Partnering with Aboriginal peoples
Water for Country is environmental water use planned by the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and Aboriginal people to achieve shared benefits for the environment and cultural places, values and interests.
In 2026–27, we will continue to partner with Aboriginal peoples and organisations across the Murray and Baaka-Lower Darling catchments to design and deliver culturally informed watering actions. This includes:
- working collaboratively to deliver environmental water to the Central Murray Forests Ramsar site, including Werai Lands, the Millewa Forest Group (Murray Valley National and Regional Parks), and the Koondrook-Perricoota-Campbells Island State Forests
- supporting cultural and ecological outcomes along the Baaka-Lower Darling River and the Great Darling Anabranch
- improving wetland and river health, strengthening cultural and environmental outcomes, and supporting the ongoing connections between Aboriginal communities and Country
- ensuring First Nations content is included in Long Term Water Plans
- supporting the development of cultural watering plans where required.
Key planned actions for 2026–27
Native fish
Environmental water will be delivered to create or maximise opportunities to increase the distribution and abundance of short to moderate-lived native fish species. Watering actions will also provide conditions that support the improvement in the population structure of moderate to long-lived native fish species.
Waterbirds
Environmental water deliveries will provide opportunities for both non-group-nesting and group-nesting waterbird breeding. Watering actions will aim to maintain the extent and improve the condition of waterbird habitats to support foraging, nesting and breeding.
Vegetation
A key focus is to maintain the extent and viability of non-woody vegetation communities occurring within or closely fringing river channels and creeks, and to maintain or increase their extent and viability in wetlands and on floodplains.
Watering actions will also aim to maintain the extent and improve the condition of river red gum communities fringing river channels and creeks, and to maintain or increase the extent and improve the condition of native woodland and shrubland communities on floodplains.
By supporting wetland vegetation structure, environmental water deliveries will aim to maintain and increase the number of wetland sites occupied by the threatened southern bell frog.
Connectivity
Watering actions will support connectivity by providing and protecting a diversity of refugia across the landscape for a range of native aquatic-dependent species. Environmental water will contribute to the creation and maintenance of quality in-stream, floodplain, and wetland habitat and provide movement opportunities for water-dependent biota to complete lifecycles and disperse into new habitats. The support of nutrient, carbon, and sediment transport along channels, and between channels and floodplains/wetlands will also support in-stream and floodplain productivity.
Map of proposed annual priority targets in the water resource plan area 2026–27
For more information on each catchment's resource availability scenario and expected volumes, visit our Annual environmental watering priorities 2026-27 webpage.
