Unlocking the full value of water through system‑wide, locally empowered action.

Since 1995, about 30% of the water once used for irrigation within the Murray–Darling Basin has been secured for environmental water use. Sustainable diversion limits have been set and are being met across the Basin.

However, water alone is not enough. Without complementary actions, such as riparian restoration, fish screens, and sustainable land management, the full value of recovered water will never be achieved. Local efforts in integrated waterway and catchment management have shown what is possible, but they remain fragmented and under-resourced.

In November 2025, a group of leaders, spanning policymakers, practitioners, researchers, First Nations experts, and innovators, gathered in Canberra to consider these issues. From this gathering emerged the Basin SCALE Declaration: a call for System-wide, Catchment Aligned, and Locally Empowered action.

Presented by declaration co-authors:

Prof. Mike Stewardson (CEO, One Basin CRC)

Prof. Neville Crossman (One Basin CRC/Flinders University)

Prof. Samantha Capon (Griffith University)

Carolyn Hall (CEO, Mulloon Institute).

Michael Pisasale (Murray Local Land Services)