CASE STUDY: PERMANENT WATER
Drought-hit Australia
Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The MDB’s landscape, water
The online story map can be accessed on the
resources, plants and animals form some of
dedicated case studies website.10
Australia’s most unique habitats and ecosystems, hosting 120 waterbird species and
Some of the worst droughts in Australia have
more than 50 native fish species across
occurred this century. From 2003 to 2012 and
16 internationally significant wetlands spanning
2017 to 2019, severe drought impacted
12 ecoregions within the basin. About 40 per
freshwater ecosystems across much of eastern
cent of Australia’s agricultural produce comes
and inland Australia. Many of Australia’s regions
from the MDB, which also has significant
are still experiencing significant periods of
economic, cultural and environmental value to
drought, with the recent drying trend (i.e. higher
the country. More than 2.2 million people live
temperatures and reduced cool-season rainfall)
within the MDB, including 40 First Nations to
expected to continue according to current
whom water plays a key role in their well-being
projections. The decrease in rainfall and increase
and identity, along with other aspects of
in temperatures will increase potential
Aboriginal culture (Australian Government,
evapotranspiration, decrease soil moisture and
Murray–Darling Basin Authority, n.d.).
significantly reduce run-off and streamflow (Australian Government, Murray–Darling Basin
Rainfall deficiencies in the MDB hit a record level
Authority, 2019), hydrological changes that will
from 2017 to 2019. In July 2019, a climatologist
affect freshwater ecosystems. The importance
from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
of protecting these ecosystems in the face of
stated that the drought in the MDB was officially
climate change is particularly evident in
the worst on record, exceeding the Federation,
Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin (MDB).
World War II and Millennium droughts (Grain Central, 2019).
The MDB is the country’s largest and most complex river system, covering 1 million km2
Land-use changes and water extraction
(14 per cent of Australia’s land area) of
practices that did not fully consider the MDB’s
interconnected rivers and lakes in south-eastern
long-term health have also affected the basin.
Australia as it traverses Queensland, New South
Since the European settlement in the MDB during
10 See https://mango-river-0ac1c3d03.azurestaticapps.net/#/story/0/0/0.
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PROGRESS ON FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS - 2021
