Challenges of sustainable management of the surface water resources in the Murray-Darling Basin

摘要

The Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) is the most significant river system in Australia. The basin covers 14% of Australia's mainland, with around 1 million km2 across large parts of the four States: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia; and all of the Australian Capital Territory. There are 16 wetlands recognised under the Ramsar convention. The basin also supports more than 45 native fish species, over half of which are considered threatened or of conservation significance (Lintermans, 2007). The basin experiences much higher flow variability than any other continent in the world and is under stress as a result of over-allocations of water, prolonged drought, climate variability and emerging climate change. Currently, the total surface water (based on 1895-2006 historical climatic data) that flows into the rivers is around 28 900 GL per year (1 GL = 1 billion litre).