Environmental water governance in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia: the movement from regulation and engineering to economic-based instruments

Abstract

Water management in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), Australia, has undergone significant transition from command-and-control regulation to market-based governance. This has been achieved through decades of water policy reform and has demonstrated a departure from supply-based solutions to demand-based policies concerned with improving economic efficiency and environmental sustainability. This chapter provides a discussion of Australia's changing water governance paradigms, highlighting the challenges of water policy reform, and shortcomings in achieving some reform objectives. It concludes by providing insights into the future of water governance in the MDB, emphasizing the need for the continued emphasis on adaptive governance, political commitment, and public participation.