How we got here

It is important that work to restore a healthy Coorong is based on the latest science, as well as the experience and knowledge of Traditional Owners and the local community.

Recognising this, the Department for Environment and Water convened a group of scientists, community leaders, traditional owners and water managers – the Coorong Summit – and the Goyder Expert Panel to collectively come up with solutions for the Coorong.

A Coorong Summit Summary Report and Goyder Expert Panel Report were published in November 2018. These reports include recommendations and outline a vision for the Coorong.

• The Goyder Expert Panel Report was prepared by the Goyder Institute for Water Research. The Goyder Institute for Water Research assembled an independent expert panel to report on the status of the ecological character of the Coorong South Lagoon and recommended actions to restore the wetland’s health.
• The Coorong Summit Summary Report was prepared by the South Australian Government following the Coorong Summit that involved Traditional Owners, community groups, scientists and water resource managers. The report was developed to capture a collective vision for the future of the Coorong, including for the restoration of the Coorong South Lagoon.

The reports recommend a series of short, medium and long-term actions to restore the Coorong. These include:

• establishing refuge wetlands for migratory waterbirds while the South Lagoon is recovering
• optimising the benefits of water from the River Murray, Southern Ocean and the Upper South East
• managing nutrients to control algae growth
• determining the risks posed by climate change and mitigation needed.

The two reports inform the Healthy Coorong, Healthy Basin action plan. They build on the research carried out on previous projects, and identify remaining knowledge gaps where further studies would improve decision-making.

Some of the other research that has been carried out to restore a healthy Coorong includes:

• Environmental water requirements for the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth
• Water level management to develop a barrage and water level management policy, and a barrage operating strategy
• Ruppia seed collection and translocation
• Ecological monitoring through the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Recovery project
• Ecological and water monitoring through the Living Murray initiative.

Visit the Coorong and Ramsar Wetland Portal to view further research publications about the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth.