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The objective of this research was to develop and test a risk assessment and decisionmaking framework for managing groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) with declining water levels due to climate change, anthropogenic extraction, land use and land management. The framework was developed by a multidisciplinary team of ecologists, modellers and hydrogeologists in south-western Australia, a biodiversity hotspot that has already suffered three decades of below average rainfall and consequently declining groundwater levels due to increased groundwater abstraction and land use change. This has provided a ‘living experiment’providing validation of the framework against observed changes (not just modelled projections). The combination of this research together with input from a suite of end-users, other scientists and experts from across Australia has provided a robust and adaptable framework.

The report outlines how the framework was developed and tested on three different types of GDEs: surface expression of groundwater in 1) wetlands on the Gnangara Groundwater System in Perth and 2) the Blackwood River, and 3) the subterranean expression of groundwater in the Leeuwin Naturaliste Ridge Cave System. However, the framework could be adapted to any type of GDE or surface water system.