A report finds the Murray Darling Basin 'continues to decline' and the multi-billion-dollar plan to try to save it has not improved its health.
The report released by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists found that across 27 indicators used to measure the effectiveness of the basin plan, 74 per cent showed no improvement or a decline in conditions.A group of scientists who campaign for water policy reform to protect critical environments
They looked at 27 indicators assessing the Indigenous, economic, and social impact of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan as well as compliance activity between 1980 and 2023. The report's lead author, Matthew Colloff from the Australian National University, said there was cause for concern regarding future fish kill events.Redgum forests on the flood plain in the SA Riverland were experiencing a build up of salt, NSW flood plain forests were not getting water in the Murrumbidgee region, and infrequent flood events in Victorian forests were driving severe hypoxic — or blackwater — events that kill fish and crayfish.
"We've seen that particularly in the 2018-2019 period when the Darling dried up to virtually nothing," he said.Dr Colloff said they were expecting to find "pretty dismal figures" for irrigation communities, but found the opposite. Irrigators were taking less surface water but producing more food and farmer's income remained steady, the report found.
Recommendations in the report included looking at improved reporting frameworks and more publicly-available data that monitored the health of the river and the needs of basin communities.La Trobe University Centre for Freshwater Ecosystems director Nick Bond said he was not surprised by the study's findings and was sure many of the reported "trends" were credible.
Australia's Largest River System River Water Flows Wentworth Group Of Concerned Scientists MDBP Fish Kills Irrigators Victorian Farmers Federation River Health
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Murray-Darling Basin Plan failing to improve river system, study findsA report finds the Murray Darling Basin 'continues to decline' and the multi-billion-dollar plan to try to save it has not improved its health.
Read more »
Bowen Basin residents nervous about $5.7bn sale of major minesWhen a mining company also owns your house, the local shopping centre and the GP clinic, what does it mean when it sells its assets?
Read more »
Trump’s new energy tsar linked to fracking in Australia’s Beetaloo basinEnvironmentalists say appointment of Liberty Energy’s Chris Wright highlights US interests ‘driving fracking’ in Northern Territory
Read more »
‘I’m pretty boring and sort of straight-laced’ – how sobriety improved a musician’s workIndie darling turned bona fide star Waxahatchee returns to Australia later this month.
Read more »
‘I’m pretty boring and sort of straight-laced’ - how sobriety improved a musician’s workIndie darling turned bona fide star Waxahatchee returns to Australia later this month.
Read more »
‘I’m pretty boring and sort of straight-laced’ – how sobriety improved a musician’s workIndie darling turned bona fide star Waxahatchee returns to Australia later this month.
Read more »