Contemporising best practice water management: lessons from the Murray-Darling Basin on participatory water management in a mosaiced landscape

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is generally applauded globally for ‘best-practice’ water management. The notion of ‘best practice’ is fluid, informed by constant learning from what works and what does not. The Plan’s 10-year anniversary in 2022 provides a pivotal point to reflect on practical lessons learnt throughout its implementation and incorporate those into contemporised ‘best practice’. This paper explores the emerging paradigm of participatory approaches with private landholders in the conservation and biodiversity fields, and its applicability to water management ‘best practice’. Through an original framework and case studies, we explore the opportunity that these practical exemplars offer to refine contemporary theoretical notions of best practice. A case is ultimately presented in which a contemporised paradigm – based on co-operation, co-benefit outcomes and participatory partnerships – offers significant potential for future management in the Basin, especially to overcome deeply entrenched trust deficits among communities.