Watering of wetlands on Indigenous Country in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia

Context: Water managers in the Murray-Darling Basin increasingly recognise the cultural and environmental benefits generated by Indigenous co-management of environmental water. However, traditional knowledge and values are subsidiary to western technical and scientific perceptions when prioritising environmental water use. Aims and methods: We mapped the locations and volumes of Commonwealth Environmental Water Office environmental watering events onto the wetlands within the land area represented by different state-determined Indigenous organisations and discuss how this relates to the varied nature and extent of Indigenous engagement in environmental watering decisions. Key results: Between 2014-15 and 2018-19, one organisation had nearly 13% of the area of wetlands watered, but the average was less than 3%. In all, 18 of the 26 organisations received no environmental water. Conclusions: The distribution of environmental flows does not meet the cultural needs of Indigenous nations due to physical restrictions and policy limitations. Yet, there are clear environmental and cultural co-benefits where Indigenous peoples have developed partnerships with environmental water managers. Developing stronger partnerships and increasing Indigenous water entitlements from the current 0.17% of issued entitlements would maximise these benefits in catchments where environmental water is prioritised. Implications: The reviews of the Water Act and the Basin Plan scheduled for 2024-26 present opportunities to implement reforms.