Valuing Water: The Australian Perspective - Economic Values of Water Under Scarcity in the Murray-Darling Basin

Jul 19, 2026

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Valuing Water: The Australian perspective examines the economic values of water in conditions of scarcity across the Murray-Darling Basin. It supports the Australian Water Partnership knowledge strategy by informing improved water planning, allocation, and governance among governments, industries, and civil society. The publication synthesizes expertise from the World Bank and Australian partners, emphasizing more equitable, transparent, and effective management of water resources and development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages76

Reading Time3 h 12 min

About the Australian Water Partnership Knowledge Framework

Purpose and contribution

Support from Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP)

About the authors and acknowledgements

Preparation team

Collaborative effort and guidance

Citation and publication details

Citation format and rights disclaimer

Funding, liability, and data boundaries

Valuing water: The Australian perspective Economic values of water under scarcity in the Murray-Darling Basin Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disc losure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disc losure Authorized AWP Knowledge Framework The Australian Water Partnership (AWP) is committed to enhancing sharing of knowledge and tools for sustainable water management to improve water planning, allocation and governance by governments, industries and civil society. This knowledge product supports the AWP Knowledge Strategy and contributes to the Australian Perspective Series under the Australian Bookcase. The other tiers within this bookcase are the Australian Journey Series and Guide Series. For more information, [visit waterpartnership.org.au](visit waterpartnership.org.au). GWSP This publication also received the support of the Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP) . GWSP is a multidonor trust fund administered by the World Bank’s Water Global Practice and supported by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Austria’s Federal Ministry of Finance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development. About the Authors Prepared by: Will Fargher, Ryan Gormly, Sarah Leck, and Huw Pohlner with Aither, and support from Lin Crase, University of South Australia. Acknowledgements This report is the result of a collaborative effort between the World Bank and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with financial support from the Australian Water Partnership to promote more equitable, transparent and effective management of water resources development. The World Bank team was led by Si Gou (Water Resources Management Specialist, SEAW1), Marcus Wishart (Lead Water Resource Specialist, SEAW1), Xiawei Liao (Water Resource Specialist, SEAW1), and David Kaczan (Senior Economist, SEAE1) . Guidance was provided by an advisory panel of peer reviewers within the World Bank, including: Eileen Burke (Senior Water Resource Specialists and Global Lead for Water Resources), Shelley McMillan (Senior Water Resource Specialist and Task Team Leader for the Mekong Vision 3.0), Halla Qaddumi (Senior Water Economist), William Young (Lead Water Resource Specialist) and Giovanni Ruta (Senior Environmental Economist) . The report was prepared under the guidance of Jennifer Sara (Global Director of the Water Global Practice), Benoît Bosquet (Regional Director, Sustainable Development, East Asia and the Pacific), and Sudipto Sarkar (Practice Manager, Water Global Practice, East Asia and the Pacific Region) . Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade contributions have been led by John Dore (Lead Water Specialist, Economic Growth and Sustainability Division, ESD), with guidance from James Morschel (Water Section, ESD) . Australian Water Partnership contributions by Rory Hunter (Program Lead), Katharine Cross (Mekong Coordinator) and Veitania Lepani (GEDSI and Program Officer) . Citation Australian Water Partnership and World Bank. (2022) . Valuing Water: The Australian perspective. Multiple values of water under scarcity in the Murray-Darling Basin. Australian Water Partnership, Canberra, and World Bank, Washington, DC. ©2022 eWater Ltd and The World Bank (published 09 13 2022) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The World Bank Group 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433 USA ISBN 978-1-921543-95-1 Disclaimer This publication has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The views expressed in this publication are the author’s alone and are not necessarily the views of the

FAQs

What is the main focus of this report?

The report focuses on the economic values of water under scarcity in the Murray-Darling Basin from an Australian perspective.

Who developed and supported the publication?

It was prepared by authors supported by Aither, with collaboration between the World Bank and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and support through the Australian Water Partnership and GWSP.

How does the report support water management decisions?

It contributes to better water planning, allocation, and governance by governments, industries, and civil society, aiming for more equitable, transparent, and effective water resource management.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Liam