Last updated: October 23, 2019

RCE Murray-Darling

Photo Credit:
Rce details
Region:
ASIA-PACIFIC
Country:
Australia
Overview
Date of RCE acknowledgement:
December, 2012
Description of RCE and Geographic Region:

RCE Murray-Darling is establishing a consortium of key regional stakeholders within and across the southern Murray-Darling Basin communities to support and promote sustainable development through the integration of research, education and community engagement initiatives. The region of focus is in the southern part of the Murray–Darling Basin, which is the catchment area for the Murray and Darling rivers and their tributaries. It is an area of national social, environmental and cultural significance, and contains substantial natural resources, including the Kosciuszko National Park. The Basin covers 14 per cent of Australia and 1 million square kilometres, but it is very sparsely populated — the Basin has a population of two million people, which averages at fewer than two people per square kilometre. The causes and social impacts of environmental challenges in the southern Basin are diverse and unevenly distributed. The impacts of extensive drought and floods, for example, have caused major disruption to households and communities in the region, through effects such as job losses, industry closures, infrastructure deterioration, and associated stresses on community and health service provision. In general, rural and regional communities deal with a diverse range of issues including poverty and social exclusion, mental health problems and suicide, and an ageing labour force due to the exodus of young workers. There are ongoing disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous social and health indicators.

Goals and Objectives:
Organisation Hosting RCE Secretariat:
Key Partners:
Activities
Current Activities:
RCE Murray-Darling is currently working to:
  • Establish regional forums: Building new and innovative platforms to share information and experiences and promote dialogue amongst a variety of regional stakeholders and strengthening community resilience in the face of changing climatic and social contexts.
  • Evaluate the spatial and temporal reach of ESD: Engagning in a collaborative research project and developing a National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) grant application.
  • Use the built and natural environments as a stimulus for ESD Developing educational programs that use specific built and natural environments as a stimulus for learning and research.
  • Establish Murray-Darling Biodiversity Education Centre: Developing partnerships with existing regional biodiversity programs to establish an education centre to showcase initiatives related to local food, land-care, community supported agriculture and building sustainable literacy the Murray-Darling schools, colleges and higher education courses.
  • Develop education for sustainability programs from K-12: Providing schools office space to coordinate programs, a central teaching space and a meeting space for staff and students when onsite.
Upcoming Activities:
Achievements:
Communication Channels
RCE Website:
Instagram:
Facebook page:
Twitter handle:
YouTube page:
Other(s):
Contact Details
Main RCE Contact:
Dr John Rafferty, Charles Sturt University
jrafferty@csu.edu.au
Secondary RCE Contact:

RCE Youth Coordinator(s):
Please ask the main RCE contact for the Youth Coordinator's name and contact details
General RCE email:
RCE mailing address for correspondence: