem services
improves under the Basin Plan, with a value of $3-8 billion, under a scenario of returning 2,800 GL yr-
1 to the environment (Prosser et al., 2012).
Operationalising the link between the health of flow-dependent ecosystems in the MDB and
social and economic benefits has been considered with regard to legislative arrangements to support
the integration of ecosystem services and water planning (Chong, 2012). Plant et al., (2012) and Plant
and Prior (2014) presented an ecosystem services framework, developed under the policy context of
the National Water Initiative (NWI), that includes the statutory requirement for water planning
processes to explicitly identify and consider environmental and other public benefits from aquatic
ecosystems. This requirement, under the NWI Policy Guidelines for Water Planning and Management
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(COAG, 2012, p. 22) applies to all statutory plans for surface and groundwater systems and all states
and territories.
The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists (2017) assessed six constraints relaxation plans
from state governments to assess whether they met conditions agreed by governments for sound
sustainable diversion limit adjustment projects. There has been no independent assessment of the
subsequent, more detailed business cases, which focus on the costs of undertaking constraints
relaxation rather than considering benefits. Our objectives in this paper are to critically analyse the
business cases for six constraints relaxation projects and evaluate the benefits against costs and
mitigation actions. We use an ecosystem services framework to assess social and economic benefits
and assess the implications of our findings for re-framing the decision context for constraints
management. This is the first detailed assessment of proposals for constraints relaxation to restore
floodplains and wetlands in the MDB.
Methods
Document analysis
Business cases for each of the CMS focus areas were: Hume to Yarrawonga (Upper Murray) (MDBA
2016a), Yarrawonga to Wakool Junction (Mid-Murray) (DPI 2016b), Goulburn (DELWP, 2016),
Murrumbidgee (DPI, 2016a), Menindee Lakes (Lower Darling) (DPI, 2017) and South Australia (Lower
Murray) (DEWNR, 2016). Business cases were assessed using document analysis for key content and
themes (Bowen, 2009). Document analysis is a mixed-methods research approach (Johnson et al.
2007), involving collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data,
such as the proposed flow rates, number of landholders affected, extent and tenure of land likely to
be inundated, were collated from business cases and cross-referenced against other relevant sources
(e.g. MDBA, 2013). Where multiple values were given, such as for different flow rates or ranges of
values, we used the maximum value in order to assess the maximum costs, risks and benefits.
Qualitative data included assessment of the benefits, costs and mitigation actions required by each
constraints measure. In particular, our analysis focussed on how costs, risks and benefits were
articulated in the business plans, including whether statements were backed by empirical evidence,
anecdotal or experiential knowledge and information or simply made by assertion.
The Lower Darling constraints measures project does not have a separate business case but is
part of the Menindee Lakes Water Savings Project (DPI, 2017). A business case for the Gwydir
Wetlands in the northern Basin was not publicly available, so was not included.
Ecosystem services framework
We used an ecosystem services approach to determine the benefits from constraints relaxation.
Ecosystem system services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems (Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment, 2005). More nuanced definitions of ecosystem services concern the aspects of the
environment that contribute to human wellbeing (Boyd & Banzhaf, 2006) and acknowledge that such
benefits can be derived in multi-faceted and indirect ways (TEEB, 2010), including co-production of
natural capital with other forms of capital and realisation of ecosystem service benefits via
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ecosystem management, mobilisation, appropriation, social access and appreciation (Lavorel et al.
2020).
Ecosystem services can be classified as: provisioning services, which are the goods provided or
produced from ecosystems, such as water for irrigation; regulating services are derived from
regulating ecosystem processes, such as water purification though groundwater filtration, and
cultural services are non-material benefits from ecosystem structure, functions and integrity, such as
aesthetic appreciation, place attachment and wellbeing. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
(2005) also includes supporting services, which are processes and functions that underpin other
services, such as nutrient cycling and soil formation. However, recognition of supporting services in
ecosystem services assessments risks double counting if monetary valuation is involved (Boyd &
Banzhaf, 2006). Accordingly, we consider only the first three categories.
The ecosystem services assessment was conducted from a review of research and government
agency literature. We drew on the work of previous ecosystem assessments, including those
prepared to inform the development of the Basin Plan. As such, monetary values given are not
directly calculated for each constraints relaxation business case, but rather are based on prior
estimates and are thus only indicative of the expected outcomes from constraints relaxation. We
ranked each ecosystem service by relative importance (low, medium, high) in each focus area.
Rankings were based on the magnitude and extent of each service in the focal area, its socio-
economic importance (Bark et al., 2016) as well as rankings of each service made previously (Prosser
et al., 2012; Crossman et al., 2015a; 2015b).
Results
Business cases
Flow rates. Several business cases contain flow rates under constraints relaxation that are below
those agreed in the CMS for reasons that are unclear (Table 1). It is not possible to determine
whether this signals a lack of will on the part of Basin state governments to progress the CMS or
some other issue. The largest discrepancies are for the Goulburn and South Australia focus areas
where proposed flows are below the target by 33 and 50 per cent respectively. Some business cases
Yarrawonga to Wakool, Goulburn and Murrumbidgee have proposed buffer flow rates, meaning
that under most circumstances the flow rate from constraints relaxation will be less than the
maximum rate.
Costs, modelling and methods. The estimated costs are given in Table 2. The total maximum cost
of the six constraints projects is $864 million, over four times the amount allocated to the special
account, but they could be funded from sustainable diversion limit adjustment mechanism program.
There was considerable variation in the extent to which business cases outlined the necessary
actions for each constraint measure. In terms of infrastructure, the cases usually contained details
and descriptions of the kinds of activities required for constraints relaxation but were lacking critical
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Table 1. Existing, target and proposed flow rates (ML day-1) at gauges representing each the focus
areas of the Constraints Management Strategy. Target flows are from MDBA (2013)
Focus area and reference
Flows (ML day-1) with
existing constraints
Target flows (ML day-1)
Hume to Yarrawonga (Upper
Murray) (MDBA 2016a)
25,000 at Doctors Point
40,000 in winter and spring
Yarrawonga to Wakool
Junction (Mid-Murray &
Edward) (DPI 2016b)
22,0001
40,000 in winter and spring
Goulburn (DELWP, 2016)
8,500 at Shepparton
40,000 at Shepparton (flood
inundation modelling)
Murrumbidgee (DPI, 2016a)
30,000 in winter and spring
months at Wagga Wagga5
30,000-48,000 at Wagga
Wagga
Menindee Lakes (Lower
Darling) (DPI, 2017)
9,300 at Weir 32 (MDBA,
2013)
18,000
South Australia (Lower
Murray) (DEWNR, 2016)
66,000 assuming 26,000
from Goulburn (Wentworth
Group, 2017)
80,000
1Effective flow rate, given upstream constraint of 25,000 ML day-1. 2Target of 30,000 ML day-1 with a buffer of 50,000 ML
day-1. 3Target of 7,000 ML day-1 with a 3,000 ML day-1 unregulated flow risk management buffer. 4Target was revised down
from the 25,000 to 20,000 ML day-1 in 2017 by the Victorian Government. Note that the business case for this new flow rate
is not publicly available. 5NSW DPI, 2016a. 6Rate of 40,000 ML day-1 with a buffer of 45,000 ML day-1 at Wagga Wagga.
details such as number and locations of proposed interventions and their individual costs. Modelling
and methods differ. The Murrumbidgee and South Australia business cases proposed two broad
options for constraints relaxation: one favouring easements and the other infrastructure. Some
business cases gave ranges for estimates of costs and extent of inundation, while most provided
approximate figures, but with no range of variation.
Ecological communities subject to inundation. Except for the Lower Darling, all cases had some
form of categorisation of the ecological communities to be inundated, but these were inconsistent
between business cases. All included the category of ‘wetland’, though two cases, Goulburn and
Hume to Yarrawonga, provided no definition, whereas the other three used the Australian National
Aquatic Ecosystem classification. Other categories included ‘flood-dependent vegetation’, which in
the case of Yarrawonga to Wakool and South Australia was further classified, for example, by area of
river red gum, black box and scrubland (DPI, 2016, Tables 7-9 therein; DEWNR, 2016, Table 6
therein). None of the business cases applied the Ramsar Convention definition of wetlands (even
though the Water Act and the Basin Plan are intended to help implement Australia’s obligations
under this treaty), which encompasses all ecological communities that rely on freshwater flows,
including all of the floodplains. The lack of precision in defining ecological communities makes it
difficult to judge the nature and extent of the ecological benefits from the project proposals.
Flood easements. Where business cases provided exact numbers, these relate to the number of
properties affected by inundation from constraints relaxation. As highlighted in the Hume to
Yarrawonga business case, a landholder may own multiple properties and thus expedite easement
negotiations. The Hume to Yarrawonga proposal noted that most of the landholders were involved in
a previous easement acquisition process, when the then Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC)
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Table 2. Costs, action required and impacts of constraints relaxation in each of the focus areas. ND =
no data
Focus area &
Reference
Estimated
cost ($m.)
Infrastructure required
No.
easements
to be
negotiated1
Area of land to be
inundated (ha)
Private
farmland
Wetland
Hume to
Yarrawonga
(MDBA 2016a)
26-34
New or upgraded infrastructure on private
land; capital works on public infrastructure
(roads, bridges, crossings); reinstatement
works on public infrastructure
2072
1,117
8,8003
Yarrawonga to
Wakool Junction
(DPI 2016b)
306
Capital works on public and private
infrastructure (crossings, bridges); levee
works; reinstatement of public infrastructure
1,513
22,8794
123,000
Goulburn
(DELWP, 2016)
>140
Public infrastructure mitigation (operational
response, reinstatement and capital works);
private infrastructure upgrades
<562
<8,330
<9,775-
11,9755
Murrumbidgee
(DPI, 2016a)
113-164
Reinstatement works on public
Infrastructure; new or upgraded private
infrastructure (bridges, crossings, pumps);
capital works on public infrastructure
1,042
53,103
116,4086
Menindee Lakes
(Lower Darling)
(DPI, 2017)
<1527
Removal of Menindee town weir; two
regulators to prevent ‘escape flows’ to Yartla
Lake; enlarged regulator at Menindee;
regulators at Morton-Boolka, Emu and Yartla
offtakes; town flood protection (including
levee bank and elevation of access road)
ND
7,5008
South Australia
(Lower Murray)
(DEWNR, 2016)
38-68
Reinstatement activities to roads; capital
response measures for levees; land
management and infrastructure upgrades to
23 shack communities and seven private
businesses; capital upgrades to roads and
public assets (boat ramps, marinas)9
ND
9,374
110,860
Total (max.)
864
3,324
94,803
374,793
1Properties affected by flooding and/or interrupted access. 2Some 107 properties were subject to an earlier easement
acquisition (affected by flows at 25,000 ML day-1 threshold) with easements obtained for 87 properties. 3Sum of floodplain
vegetation plus 4,600 ha of ‘wetland’. 4The business case also gives a value of 45,758 ha of private agricultural land subject
to interrupted access. 5Based on 25,000 ML day-1 at Shepparton from the original business case; values will be less for a
new proposed rate of 20,000 ML day-1. 6At 40,000 ML day-1 (pre-buffer). 7Constraints relaxation measures are only for one
section of the Menindee Lakes, hence costs will be lower than for full project (amount not given). 8No areas given for public
and private land, so figure split equally. 9Two options for mitigation are given: Option 1 preferences land management
arrangements (easements and like agreements) over infrastructure works; Option 2 preferences infrastructure over
easements.
increased regulated flows of up to 25,000 ML day-1 at the Doctors Point gauge (MDBA, 2016a, 15). In
contrast, the discussion of easements in the Lower Darling business case only noted that a number of
easements will be required and allowances have been made in the budget, for negotiating, acquiring
and registering these (DPI, 2017, 85).
Socio-economic and environmental benefits. All business cases included discussion of positive
environmental outcomes, although there were limited to general statements in the Menindee Lakes
business case (DPI, 2017, 14). There was no consistent approach for consideration of socio-economic
benefits, however they were generally acknowledged to a lesser extent that environmental ones. The
Menindee Lakes business case contains no examples of socio-economic benefits, though contains the
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assertion that the project will create them (DPI, 2017, 8). Only the Yarrawonga to Wakool business
case includes a section on benefits to stakeholders and the community (DPI, 2016b, Appendix 5
therein), including for infrastructure, forestry and grazing, tourism and water quality. However, the
authors state “the shift of water away from irrigation production to environmental end use through
government buy-backs in particular, has had negative socio-economic consequences in many of the
communities in this Yarrawonga to Wakool reach.” (DPI, 2016b, 12).
The business cases occasionally acknowledge wider community benefits of constraints relaxation.
For example, as reported in the Murrumbidgee business case, CSIRO were commissioned to
undertake a qualitative assessment of the broader benefits from healthier rivers, floodplains and
wetlands. According to the business case (the CSIRO report was not cited therein) researchers
identified strong relationships between people’s wellbeing and the ecological heath, including
increased recreational opportunities, grazing yields and economic diversity (DPI, 2016a, p. 27,
Appendix 4 therein).
While business cases frequently mention activities associated with the floodplain environment,
they usually failed to highlight benefits to communities under constraints relaxation. For example,
the Goulburn business case stated that firewood is an important domestic fuel source for
communities but this issue is not mentioned in relation to the impacts of the proposal, beyond
possible restrictions on collection (DELWP, 2016, 20, 66). Similarly, the Hume to Yarrawonga business
case noted several recreational opportunities in the area, but only discuss possible adverse outcomes
under constraints relaxation (MDBA, 2016a, 43).
Ecosystem services assessment
Relaxation of constraints and the resulting improvements in flow and flood regimes are likely to
generate major benefits from ecosystem services across the focus areas. The main ecosystem
services are listed in Table 3 (details in Supplementary Material Table S1). Many benefits are multi-
dimensional and indirect, and as such could be classified under more than one ecosystem services
category. Here, they are grouped under the category that represents the primary benefit derived
from the service.
Provisioning services: The most clear and immediate provisioning service from constraints
relaxation is through the volume of freshwater delivered onto private land. Overbank flooding events
return water, originally recovered from irrigators for the environment, to areas of pastoral and
cropping land as part of the trade-off to increase the delivery of environmental water to wetlands.
This water represents a free good to the landholder, yet has a direct market value in dollars per
megalitre. In addition, the landholder benefits from the ecosystem services derived from that water,
such as fodder and timber production. Floodplain pasture growth following floods produces fodder
for livestock. Delivery of high volume environmental flows has the potential to considerably enhance
the profitability of floodplain grazing systems (Table S1).
There are also substantial benefits to be gained from the watering of forested wetlands,
particularly through timber production in river red gum forests (Prosser et al., 2012), although
commercial harvesting operations are relatively small-scale (Table S1; VEAC, 2008; NRC, 2009).
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Table 3. Relative importance of the ecosystem service benefits from constraints relaxation across key
focus areas
Ecosystem service
Constraint relaxation focus areas
Hume to
Yarrawonga
Yarrawonga
to Wakool
Goulburn-
Broken
Murrumbidgee
Lower
Darling
South
Australia
Provisioning services
Commercial fish catch
Low
Low
Low
Low
Low
High
Supply of raw materials
Medium
High
Medium
High
High
Medium
Supply of freshwater
Low
Medium
High
High
Medium
High
Regulating services
Freshwater quality
Low
Low
Low
Low
Low
Medium
Greater flexibility to deliver
high value water
High
High
High
High
High
High
Carbon sequestration
Low
Low
Low
Low
Low
Low
Water recharge & nutrients
High
High
High
High
High
High
Riparian habitat quality
High
High
High
High
High
High
Erosion prevention
Low
Low
Low
Low
Medium
Medium
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
High
High
High
High
High
High
Indigenous values
High
High
High
High
High
High
Recreation & tourism
High
High
High
High
High
High
Community values
High
High
High
High
High
High
Timber sourced from river red gum forests is used for firewood which, although considered a lower-
value industry, provides an important source of income for operators in the central Murray region, as
well as an affordable fuel for residents of towns not connected to natural gas (VEAC, 2008, 44; NRC,
2009).
The Lakes and Coorong Fishery is the only commercial fishery remaining in the MDB, with ca. 36
licence holders and employing 70 people directly in fishing for freshwater, marine and estuarine
species, including black bream, golden perch, greenback flounder, mulloway, Goolwa cockle, yellow-
eye mullet, European carp and redfin. Total catch (2017/18) was 1,872 tonnes, worth $11.5 million
(Table S1; BDO EconSearch, 2019). The fishery depends on freshwater inflows to Lakes Alexandrina
and Albert and the Coorong Lagoon for its sustainability, because the mixing of fresh and marine
water promotes the spawning and growth of commercial species; drought and reduced flows have
had a significant detrimental effect on stocks (Ferguson et al., 2013; Colloff et al., 2015b).
Regulating services: Over the long-term, constraints relaxation is likely to result in improvement
of water quality. Ecosystem services benefits include avoided costs of cyanobacterial blooms,
blackwater events, water treatment and damage to water supply infrastructure caused by saline
water (Table S1). There are also direct and indirect benefits to livestock, including milk and meat
production, live weight gain and breeding success (Evidentiary, 2016).
Delivery of environmental water with the relaxation of constraints allows for greater flexibility in
the delivery of water downstream, for both environmental and consumptive uses. Coordination of
constraints on all rivers and tributaries in the focus areas would facilitate more ecologically effective
watering regimes for key environmental assets and have multiple interconnected benefits, derived
from a range of regulating ecosystem services, as outlined below.
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Regular environmental watering of floodplains leads to marked increase in carbon sequestration
by woody vegetation, particularly in river red gum forests (Robertson et al., 2001). Bark et al (2016)
valued this ecosystem service at $50 million under full implementation of the Basin Plan. Carbon
sequestration is enabled by the recharge of groundwater by flooding. On Murray floodplains, lenses
of coarse sediment in palaeochannels form reservoirs from which trees draw their water (Colloff,
2014, 9). Soil and groundwater recharge and nutrient deposition from flooding also promotes
primary productivity of understory plants, with benefits for floodplain grazing (Lukasiewicz et al.,
2013) and reduction in erosion and sediment deposition into channels (Cottingham et al. 2014).
Improved diversity and productivity of riparian vegetation increases freshwater habitat quality,
providing food and shelter to fauna (DEWLP, 2016, 43), as well as regulating air and water
temperature by creating shade, helping counteract impacts of heatwaves and climate change and
reducing risks of extreme temperatures that promote cyanobacterial blooms and blackwater events.
Presence of riparian shelterbelts have significant benefits for livestock production (Table S1).
Cultural services: Cultural services are difficult to cost, because they often represent non-
monetary values. However, their benefits are considered to be substantial. Aesthetic appreciation,
estimated using a hedonic analysis of prices of properties near wetlands, was valued at $337 million
under implementation of the Basin Plan (Bark et al., 2016). High aesthetic values, derived from
healthy floodplains and wetlands, translate into increased tourism and a greater sense of wellbeing
for community residents. During 2010-11, direct tourism expenditure in the MDB was estimated at
$1,352 million (based on estimated expenditure per trip of $262), value-added expenditure of $375
million, and contribution to gross domestic product of $403 million and contribution to employment
of 10,950 jobs. Tourist participation for the 12 months prior to 2000, estimated from state-based
percentages (Henry & Lyle, 2003), was 430,000 people (Ernst & Young, 2011b).
Return of water under the Basin Plan is likely to benefit recreational fisheries management and
fishing, particularly in the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Goulburn-Broken catchments, with an
estimated value of $28 million for the MDB; an increase of 2.7% on the value without the Basin Plan
(Deloitte Access Economics, 2012). Murray Cod has become one of the most important target species
due to active management of the fishery, including establishment of hatcheries and stocking
programs (Ernst & Young, 2011a). (Note that recreational fishing has been classified under cultural
services as the primary purpose is not the provision of fish, but recreation.)
Floodplains and wetlands in the focus areas are of particular importance for Traditional Owners
(Table S1, MDBA, 2016c), and many Indigenous groups are strongly supportive of a more natural flow
regime through constraints relaxation. It is likely that Indigenous community benefits relating to
restoration, stewardship and co-management of sites of significance will be significantly enhanced if
agencies responsible for managing environmental flows engage with Indigenous groups in honest,
open and respectful ways. Direct ecosystem services from the provision of bush tucker and other
materials, amenity and spiritual benefits, are vital for the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples (Gray &
Altman, 2006) and there is potential for these to improve under implementation of the Basin Plan.
12
Discussion
This paper is the first assessment of major floodplain restoration proposed under the MDB
constraints relaxation strategy. Implementation of the Basin Plan (due to be completed by 2024) is
still in the early stages of evaluation of the environmental benefits. The MDBA claims the Basin Plan
follows the principles of adaptive management (MDBA, 2017b), but in reality is constrained by
contestation over its details and inflexible regulations and governance arrangements (Colloff &
Pittock, 2019; Schoeman, 2017). The implementation of constraints management presents an
important opportunity to test the claims of adaptive management of the Basin Plan.
Business cases
We found that the large costs estimated by state governments demonstrate that constraints
relaxation represents a significant undertaking. Many easements may need to be acquired,
infrastructure built or upgraded, as well as other policy options considered (cf. below) and
Indigenous engagement is needed throughout the process. However, the benefits derived from
these projects are considerable given the high values for areas of agricultural land and wetland to be
watered. Therefore, constraints relaxation would be an opportunity for major investment in rural
and regional communities, many of which have been negatively affected by drought and other socio-
economic impacts. Much of the work that would be funded could be undertaken by local companies,
thus generating jobs. Farmers will receive compensation for flood easements, which in many cases
are likely to involve little or no change in farming practices and have the potential to enhance grazing
and agricultural production. Funds from compensation may enable farmers to retire debt and invest
in other productivity measures. While the acquisition of flood easement is one means of addressing
constraints management, other options are available. These include various forms of options
contracts (Kously et al., 2007) as well as an integrated suite of instruments, such as policies that
encourage land managers to supply constraints management outcomes as an ecosystem service
(Morris et al., 2016). Basin state and territory governments could also consider how planning and
land-use laws could be used to gazette flood zones for both natural floods and environmental flows,
or acquisition of private land.
The majority of wetlands in the Lower Murray can only be inundated with high flows, released
from headwater dams on the River Murray. Governments have indicated a target for 80 ML day-1 at
the South Australian border is needed periodically in order to sustain 75 percent of the floodplain
wetlands in that state. However, most of the business cases propose target flows below what is
needed to ensure ecologically effective flood events. As indicated by the lowering of the proposed
flow rate in the Goulburn-Broken region by the Victorian Government (Table 1), and the slow rate of
progress since the business cases were published, the appetite for ambitious constraints relaxation
projects by state governments appears to be relatively low.
Ecosystem services
Application of the ecosystem services framework to the business cases revealed clear and important
benefits to be gained from constraints relaxation. These benefits may greatly improve public and
13
government support for environmental watering initiatives. Under the proposed flooding regimes
almost 95,000 ha of private agricultural land would be watered (Table 2), providing substantial
benefits for floodplain graziers in the focus areas. For example, certain floodplain grasses are highly
productive, with growth rates of >50 kg ha-1 day-1 dry matter during the growing season (Rose et al.
2008; Colloff et al., 2010), at least fivefold greater than dryland pastures.
Another important benefit is increased flexibility for the delivery of environmental flows
downstream, required to achieve the environmental outcomes sought under the Basin Plan.
Constraints relaxation also improves the delivery of irrigation water. The recent growth of nut crops
in the southern MDB has greatly increased the demand for irrigation. For example irrigation water
use increased by over 250 percent between 2006-2016 in the Victoria Sunraysia region due to the
expansion in almond plantations (Gupta & Hughes, 2018).
When taken as a whole, the ecosystem services we identified are likely to provide benefits to
increased capacity for adaptation of livelihoods to climate change (Lukasiewicz et al., 2013). Tourism
and allied sectors would receive considerable benefits from constraints relaxation as shown by the
importance of cultural services, most notably for recreational fishing across all of the focus areas.
Benefits to the tourism industry would aid economic diversification beyond many of the climate-
dependencies of the irrigated agriculture sector.
A difficulty in quantitative assessment of ecosystem services is the risk of double counting of
benefits. Arguably, double counting is also an inherent risk in qualitative accounts of ecosystem
services, regardless of the ecosystem services typology used. This risk can be alleviated by use of the
ecosystem services cascade model that separates out ecosystem functions, services, benefits and
values (Haines-Young and Potschin, 2010). The cascade model has been used in a framework of
statutory water planning in Australia in order to better recognise the broader ecosystem benefits in
water planning processes (Plant et al., (2012; Plant and Prior, 2014).
Co-benefits
Co-benefits from floodplain and wetland restoration would potentially enable greater community
resilience and adaptation to floods, both managed and natural, through new, upgraded or relocated
infrastructure and more sophisticated modelling and early warning systems. Flow rates for
constraints relaxation are below the Bureau of Meteorology minor flood level, so disruption caused
is likely to be relatively low and within the range experienced by communities.
Farmers would receive government compensation for the impact of managed high flows under
constraints relaxation for any decreased value of their land for cropping. However, it is important to
note that many landholders do not use flood-vulnerable land for cropping anyway. Farmers would be
notified of a managed flood event, allowing stock to be relocated to other pastures. Inundation of
pasture provides benefits to farmers through no-cost irrigation on low-lying land as well as soil
moisture replenishment.
14
Costs
The business cases highlight credible and legitimate costs of constraints relaxation. These include
increased risks of blackwater events, cold water pollution and maintenance costs for fences due to
higher or more frequent flows. Infrastructure may be damaged and farmers may be subject to delays
in farm management activities if access routes on properties are cut by flooding, with potential for
detrimental impacts on farm income. However, the business cases fail to emphasise that many parts
of the focus areas are already vulnerable to flooding and farmers are already used to flooding and, in
many cases, have adapted to floods and receive ecosystem services benefits from them. Several of
the proposed projects would reduce risks to farm management by funding improved road access
(DPI, 2016a, 16; DEWNR, 2016, 8).
Changes in costs and benefits over time
We consider that greater focus on benefits would make for stronger business cases, with higher
value of benefits, yielding more positive cost-benefit ratios. Costs and benefits are likely to change
over the duration of the proposed projects and beyond. A detailed quantitative assessment is
beyond the scope of this study, but benefits from ecosystems services are likely to appreciate over
time under climate change, drought and conditions of increasing water scarcity, particularly for
provisioning services. In terms of public policy options, realisation of co-benefits are likely to be
greater, longer lasting, and potentially more flexible if based on assessment of changes in private and
public costs and benefits over time than based only on one-off investments in infrastructure on
private property and acquisition of flood easements from landholders.
Inconsistencies
There is considerable variation in how state governments have prepared the business cases for
constraints relaxation (Tables 1 and 2). In some cases, costs have been redacted from reports or
areas of inundated land are not provided. Across all business cases, the definition of wetlands is
inconsistent with that used in the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands, which describes a wetland as an
area that requires at least some flooding, including flood-dependent vegetation such as red river
gum communities. This is problematic because a major reason for implementing the Basin Plan is to
satisfy Australia’s obligations under this international treaty, and also because without a clear
definition it becomes more difficult to be specific in communicating the nature and extent of benefits
of the proposed projects.
Risk management buffers were included only in some of the proposed flooding regimes. These
buffers are important for management of uncertainties in the hydrological modelling. One instance
when flows may exceed those planned is when an intense rainfall follows the release of
environmental flows. Landholders are concerned about this risk (DPI, 2016a, 27) but it has not been
assessed in some business cases. It is recommended that modelling is improved, more gauges
deployed on tributary streams and risk management buffers are adopted for all of the constraints
regions to provide more certainty for landholders.
15
The business cases have each been drafted, effectively, as a cost-benefit analysis but a rigorous
cost-benefit assessment is incomplete. Most business cases describe some of the environmental
benefits followed by an explanation of associated risks and costs, followed by a commentary on
mitigation efforts. However, as our ecosystem services analysis demonstrates, the benefits of a
healthy floodplain ecosystem are not just environmental and extend to local communities,
businesses, livelihoods and wellbeing. By emphasising only the environmental benefits, the business
cases fail to communicate to how constraints relaxation projects can benefit rural and regional
communities.
Conclusions
It is imperative that constraints relaxation is effected in the MDB. Under the Basin Plan, these
measures must be fully operational by 1 July 2024 (MDBA, 2016a, 15). However, the proposals that
have been put forward are inconsistent with each other and with the Basin Plan. Furthermore, they
are deficient in important details that are necessary to gain public trust and support and ensure good
governance. While describing the costs and benefits of the business cases, governments have failed
to systematically identify the ecosystem services benefits and thus fail to meet the requirements of
the NWI for the explicit identification and consideration of all environmental and other public
benefits (COAG, 2012, p. 6). Including such considerations would enable decision-makers to form a
better judgement on the merits of each project as well as meet their statutory requirements for
water planning processes.
From our analysis it is clear that many private and public benefits are not stated in the business
cases. While the need for easement acquisitions is one of the preferred strategies of governments to
address constraints management, there are a suite of other options and instruments available
(Kously et al., 2007; Morris et al., 2016). The current business cases seek to maximise the costs and
therefore the transfer of public funds to landholders by way of compensation. However, such an
approach needs to include policy considerations of proof of damage prior to receipt of
compensation, and that such compensation be offset against ecosystem services benefits received.
These issues highlight the need for a legal and planning review of flood easements that includes
consideration of important public policy principles of equity, accountability and transparency. The
business cases fail to address these issues.
Based on the nature and extent of the ecosystem services we identified, and considering previous
monetary valuation of benefits (Supplementary Material, Table 1), it is likely that the value of
recurrent social and economic benefits are likely to greatly exceed the one-off $846 million
estimated implementation costs of constraints relaxation. It is recommended that governments
conduct more systematic analyses to quantify the impacts of constraints relaxation that take into
account the considerable socio-economic benefits derived from ecosystem services.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a Summer Scholarship Award from the Australian National University to
Georgia Kahan. We thank Celine Steinfeld for helpful discussions and advice.
16
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... Similarly, considerations such as constraints to flow management (e.g. Chen et al., 2021;Kahan et al., 2021;MDBA, 2013) and adaptive management processes (e.g. McLoughlin et al., 2020;Peat et al., 2017;Webb et al., 2017) are recognised as important aspects of EWM. ...
... Survey responses identified multiple constraints to EWM including physical structures and barriers to flow, policy or management practices constraining operations, and social constraints such as public perceptions and engagement. Addressing physical, operational and social constraints to environmental water delivery is recognised as an important area of change to improve EWM in the MDB (Kahan et al., 2021;MDBA, 2013;Sharpe et al., 2021). Constraints are acknowledged in the Basin Wide Environmental Watering Strategy (MDBA, 2019) and a Constraints Management Strategy (CMS) (MDBA, 2013) has been developed for the MDB. ...
... The constraints identified in this survey and elsewhere (e.g. Chen et al., 2021;Kahan et al., 2021;Sharpe et al., 2021), span physical, operational and social domains. Addressing constraints will require analysis across disciplines such as, but not limited to, engineering, governance, and social sciences to develop social-ecological solutions. ...
... The three priority river reaches identified for constraints relaxation in Victoria are: 1) Goulburn River, 2) Hume to Yarrawonga on the River Murray, and 3) Yarrawonga to Wakool Junction on the River Murray. Compared with other Victorian rivers, these river reaches were selected by the governments as having large floodplains downstream of major reservoirs (Eppalock, Eildon, Dartmouth and Hume) from which stored environmental water may be released in a coordinated manner to water extensive areas of wetlands along the full length of the River Murray (Kahan et al. 2020). This would directly enable managed watering of around 375,000 hectares of floodplain wetlands in three states (Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia). ...
... This would directly enable managed watering of around 375,000 hectares of floodplain wetlands in three states (Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia). For the Goulburn River, constraints relaxation could temporarily inundate 8330 hectares of private land (held by around 560 landholders) and enable watering of 10-12,000 hectares of floodplain wetlands (Kahan et al. 2020). The Victorian statistics are not disaggregated for the two constraints relaxation proposals involving NSW along the River Murray. ...
... Good floodplain management is vital for both peoplehuman settlements are focused on the rivers -and the conservation of biodiversity (Kahan et al. 2020). The flat floodplains, with comparatively deep and nutrient-rich soils, and diversity of wetlands are focal habitats for flora and fauna (described below) and have benefitted people through timber extraction, farming, grazing and recreation. ...
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The floodplain wetlands of northern Victoria are crucial for conservation of biodiversity and the livelihoods of people. Extensive ecosystem degradation and recent extreme floods and droughts have highlighted the urgent need for more sustainable management. We draw on expertise in ecology, hydrology, climatology and governance to synthesise key knowledge and options for enhanced conservation of the floodplains. A key finding is the need for more flexible mechanisms for delivering water to the diverse array of wetlands. A key option is 'relaxing constraints' that involves agreements with selected landholders to enable pulses of environmental water to fill river channels and safely spill onto low-lying floodplain wetlands. This should improve conservation of biodiversity, better manage flood risk and support a diverse range of local agricultural and recreational industries. These options may aid Victorians to find better ways of managing the rich lands, waters and biota of the floodplains in the southern part of the Murray-Darling Basin.
... There are three types of supply projects (Murray-Darling Basin Authority 2017a, 2022), namely, 'environmental works and measures' involving building environmental infrastructure, 'constraints management/relaxation measures' that are intended to allow flows onto the floodplain while mitigating any adverse effects of flooding on private property and landholders (Murray-Darling Basin Authority 2015; Kahan et al. 2021) and 'operational rules changes/ system enhancements' projects. On-farm efficiency measures form the other main component of the SDLAM. ...
... Maximum operating flows downstream of Yarrawonga Weir at the time of the proposal (2015) were set at 15 000 ML day −1 to limit flooding of private land (Department of Primary Industries 2016). Constraints management includes negotiation with landholders for flood easements, protection or relocation of infrastructure, maintaining access and preventing damage to assets (Kahan et al. 2021). The goal of this project was a maximum regulated flow limit of 30 000 ML day −1 below Yarrawonga, with a buffer up to 50 000 ML day −1 (Department of Primary Industries 2016, p. 6). ...
... Increased flow limits would provide enhanced growth and reproduction of vegetation, waterbirds and fishes, increased biotic diversity and carbon and nutrient transfer between the floodplain and channel (Department of Primary Industries 2016, p. 9). The targeted 30 000 ML day −1 would flood 22 900 ha of private land, requiring negotiation of 1513 flood easements (Kahan et al. 2021). However, according to the Wentworth Group (2017, p. 14), for this project to be consistent with the Basin-wide Constraints Management Strategy (Murray-Darling Basin Authority 2013a) and achieve Basin Plan Schedule 5 outcomes, flow rates downstream of Yarrawonga Weir would need to be relaxed to 50 000 ML day −1 , with a buffer of 70 000 ML day −1 . ...
Article
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Context Increasing water scarcity creates the major challenge of how to achieve environmental outcomes while meeting human water demands. In the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia, this challenge is being addressed by the Murray–Darling Basin Plan and the ‘Sustainable Diversion Limit Adjustment Mechanism’ (SDLAM), an offsetting program seeking to achieve environmental outcomes using less water. Aims We provide a critique of the legislated method for evaluation of the SDLAM and the suitability of the process for evaluating whether equivalent environmental outcomes have been achieved. Methods Four project case studies, project documentation, external reviews and relevant legislation were used to assess the implementation of the SDLAM and the evaluation method. Key results The SDLAM evaluation method is not scientifically rigorous. It excludes residual risks, Basin-wide impacts and climate change. The evaluation timeline is biased towards measuring infrastructure outputs rather than environmental outcomes and impacts. Conclusions Flaws in the SDLAM evaluation processes mean that environmental benefits are likely to be overstated, risking further reductions in allocations of water for the environment, contrary to the objectives of the Basin Plan. Implications Improved evaluation, including empirical data on outputs, outcomes and impacts, is needed to ensure that conservation objectives can be met for wetlands subject to SDLAM projects.
... Although there are no known studies that have directly considered the effects of adaptation on tourism in the MDB, it is clear that, as an economic industry, tourism thrives with high aesthetic values -which can be derived from healthy floodplains and wetlands and enhanced sense of wellbeing for visitor and residents (tourism and recreation; see Ernst & Young, 2011 for value estimates). Importantly, the adaptation strategies used to deliver water throughout the MDB for irrigation, or environmental flows due to water scarcity, can have co-benefits for tourism, as proposed in Abel et al. (2016) and Kahan et al. (2021). Finally, there are a few studies that discuss how cultural values are specifically important for the tourism industry, as well as how despite adaptation actions directly affecting cultural values at multiple scales (local to Basin-wide), such values are rarely included in analysis, which typically focuses on hydrology or environmental services (see, e.g., Kahan et al., 2021;Robinson et al., 2015). ...
... Importantly, the adaptation strategies used to deliver water throughout the MDB for irrigation, or environmental flows due to water scarcity, can have co-benefits for tourism, as proposed in Abel et al. (2016) and Kahan et al. (2021). Finally, there are a few studies that discuss how cultural values are specifically important for the tourism industry, as well as how despite adaptation actions directly affecting cultural values at multiple scales (local to Basin-wide), such values are rarely included in analysis, which typically focuses on hydrology or environmental services (see, e.g., Kahan et al., 2021;Robinson et al., 2015). ...
Research
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Commissioned by the Murray–Darling Basin Authority, this literature synthesis forms an important part of the growing attention in Resilience, Adaptation and Drivers of Change for water governance, it aims to deliver a robust and contemporary evidence base on these concepts to support the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB). Understanding drivers of change and managing them where needed to build resilience and enable adaptation are important for the effective management and sustainability of dynamic socio-ecological systems such as the MDB, which is recognised as having diverse values across multiple scales, some of which are under stress. The synthesis begins by defining the concepts of resilience, adaptation and drivers of change so that they are relevant to the MDB, drawing from the latest literature. It is clear that these concepts have differing disciplinary interpretations and are being actively developed in the scholarly literature. Importantly, they are increasingly significant in research, case study and planning applications, including concerning the management and maintenance of the environmental, community, cultural and economic factors people value about the MDB, the interdependencies and trade-offs among them and how they are affected by drivers of change. The literature supports the emerging understanding of resilience, urging specificity in ‘resilience of what, to what and for whom’ and ensuring it is grounded in context. It identifies six critical attributes of resilience pertinent to the MDB: diversification, variability, redundancy, modularity, adaptation-orientation and the exploration of new strategies. Yet, the application of these resilience attributes in the MDB faces significant hurdles, including the integration of traditional and emerging knowledge and the practical application of resilience in real world dynamic contexts that have thresholds or tipping points and where transformation may be a likely outcome. The report scrutinises the drivers of change impacting the MDB, emphasising that a thorough understanding of these drivers is essential for crafting effective interventions. Climate change stands out as a significant driver, influencing various environmental, social, cultural and economic values of the Basin. Nonetheless, existing knowledge gaps obstruct the assessment of the relative significance of different drivers and the accurate attribution of changes. Adaptation is highlighted as a critical area, particularly given the substantial shifts in hydroclimate and the pronounced vulnerability of certain MDB sub-regions. Although adaptive capacity is unevenly distributed across the Basin, the report identifies a unique opportunity to forge partnerships with First Nations peoples to support both environmental and cultural objectives. The literature advocates for urgent governance reform to address climate change adaptation, challenging many existing policies and regulations that are predicated on a static climate assumption. In conclusion, the report calls for the urgent development of adaptation pathways and a more nuanced understanding of how to utilise adaptation options in the MDB. Tackling these issues demands a concerted effort to fill existing knowledge gaps and to integrate insights across multiple, interacting drivers of change. Recognising the living document nature of the literature review for the commissioned project on resilience, drivers of change and adaptation, this synthesis will be updated prior to the project’s completion.
... However, options exist other than treating constraints relaxation as a matter of cost, damage and compensation. For example, multiple cobenefits from ecosystem services are derived from flooding, including improved wetland condition; fodder production; growth of river red gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis providing opportunities for forestry; improved water quality; cultural, spiritual and aesthetic appreciation of wetlands; community well-being, nature-based tourism and related employment (Kahan et al. 2021). ...
... Optimise means to manage… and allow trade within sound biophysical, hydrological, economic, and ecological [limits]…You've just got to make sure you stay within some sort of no-regrets zone (I10). Cobenefits to wetlands and private landholders can be delivered through overbank flooding (Kahan et al. 2021). An improved community understanding of ecosystem services and options for payments for services to landholders may ease institutional barriers to adaptation. ...
Article
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Climate change has increased the variability of river inflows in the Murray-Darling Basin, threatening the viability of irrigated agriculture, food processing industries and ecological condition of wetlands. With increasing water scarcity, decision makers and communities face heightened contestation over scarce water resources and trade-offs and adaptation have become increasingly necessary. We used a social-ecological systems approach to identify thresholds of change in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment, a major food-producing region, to reveal options for adaptation to climate change. We developed systems models whereby feedbacks are identified between subsystems of cultural paradigms, policies, human well-being and environmental condition. Models were constructed using data from semi-structured interviews with managers and decision-makers, industry reports and the scientific literature. We found environmental thresholds are fixed, but whether they are exceeded is socially determined. Environmental condition can be maintained by relaxing constraints on volumes of water released into the highly regulated river system and easing rules on the distribution of water among users in the dairy and horticulture industries. Socioeconomic thresholds were more flexible. Industries have adapted to water scarcity through irrigation efficiency measures, inter-industry relationships for water-sharing and feed substitutes in dairy production. However, industry interdependence indicates potential for maladaption, whereas investment in adaptation and diversification offers more sustainable options. Current policy and management disconnects between water for the environment and water for food production reveal opportunities for co-benefits between environmental and socioeconomic domains. Realising these benefits requires a systemic, inclusive adaptation pathways approach to design and implement options for change.
... In Australia, cost-benefit analysis for freshwater systems have largely been focussed on biodiversity conservation, e.g., in south-east Queensland streams (Mantyka-Pringle et al., 2016). Other costbenefit analyses have analysed the provision of environmental flows at flood stage in the Murray Darling Basin (Kahan et al., 2021), and riparian restoration of Queensland's Mary River catchment, the latter yielding a positive benefit-cost ratio up to 6.5 times (Sillar Associates and Kingston Rural Management, 1998). Cost-benefit analysis has also been used to demonstrate the economic benefits from off-stream watering in farms (Dobes et al., 2021) and the mutual environmental and economic benefits from improving (e.g. ...
Article
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With the impact and cost of continued river degradation and climate change-induced extreme rainfall and floods, there is growing urgency to achieve and maintain good river health to meet global sustainable development goals. Up-scaling and working with nature-based solutions at regional, catchment and fluvial corridor scales is critical. One way to achieve this is to work within a recovery-enhanced approach to river rehabilitation, incorporating processes of geomorphic and vegetative recovery to build fluvial corridors in areas where they have become fragmented. Geomorphologically-informed cost-benefit analysis has not previously been applied in a riverine or riparian context, at the catchment or regional scale needed. We applied Marxan in a novel manner to undertake the first cost-benefit analysis for geomorphologically-informed rehabilitation of river systems. We estimated that to rehabilitate 75,500 km of streams in coastal catchments of NSW will cost $8.2 billion, comparing favourably to recent single flood event insurance losses, and projected future losses. We developed Marxan scenarios based on three broad approaches to river management: ad hoc and reactive, working with recovery and corridors, across current and future time periods. We found there are considerable current and flow-on future financial and non-financial benefits, and lower initial total and per-hectare rehabilitation costs, by fully adopting working with recovery or corridors approaches and moving away from the ad hoc and reactive approaches which dominate current practice. Implementing targeted rehabilitation based on a rolling sequence over time of corridors scenarios provides optimal holistic solutions to improve geomorphic condition and enhance recovery potential at landscape-scale. Our study demonstrates the use of Marxan as an accessible tool to address prioritisation complexity, and to run and cost landscape-scale rehabilitation scenarios over time. Our study also demonstrates the positive offsite feedbacks that occur through multiplier effects, as recovery occurs, and corridors are built. Geomorphologically-informed decision making becomes more robust, transparent, cost-effective, consistent across catchments, and adaptive to local situations and evolving river management priorities.
... These channel-capacity constraints mean that during normal river operations including regulated river flow, held and planned environmental water cannot be used to meet overbank EWRs, with channel constraints limiting the effectiveness of river operators to provide overbank flows for environmental needs Kahan et al. 2021). In these cases, outcomes for floodplains and wetlands that rely on overbank EWR achievement are restricted mainly to periods of natural flooding or uncontrolled flow events such as dam spills. ...
Article
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Context In implementing the Murray–Darling Basin Plan, jurisdictions have defined environmental water requirements (EWRs) for sites along Basin rivers. EWRs are the flows (frequency, magnitude, duration, and timing) required to achieve environmental outcomes; they are derived from flow-ecology relationships by using best available scientific knowledge. Aims To assess EWR achievement across the Murray–Darling Basin over a 43.5-year period (1 July 1979 – 31 December 2022) that included periods of drought as well as widespread flooding. Methods By using a published EWR assessment tool, we analysed the achievement of EWRs for small fresh, large fresh, bankfull and overbank flows for 23 sites. Key results At 65% of stream gauge sites assessed, most EWRs evaluated had not been met. We also compared analyses of different time periods, namely, a 43.5-year period, and a 10-year period since the Basin Plan was legislated. This highlighted some improvement in EWR achievement for the small fresh EWR. Conclusions and implications Despite some improvements, the continued lack of achievement in meeting EWRs is likely to be a major contributing factor to the ongoing poor health of channel, wetland (including Ramsar wetlands) and floodplain ecosystems across most of the rivers of the Murray–Darling Basin.
... In these cases, outcomes for floodplains and wetlands that rely on overbank EWR achievement are restricted mainly to periods of natural flooding or uncontrolled flow events such as dam spills. As such, these constraints limit the effectiveness of river operators to provide overbank flows for environmental needs Kahan et al. 2021) and have likely contributed to the lack of achievement of overbank EWRs in parts of the southern basin. Finding approaches to overcome these challenges is crucial to ensuring the successful restoration of floodplain and wetland ecosystems and the species that depend on them. ...
Preprint
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Environmental water requirements (EWRs) are the flows required to keep aquatic ecosystems healthy. We explored if EWRs had been met across aquatic ecosystems in the Murray–Darling Basin over the last four decades, finding that at 65% of assessed sites they had not been achieved. The most recent decade since Basin Plan legislation has seen some improvement in EWR achievement for small freshes, reflecting active environmental watering. poor health of channel, wetland (including Ramsar wetlands) and floodplain ecosystems across most of the rivers of the Murray–Darling Basin.
... Decreased e-flows lead to a series of river ecosystem degradation [6], such as water contamination, biodiversity loss, and water and soil erosion [7]. Therefore, it is important for e-flow protection practices to accurately assess the economic value (EV) produced by e-flows and integrate this into water resource management practices [8][9][10]. ...
Article
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Scientific and accurate assessments of the economic value produced by environmental flows are an important basis for the protection of environmental flows by means of economics. Because of the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of environmental flows, it is more appropriate to study the economic value produced by environmental flows using a temporal–spatial scale rather than static calculations. In the present study, we combine the major influencing factors to establish the temporal–spatial calculation methods of the economic value produced by environmental flows using the assessment techniques of resources and environmental economics. The results obtained for the Wei River show that the annual variation range of the total economic value is CNY 0.30–0.42 billion, and the unit economic value is 0.86–6.40 CNY/m3 during the non-flood season ranging from the years 1980 to 2017. In general, the monthly variation in the total economic value ranges from CNY 0.04 to 0.08 billion, and the unit economic value is 0.94–14.34 CNY/m3. Based on this result, the variation tendency of the total economic value is consistent with the changing trend of the environmental flows occurring in the river; however, the unit economic value presents a reverse pattern. Furthermore, the deficiency of environmental flows can lead to a significant increase in its unit economic value. This method presents a dynamic, small temporal–spatial scale assessment of the economic value produced by environmental flows. It can also provide theoretical support for the ecological compensation of environmental flow protection in rivers present in water shortage areas.
Article
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Ecosystems can sustain social adaptation to environmental change by protecting people from climate change effects and providing options for sustaining material and non-material benefits as ecological structure and functions transform. Along adaptation pathways, people navigate the trade-offs between different ecosystem contributions to adaptation, or adaptation services (AS), and can enhance their synergies and co-benefits as environmental change unfolds. Understanding trade-offs and co-benefits of AS is therefore essential to support social adaptation and requires analysing how people co-produce AS. We analysed co-production along the three steps of the ecosystem cascade: (i) ecosystem management; (ii) mobilization; and (iii) appropriation, social access and appreciation. Using five exemplary case studies across socio-ecosystems and continents, we show how five broad mechanisms already active for current ecosystem services can enhance co-benefits and minimize trade-offs between AS: (1) traditional and multi-functional land/sea management targeting ecological resilience; (2) pro-active management for ecosystem transformation; (3) co-production of novel services in landscapes without compromising other services; (4) collective governance of all co-production steps; and (5) feedbacks from appropriation, appreciation of and social access to main AS. We conclude that knowledge and recognition of co-production mechanisms will enable pro-active management and governance for collective adaptation to ecosystem transformation. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions’.
Article
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Several independent findings about the current state of the environment and water management in the Murray-Darling Basin were released in early 2019 by the South Australia Murray-Darling Basin Royal Commission, the Australian Productivity Commission, and the Australian Academy of Science. We review these findings in relation to: an environmentally sustainable level of water diversions, as mandated in the Australian Water Act 2007; Sovereign Indigenous water rights and interests; the economics of water recovery to increase stream and river flows; and water governance. After reviewing the independent findings and the responses by government agencies, we propose the following actions to respond to post-truth: (1) instituting greater transparency in measurements of water use, consumption, storage and return flows and also of water values (market and non-market); (2) using deliberative democracy, engaging in more effective and inclusive participation in decision-making in terms of water planning and allocations, especially of those who have been long excluded such as the First Peoples of Australia; and (3) giving primacy to the environmental goals of the Water Act 2007 and supporting this through the establishment of an independent standing commission which reports to the Australian parliament and has audit and oversight powers in relation to land, water and the environment.
Article
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Narratives emerging from the interaction between science and policy set the common language for understanding complex environmental issues. We explore discourses of contestation over a major environmental policy, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, intended to re-allocate irrigation water to restore the environment in southeastern Australia. We examine three areas of scientific knowledge and decision-making at the science-policy interface: (1) water accounting and availability; (2) perspectives on ecological change and (3) issues of trust and the management of environmental water. Engagement and communication between scientists, bureaucrats and the public forms the basis for understanding contestation: over different sets of values, expectations of what scientists can deliver, perceptions of risk and uncertainty, interpretation of conflicting messages and economic development versus conservation. The Basin Plan was shaped by institutional processes not designed to account for such differences and has inadvertently promoted contestation through exclusion of world views that do not fit those of the decision makers. We consider how the Basin Plan can be re-framed by changing the values, rules and knowledge that set the decision context. These changes enable the Basin Plan to be re-conceptualised from a problem to be solved to an idea that can mobilise imaginative engagement by agents with diverse perspectives.
Thesis
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A focus on learning is paramount for water governance to adapt to rapid social, ecological and climatic changes in the Anthropocene. Adaptive management provides the best available learning process to navigate the ‘wickedness’ of contemporary water challenges, which involve multiple causes and drivers; multiple perspectives; complex interactions across scales and levels; and shifting understanding of the problem over time. The concept of adaptive management has resonated with researchers and practitioners in water and catchment management, but the ideal has rarely been observed in practice. This research seeks to understand the social, institutional and governance dimensions of adaptive water management through a detailed, local case study, and then situate these insights in the context of global change. The social and institutional dimensions of adaptive water management are often poorly understood, yet deeply influence how knowledge is applied in practice. This research employed an interpretive, qualitative approach to explore factors influencing learning in a single in-depth case study of water management in the Lachlan catchment, Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Interpreting the findings involved the development of an analytic framework outlining five factors that were influencing learning and adapting in water institutions: regimes, rules, relationships, routines and rhetoric. Data were created through interviews with key managing and policy stakeholders at Local, Regional, State and Commonwealth levels (n=19) and content analysis of water policy documents (n=190). Interview participants expressed divergent understandings of what adaptive management is; and some described situations where learning was ad hoc rather than systematic. Nevertheless, there was also promising evidence of more active adaptive management of environmental flows, which was resulting in higher-level learning. Dissemination of contested facts by scientists, landholders and rural media was causing conflicting views between stakeholders around whether the Lachlan River is over-used; the severity of environmental degradation; the amount of water that should be set aside for the environment; third-party impacts of water reforms; and how to plan for drought. Overall, there is evidence that the regimes, rules, relationships, routines and rhetoric operating within the complex, nested governance system of the Basin, are both supporting and constraining the emergence of adaptive governance in different ways. The ability of persons with long-standing roles to build trusting relationships, and foster cooperation through ‘bridging’ groups, has enabled the delivery of significant volumes of environmental water in the Lachlan. However, restrictive rules and mandates, and the culture in government agencies, which values certainty, efficiency and risk management more than ‘adaptability’, are highly constraining. Furthermore, local and regional participants were frustrated that their autonomy is being eroded in favour of more centralised and standardised water management. The final discussion situates the contributions of the case study in the context of water challenges in the Anthropocene. The research findings provide evidence of the importance of ‘tacit’ local knowledge for governing in complex and uncertain situations and the divisive or harmonising power of moral claims, values, politics, science and other types of knowledge. The case study also illuminates issues associated with access to and ownership of scarce water supplies; the contested nature of subsidiarity; and the need to redefine the human-nature relationship to recognise that people are inseparable from the ‘natural environment’ in the Anthropocene. The evidence presented in this thesis emphasises the profound importance of people acting at the local level, particularly their capacity to self- organise and develop local water institutions that form the basis for adaptive water governance from local to global levels.
Article
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Flooding is a major disturbance that impacts aquatic ecosystems and the ecosystem services that they provide. Predicted increases in global flood risk due to land use change and water cycle intensification will likely only increase the frequency and severity of these impacts. Extreme flooding events can cause loss of life and significant destruction to property and infrastructure, effects that are easily recognized and frequently reported in the media. However, flooding also has many other effects on people through freshwater aquatic ecosystem services, which often go unrecognized because they are less evident and can be difficult to evaluate. Here, we identify the effects that small magnitude frequently occurring floods (< 10-year recurrence interval) and extreme floods (> 100-year recurrence interval) have on ten aquatic ecosystem services through a systematic literature review. We focused on ecosystem services considered by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment including: (1) supporting services (primary production, soil formation), (2) regulating services (water regulation, water quality, disease regulation, climate regulation), (3) provisioning services (drinking water, food supply), and (4) cultural services (aesthetic value, recreation and tourism). The literature search resulted in 117 studies and each of the ten ecosystem services was represented by an average of 12 ± 4 studies. Extreme floods resulted in losses in almost every ecosystem service considered in this study. However, small floods had neutral or positive effects on half of the ecosystem services we considered. For example, small floods led to increases in primary production, water regulation, and recreation and tourism. Decision-making that preserves small floods while reducing the impacts of extreme floods can increase ecosystem service provision and minimize losses.
Chapter
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We provide an overview of a case study into quantifying the ecosystem services and associated benefits (and their monetary values) of a new water-sharing plan that will return water to the environment in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. This case study serves to illustrate how an ecosystem services-based approach can be operationalised to bridge the gap between endorsement of ecosystem services by researchers and policy makers and the incorporation of ecosystem services-based approaches into natural resources management practice. We estimated the changes to a range of final ecosystem services that result from the implementation of a discrete policy scenario, the Murray-Darling Basin Plan to restore the balance between water use for production and the environment, and provide economic estimates for the associated benefits. Specifically, we: (1) modelled increases in river flows in each of the catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin; (2) related additional flows to predicted ecological responses at important wetland indicator sites; (3) identified the ecosystem services associated with those predicted ecological responses; (4) assessed the marginal change in supply of selected regulating, habitat, and cultural ecosystem services under the Basin Plan scenario compared with a baseline or 'do nothing' scenario; and (5) undertook monetary valuation, where possible, of marginal changes in supply of ecosystem services for use by the Australian government in cost–benefit analysis of the impact of the proposed regulations.
Technical Report
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Ecosystem services bridge the divide between healthy, functioning ecosystems and the social and economic benefits that people derive from them. An ecosystem that is in poor condition will tend to supply fewer ecosystem services than an identical ecosystem in good condition, resulting in the potential loss of benefits to society. An argument then exists for protecting ecosystem health and integrity to ensure that the supply of ecosystem services is maintained. Public awareness of the benefits of ecosystems and their services is an important element for community engagement in ecosystem management. We conducted a survey to assess community perceptions and understanding of the ecosystem services supplied by the wetlands of the Coorong and Lakes Ramsar Site, South Australia. We found direct experience through visitation and family influences were important factors in how people perceived the Coorong and Lower Lakes environment and such visits were characterised by more passive activities, such as enjoying the scenery, nature-based recreation, relaxation and learning. While very familiar with the concepts of biodiversity and habitat, respondents were far less aware of the concepts of natural capital and ecosystem goods and services. The habitat/supporting services category was identified as most important, especially ‘habitat for species’. Mental health and community spirit were the main reasons given for why this service is important. Provisioning and regulating services were considered less important. Of relatively low importance were the provision of ‘raw materials’ and ‘medicinal resources’. Cultural services of ‘tourism’ and ‘recreational fishing’ were also identified as being of relatively low importance. Respondents considered there is a moral obligation to protect and maintain the environment and the financial cost of doing so in the Coorong and Lower Lakes should not be a consideration. Water, and by implication environmental flows, should be managed to maintain multiple ecosystem service benefits. The perspective that emerges is that respondents perceived the site as important for biodiversity, and they preferred to experience it for reasons other than financial or material benefits. Although respondents were relatively unfamiliar with the concept of ecosystem services and natural capital, these are central to the Ramsar ‘wise use’ and ‘ecosystem approach’. Therefore, if water management is to be informed by an objective of delivering water that meets multiple benefits, including supply of ecosystem services that of material benefit, then there is a work to do by managers to inform and educate stakeholders. Given that respondents tended to be influenced about the environment through direct experience and family values and links, these avenues may prove particularly useful for providing knowledge about the multiple benefits of a healthy, functioning environment. The survey results present water managers with a major challenge. Respondents were clear in their expectation that water should be managed to ensure all ecosystem services are maintained and improved, no matter the cost. While a number of services were identified as important, respondents considered that water should be managed in order to deliver multiple benefits and not used exclusively in order to achieve ecological outcomes.
Article
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Evaluating different environmental policy options requires extensive modelling of biophysical outcomes linked with metrics to measure the magnitude and distribution of societal impacts. An integrated ecosystem services (ES) assessment has potential to provide salient, credible and legitimate information for environmental policy- and decision-makers. Here we present an ecosystem services assessment of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, an Australian Government initiative to restore aspects of river flow regimes to improve the ecological condition of floodplains, rivers and wetlands in south-eastern Australia. We link the effect of policy intervention – reduced limits on water diversions for irrigation – to modeled changes in river flow and flood regimes, then to changes in ecological responses of flow-dependent ecosystems, assessed against a Baseline scenario. The final steps link changes in ecosystem condition and responses to marginal changes in the supply of ES and the monetary valuation of those services at the whole-of-basin scale. We show that the supply of most ES improves as a consequence of increases in water availability for the environment. For each ES assessed we assign a confidence category for both the ecological response modelling and the economic valuation steps and discuss other tools (review and outreach) to enhance legitimacy and credibility.
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