Towards a systems approach for river basin management—Lessons fromAustralia's largest river

Abstract

Globally, large river systems have been extensively modified and are increasingly managed for a range of purposes including ecosystem services and ecological values. Key to managing rivers effectively are developing approaches that deal with uncertainty, are adaptive in nature, and can incorporate multiple stakeholders with dynamic feedbacks. Australia's largest river system, the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), has been extensively developed for shipping passage, irrigation, hydroelectric development, and water supply. Water development in the MDB over the last century resulted in overallocation of water resources and large‐scale environmental degradation throughout the Basin. Under the pressure of a significant drought, there was insufficient water to supply critical human, environmental, and agricultural needs. In response, a massive programme of water reform was enacted that resulted in considerable institutional, social, and economic change. The underlying policy was required to be enacted in an absence of certainty around the scientific basis, with an adaptive management focus to incorporate new knowledge. The resulting institutional arrangements were challenged by a need to generate new governance arrangements within the constraints of existing state and national structures. The ongoing reform and management of the MDB continues to challenge all parties to achieve optimization for multiple outcomes, and to communicate that effectively. As large‐scale water reform gains pace globally, the MDB provides a window of insight into the types of systems that may emerge and the challenges in working within them. Most particularly, it illustrates the need for much more sophisticated systems thinking that runs counter to the much more linear approaches often adopted in government.

Riverine spawning, long distance larval drift, and floodplain recruitment of a pelagophilic fish: A case study of golden perch (Macquaria ambigua) in the arid Darling River, Australia

“…Baseflows need to be augmented by seasonal flow pulses and more regular flow events to the GDA, which would improve fish out‐migration opportunities from Lake Cawndilla. These elements, along with re‐instating hydrological connectivity with other floodplain lakes, are the key components of a coordinated system‐scale management plan, which is urgently required to protect the highly threatened ecology of arid and semi‐arid rivers (Kingsford & Nevill, ; Seddon & Briggs, ; Thompson, Bond, Poff, & Byron, ).…”

Large rivers as complex adaptive ecosystems

“…Finlay () notes a positive attribute of working on large rivers, their size often means there is existing information on many important features that are significant for ecosystem responses, not least land cover and hydrology. Similarly, Thompson et al (), using examples from Australia's largest river system—the Murray—Darling Basin, suggest the key to managing large rivers effectively is to develop approaches that deal with uncertainty, which are adaptive in nature, and incorporate multiple stakeholders with dynamic feedbacks. The Murray Darling Basin, like many large river systems, has been extensively developed for shipping passage, irrigation, hydroelectric development, and water supply.…”

“…The underlying policy was enacted in the absence of certainty around the supporting scientific knowledge, although it was done with an adaptive management focus, with periodic reviews scheduled to incorporate new knowledge and make adjustments to policy settings. Large‐scale water reforms for overallocated river basins are gaining pace globally, therefore the Murray Darling Basin example provided by Thompson et al () provides a window of insight into the types of systems that may emerge and the challenges in working within them. More particularly, it illustrates the need for much more sophisticated systems thinking that runs counter to the much more linear approaches often adopted in government.…”

Human influence on the morphological adjustment of river channels: The evolution of pertinent concepts in river science

“…Finally, greater attention should be given to implications of channel change because modified channels can accommodate a different frequency of flows, pertaining downstream of the urban area (Chin & Gregory, ), and reduction in channel capacity has been shown to trigger an increase in flood hazard over time on the Guadalquivir River in southern Spain (Bohorquez & Moral‐Erencia, ). It is now accepted that management is not able to deal comprehensively with all problems so that the concept of uncertainty can be incorporated into decision making (Johnson & Brown, ) and into approaches to river management (Thompson, Bond, Poff, & Byron, ).…”