Learning consciousness in managing water for the environment, exemplified using Macquarie River and Marshes, Australia

Craig A. McLoughlin; Richard T. Kingsford; William Johnson

doi:10.1071/MF24049

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Previous Next Contents Vol 75(12)

Learning consciousness in managing water for the environment, exemplified using Macquarie River and Marshes, Australia

Craig A. McLoughlin

^A ^* , Richard T. Kingsford

^A and William Johnson ^B

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

^B Slattery and Johnson, Dubbo, NSW 2830, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: craig.mcloughlin@unsw.edu.au

Handling Editor: Paul Frazier

Marine and Freshwater Research 75, MF24049 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF24049

Submitted: 8 March 2024 Accepted: 16 July 2024 Published: 5 August 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Context

Ongoing learning is essential for freshwater ecosystem management, but there is limited documentation of successful integration into management.

Aims

We aimed to increase learning-related understanding required for effective adaptive management of water for the environment, in water-stressed and contested river systems.

Methods

We developed a learning approach (requisite learning) for managing water for the environment, demonstrated with real-world examples from the Macquarie River and Marshes, Australia.

Key results

Four co-existing, interdependent learning types enable effective management of water for the environment: (1) ‘adjusting routines’, (2) ‘adaptive assessment’, (3) ‘changing practice’, and (4) ‘transforming governance’, exemplified by using management of water for the environment for the Macquarie River and Marshes. To enable and improve requisite learning, stakeholder social learning, and flexibility in governance arrangements, must develop.

Conclusions

Ongoing learning is essential for effective adaptive management. Understanding what requisite learning is and how capacity can be improved, will help achieve outcomes required of managing water for the environment.

Implications

Effective management of water for the environment is essential, transparently delivering environmental outcomes and accounting for decision-making. To do this, we need to improve explicit learning understanding by nurturing learning mandates and champions, fostering social learning, increasing flexibility in governance arrangements, and institutionalising learning.

Keywords: adaptive management, environmental flows, freshwater ecology, governance, Murray–Darling Basin, river regulation, social learning, social-ecological systems.

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