Monitoring and Evaluation Plan for the Edward-Wakool selected area

The Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH) is responsible under the Water Act 2007 (Cth) for managing Commonwealth environmental water holdings. The holdings must be managed to protect or restore the environmental assets of the Murray-Darling Basin, and other areas where the Commonwealth holds water, so as to give effect to relevant international agreements. The Basin Plan (2012) further requires that the holdings must be managed in a way that is consistent with the Basin Plan's Environmental Watering Plan. The Water Act 2007 (Cth) and the Basin Plan also impose obligations to report on the contribution of Commonwealth environmental water to the environmental objectives of the Basin Plan.Monitoring and evaluation are critical for supporting effective and efficient use of Commonwealth environmental water. Monitoring and evaluation will also provide important information to support the CEWH meet their reporting obligations.The Long-Term Intervention Monitoring Project (LTIM Project) is the primary means by which the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office (CEWO) will undertake monitoring and evaluation of the ecological outcomes of Commonwealth environmental watering. The LTIM Project will be implemented at seven Selected Areas over a five year period from 2014-15 to 2018-19 to deliver five high-level outcomes (in order of priority):1. Evaluate the contribution of Commonwealth environmental watering to the objectives of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority's (MDBA) Environmental Watering Plan2. Evaluate the ecological outcomes of Commonwealth environmental watering at each of the seven Selected Areas3. Infer ecological outcomes of Commonwealth environmental watering in areas of the Murray-Darling Basin not monitored4. Support the adaptive management of Commonwealth environmental water5. Monitor the ecological response to Commonwealth environmental watering at each of the seven Selected Areas.This Monitoring and Evaluation Plan (M&E Plan) details the monitoring and evaluation activities that will be implemented under the LTIM Project in the Edward-Wakool Selected Area. The Plan includes:ï'· A description of the Edward-Wakool Selected Area (section 2);ï'· A description of the Commonwealth environmental watering expected to occur in the Edward-Wakool system over the next 5 years (section 3);ï'· A discussion of monitoring priorities (section 4);ï'· A summary of evaluation questions relevant to the Basin-scale evaluation and Edward-Wakool Selected Area evaluation (section 5);ï'· Standard operating procedures for each indicator (section 6);ï'· A monitoring schedule (section 7);ï'· A description of the evaluation methods (section 8);ï'· A communication and engagement plan (section 9);ï'· A description of project management and project governance, risk management plan, quality plan, and health, safety and environment plans (section 10); andï'· A monitoring and evaluation budget (section 11).