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Cross-Cutting Theme:
Governance and Reporting

Flow-MER brings together the CEWH, CSIRO, Australian River Restoration Centre, state government agencies, universities and private industry to provide the science and knowledge to support adaptive management of the delivery of Commonwealth environmental water in the Murray–Darling Basin. The program is organised around 6 Basin Themes and 7 Selected Areas. Project governance formalises the collaborative relationships between these organisations and ensures project deliverables are achieved.

WHY GOVERNANCE & REPORTING

OUR APPROACH

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

OUR TEAM

How will governance and reporting assist in environmental water outcomes?

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) is responsible under the Water Act 2007 for managing Commonwealth environmental water holdings. The holdings must be managed to protect or restore the environmental assets of the Murray–Darling Basin, and other areas where the Commonwealth holds water, to give effect to relevant international agreements. The Basin Plan 2012 further requires that the holdings must be managed in a way that is consistent with its Basin-wide environmental watering strategy. The Water Act and the Basin Plan also impose obligations to report on how Commonwealth environmental water contributes to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan.

The Basin Plan sets out a program for monitoring and evaluating its effectiveness. Flow-MER outlines principles which must be applied to monitoring and evaluation. These principles are reflected in the Commonwealth Environmental Water: Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting and Improvement Framework. Monitoring and evaluation support the efficient and effective use of Commonwealth environmental water and will assist in demonstrating the environmental outcomes from watering activities.

How Flow-MER science helps us make the most of environmental water

How do we know if water for the environment is making a difference? It’s a question we, at the CEWH, are often asked. Our answer – the science tells us. 

Read the full response here

Our approach

The Basin-scale Flow-MER project is a 6-year investment, designed to:

  • demonstrate the outcomes of Commonwealth environmental water across the Basin
  • support the adaptive management of Commonwealth environmental water
  • support the CEWH to fulfil its legislative requirements under the Basin Plan.

The Basin-scale Evaluation – the successor to the Long Term Intervention Monitoring (LTIM) Project – is undertaken in conjunction with the Flow-MER Selected Area-scale project teams. The Selected Area-scale projects provide data at the Selected Area scale that is used in the Basin-scale Evaluation. Basin-scale Research – the successor to the Environmental Water Knowledge and Research (EWKR) Project – is an investment in new and ongoing research to support environmental water management and inform and enhance Basin-scale Evaluation. Research has been undertaken throughout the Basin.

Flow-MER provides the CEWH with evidence to inform our understanding of how water for the environment is helping maintain, protect, and restore the ecosystems and native species across the Murray–Darling Basin. This evidence exists in the form of publicly available data, models, model outputs and reports. Reports are delivered each year at the Basin-scale and by the Selected Areas. Past reports provide an ongoing record of the outcomes from the delivery of Commonwealth environmental water, as well as the knowledge to inform adaptive management of environmental water.

We produce:

  • annual Selected Area reports
  • annual Basin-scale Theme evaluation reports
  • annual Basin-scale Synthesis report which draws together Theme evaluations and research for the most recent water year, and cumulatively from the start of Flow-MER in 2014–15. Its preparation is managed by CSIRO and accompanied by Basin-scale reports for each Theme. The latest reports are from the 2021–22 water year
  • annual Basin-scale Research Summary reports which document Basin-scale research and summarise the intended outcomes from future research. Its preparation is managed by CSIRO and accompanied by Basin-scale research reports.

The Basin-scale Flow-MER Project runs from 2019 to 2025, led by CSIRO in partnership with the University of Canberra, and collaborating with Alluvium, Arthur Rylah Institute, Australian River Restoration Centre, Charles Sturt University, Deakin University, Brooks Ecology and Technology, South Australian Research and Development Institute, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Image: Chowilla Floodplain. Photo credit: Esri World Imagery

Current activities

Research portfolio

The CEWH and the partners comprising the 6 Basin Themes and 7 Selected Areas have contributed to the development of a research portfolio that ran over 5 years to June 2024. The portfolio addressed key knowledge gaps for the adaptive management of environmental water. The portfolio was peer reviewed by international science leaders with specialist knowledge of freshwater ecology, ecological modelling and evaluation.

Monitoring and Evaluation plans

Each of the Selected Areas and the Basin-scale Team have approved plans that set out the activities, timing and outputs through to end June 2024 for Selected Areas and to end June 2025 for Basin-scale. Plans are updated annually and published each July by the CEWH. This ensures plans remain current and suitable for monitoring project progress and performance.

Progress reports

Progress is monitored using quarterly progress reporting against the agreed plans. The leaders of research projects provided quarterly updates on research progress. Theme Leaders provide quarterly updates on the progress across monitoring, evaluation and reporting. These reports are synthesised into quarterly progress reports to the CEWH that focus on progress against the Evaluation and Research Plan and report on emerging issues.

Risk management

Plans include a risk assessment, and any change in risk profile is reported in quarterly reports to the CEWH. This helps ensure that projects remain on track and focussed on delivering information that meets the needs of the CEWH and their water delivery partners.

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