Establishment of environmental water in the Murray-Darling basin: An analysis of two key policy initiatives

Abstract

Policy to protect river ecosystems has changed rapidly in Australia, and the mechanisms to both establish and manage environmental water are still evolving. Policy has moved from providing a fixed environmental target (albeit varying between years) to one in which the environment can actively participate in the market, with the possibility of better fulfilling variable water requirements. However, the inherent nature of the sustainable diversion limit (SDL), established under the Water Act 2007, is that it represents a fixed allocation to the environment. This paper considers the interaction of the new SDL for the Murray-Darling Basin and potential issues arising from the interaction with th..