Wetland restoration in an arid landscape: forging a scientific partnership founded on First Nations’ Custodianship and management

Abstract

The Gayini Wetlands are an extensive but highly degraded floodplain in the drylands of Australia, dependent on the Murrumbidgee River in the Murray-Darling Basin. The country was dispossessed from the Nari Nari Aboriginal peoples during colonisation. The wetland, its original floodplain and terrestrial areas (844.17 km ² ) are now back in Nari Nari custodianship. The Nari Nari Tribal Council are leading restoration of their ancient land by reconnecting the original floodplain to its water, partnering with conservationists and scientists. There is a strong focus on the drivers and indicators of the ecosystems and their functions, with rigorous science collecting and analysing data to inform effective adaptive management, with progress already made towards ecological and social attributes. It is the building of trusted relationships that drives collaboration, including two-way learning, with citizen science playing an increasingly important role. Ultimately the Gayini Wetlands depend on water from the Murrumbidgee River with considerable extraction pressures for people and irrigated agriculture, further reduced by a drying climate. Restoration of the Gayini Wetlands in Australia’s drylands exemplifies strong collaboration, with strong leadership by Aboriginal people, delivering for the environment, cultural values and economic independence.