Communities

A key part of The Living Murray is to find a balance between social, cultural and environmental needs, as well as national interests, to ensure there is fairness and equity in how recovered water is used.

It is essential for those communities and individuals likely to be most affected to participate directly in The Living Murray’s implementation. It is important to involve those who may not normally have a chance to contribute their knowledge, values and aspirations.

The Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council recognised the need for community involvement in the management of the Basin and formed the Community Advisory Committee in 1986. This Committee provides advice to the Ministerial Council on natural resource management issues and community views in the Basin.

A Community Reference Group was established to provide advice on all aspects of The Living Murray’s implementation. The group reports to the Murray-Darling Basin Community Advisory Committee, which considers this advice and then communicates it to The Living Murray Committee, the Murray-Darling Basin Commission (MDBC) and Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council.

• Community Reference Group
• Local decisions about local icons
• Indigenous partnerships
• Local government engagement
• Future river managers

The Living Murray Community Reference Group fulfils its role by:

• receiving briefings on all aspects of The Living Murray
• seeking out the views of a wide range of interested parties within affected communities
• providing advice on the River Murray Channel Environmental Management Plan
• providing advice on The Living Murray Environmental Watering Plan.

The Group meets three times a year, and provides advice to the Murray-Darling Basin Community Advisory Committee. It comprises 30 members who represent a range of interests and regions relating to the River Murray.

For further information and membership details, download the Community Reference Group brochure, or email tlmcrg@mdbc.gov.au

Local decisions about local icons

A management plan for each of the six icon sites is developed annually, outlining the environmental goals for each site. They also outline the volume and timing of environmental water and structural works needed to achieve those goals.

The consultation process for developing these plans involves the input of regional and local groups who have an interest or role in management of the icon sites. These local groups are coordinated by the relevant state agencies or catchment management authorities.

Indigenous partnerships

An Indigenous Partnerships Project was established in February 2006. This project recognises Indigenous people's spiritual and cultural connection to their country, and their aspirations to be actively involved in managing the environment.

Indigenous input will be provided into each of the icon site environmental management plans. Indigenous Working Groups will ensure that Indigenous involvement is undertaken in culturally appropriate ways.

Local Indigenous facilitators are planned to be employed at each of the icon sites to work with their communities. Over time these communities will produce "Use and Occupancy Maps" for each icon site. These maps can help identify and record the spiritual, cultural, environmental, social and economic interests of Indigenous people for each icon site. This approach focuses on Indigenous people's contemporary connections to the land in a way that can be directly related and considered in developing icon site management activities.

The maps can also be used as a basis for cultural heritage protection and management, and help monitor the impacts of The Living Murray. Use and occupancy mapping is sometimes referred to as the ‘geography of oral tradition’.

The Living Murray Indigenous Partnerships Project has been developed with support and input from the Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN).

Local government engagement

Local government is the key land-use planner, and each year invests millions of dollars in managing the environment at the local level. This growing interest was reflected in a scoping study undertaken by the Murray Darling Association in 2003, which identified local government’s increasing role in natural resource management.

In 2003, six workshops were run by the Murray Darling Association along the River Murray to assess local government and community responses to The Living Murray. While responses were mixed, there was an overwhelming belief that something had to be done about the state of the River and its tributaries. The Association then conducted a national conference for local government on environmental flows, to develop a greater understanding of, and involvement in, healthy working rivers.

In the same year, a consortium of councils—The Local Government Living Murray Alliance—undertook a socio-economic study of the anticipated impacts of The Living Murray on communities in the central Murray region. This study is available from the Murray Darling Association.

Under an agreement with the Murray-Darling Basin Commission, the Murray Darling Association is working to improve the flow of information about The Living Murray to local government. This includes bus tours for local government councillors and staff to icon sites, reporting to councils on implementing The Living Murray, and reporting on the activities of The Living Murray Community Reference Group.

The MDBC supports a range of environmental education activities that promote young people teaching other youths. These include regional conferences and one-day workshops held at various locations throughout the Basin. Recent regional conferences have been held at Broken Hill, Toowoomba, Narrabri and Wagga Wagga. In 2006, conferences were held in Canberra and Bendigo.

The MDBC is also working in partnership with the Murray Darling Association to facilitate a series of youth forums along the River that are focused on The Living Murray. These forums help us learn from young people about the value they place on their local environment. It also enables them to understand more about The Living Murray program.

Recent forums held at Cohuna, Swan Hill and Corowa enabled students to propose solutions for improving the health of their stretch of the River Murray. Ideas included seeking farmer advice on improving irrigation plans, placing more snags (fallen trees and branches) in the River to provide habitat for fish, adding finer filters to pollutant traps and holding local environment days.