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Managing scarce water resources has been central to the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) regional development story. The article puts water into a broader context of key drivers in development in the MDB. In addition to water markets and water policy, key issues include climate change, the changing relative resilience and viability of urban centres, the role of government, the impact of technological change, underlying exogenously set commodity prices and exchange rates. All these factors have had a significant impact on development, some with little discussion but others, such as water, have been contested and bitterly fought over. The article also examines these drivers and how they might affect future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River floods are one of the most devastating extreme hydrological events, with oftentimes remarkably negative effects for human society and the environment. Economic losses and social consequences, in terms of affected people and human fatalities, are increasing worldwide due to climate change and urbanization processes. Long-term dynamics of flood risk are intimately driven by the temporal evolution of hazard, exposure and vulnerability. Although needed for effective flood risk management, a comprehensive long-term analysis of all these components is not straightforward, mostly due to a lack of hydrological data, exposure information, and large computational resources required for 2-D flood model simulations at adequately high resolution over large spatial scales. This study tries to overcome these limitations and attempts to investigate the dynamics of different flood risk components in the Murray-Darling basin (MDB, Australia) in the period 1973–2014. To this aim, the LISFLOOD-FP model, i.e., a large-scale 2-D hydrodynamic model, and satellite-derived built-up data are employed. Results show that the maximum extension of flooded areas decreases in time, without revealing any significant geographical transfer of inundated areas across the study period. Despite this, a remarkable increment of built-up areas characterizes MDB, with larger annual increments across not-flooded locations compared to flooded areas. When combining flood hazard and exposure, we find that the overall extension of areas exposed to high flood risk more than doubled within the study period, thus highlighting the need for improving flood risk awareness and flood mitigation strategies in the near future.

Effective regulation of freshwater remains one of the biggest challenges facing our societies. In times of record-breaking weather extremes spurred by a changing climate, decision makers are increasingly aware of the need to formulate more effective governance to ensure the reliability, accessibility, and quality of this life-giving resource. In recent years, the Australian government has played a key role in water management. The government has managed a significant amount of water entitlements in the Murray⁻Darling Basin (MDB), through its Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) agency, in a bid to increase river flows and thus improve the river system’s environmental and ecological conditions. The CEWH is unique in many respects, and the Australian government’s control of its budget and actions is a critical aspect of the Basin’s sustainable long-term management. Despite the importance of this instrument, this article points out that there are serious issues with the current governance arrangements, such as inherent conflicts in the Murray⁻Darling Basin Authority’s (MDBA) role, which is a concern raised by the Productivity Commission. This article goes on to recommend the policy changes required to address Basin-wide issues and promote sustainable practices to ensure the MDB’s long-term resilience.

Highlights: [•] Statistical downscaling has been first time used for catchment and grid daily rainfall. [•] Downscaling results from three techniques have been compared. [•] Hydrological implications, rather than rainfall statistics, from statistical downscaling results have been explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Droughts are periodic natural hazards caused by below-average precipitation in a region. • Drought events have created severe impacts on natural resources and economic and social activities. • Intense droughts in Spain, MDB, and California have acted as catalysts of policy change. • Recent droughts have forced the change from supply-side to more sophisticated and long-term water-conservation measures. • Spain, MDB, and California have incorporated droughts as structural elements in their water planning and management. Droughts are natural hazards characterized by a prolonged period of below-average precipitation. Water scarcity is defined as insufficient water resources to meet demands in a region. This paper examines three regions (Spain, California, and the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia) which share similar social and climatic characteristics and face severe water-scarcity problems. The frequency and persistence of droughts in these regions over the last few decades have triggered changes in water laws as well as in the behaviour of water users and managers. This paper compares the major water reforms in these regions and the achievements and failures of the various approaches implemented. This comparison shows how, despite the differences in institutions and governance regarding water allocation in the three regions, recent droughts have catalysed the creation of institutions and the implementation of sophisticated long-term measures to mitigate the impact of future droughts. A deeper understanding of the effectiveness of mechanisms and regulations is necessary to better manage droughts since the uncertain impacts of climate change will require responses of a more effective nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective regulation of freshwater remains one of the biggest challenges facing our societies. In times of record-breaking weather extremes spurred by a changing climate, decision makers are increasingly aware of the need to formulate more effective governance to ensure the reliability, accessibility, and quality of this life-giving resource. In recent years, the Australian government has played a key role in water management. The government has managed a significant amount of water entitlements in the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB), through its Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) agency, in a bid to increase river flows and thus improve the river system's environmental and ecological conditions. The CEWH is unique in many respects, and the Australian government's control of its budget and actions is a critical aspect of the Basin's sustainable long-term management. Despite the importance of this instrument, this article points out that there are serious issues with the current governance arrangements, such as inherent conflicts in the Murray–Darling Basin Authority's (MDBA) role, which is a concern raised by the Productivity Commission. This article goes on to recommend the policy changes required to address Basin-wide issues and promote sustainable practices to ensure the MDB's long-term resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]