Water management and rights
Since the early 1990s, there has been a gradual shift towards greater public participation in water management around the world. There are now a number of examples of a shared approach to water management, many of which have begun to include Indigenous voices alongside those from government and industry.
Indigenous representation in Australian water management
Australian governments have only recently taken steps towards increasing Indigenous representation in water management. The first Indigenous Advisory Group—the First Peoples’ Water Engagement Council—was established in 2009 as the result of an Indigenous freshwater planning forum convened by the National Water Commission.
Since then, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder—an office established under the Water Act 2007 (Cth) to manage water acquired by the Australian Government—has declared its commitment to working with Indigenous organisations.
Snapshot from Victoria +
Environmental flows and cultural flows +
How land rights connect to water rights
One of the key issues facing Australian Indigenous communities working towards greater participation in water management is the separation of water use rights from land rights.
This separation, enshrined in the 2004 Intergovernmental Agreement on a National Water Initiative, means that even where native title is recognised, Indigenous water use rights extend only to activities such as hunting, fishing, and cultural or spiritual activities. Other water use rights are still governed by Australia’s existing water use laws. The result is that native title holders are unable to use their water rights for economic development i.e. activities such as commercial irrigation.
This disconnect between land and water rights means that while Indigenous land currently exceeds 30% of Australia, Indigenous water use rights are estimated to represent less than 0.01% of Australia’s total water allocations. For more on this topic, see The Conversation article Water in northern Australia: a history of Aboriginal exclusion.