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Original painting on raw canvas with clear gesso base. This painting is #13 in the 26 Endangered Ecosystems series that will exhibit in early 2027. Pre-order the painting now to reserve it ahead of exhibition and it will ship to you for free in 2027. Email alissasyverson@gmail.com for any questions.
Context: The Murray–Darling Basin is an ecosystem of rivers, tributaries, and land that covers 1/7th of Australian landmass. It’s a significant agricultural area for the country, and provides a third of Australia’s food supply.
In January of this year, the Murray Darling basin was officially named as critically endangered. Decades of engineering, over-allocation and the drying effect of climate change have significantly reduced runoff to rivers, creeks and wetlands within the basin.
One piece I looked into also was the way water is allocated and used in the basin - in the 90s, the government limited how much water could be extracted to restore the health of the basin, by creating separate water titles to enable farmers to trade water. This created the world’s biggest water market, which is now worth billions of dollars, but a significant gap here is that the Aboriginal people of the area have largely been shut out of the water market. The 50 First Nations that live in the basin were the first inhabitants of this area, and these waters are a sacred source of life that are central to spirituality - and now, these people do not have equitable access to the water that is left in the area.
An organization that is working to conserve the basin and restore justice for traditional owners is the Murray Darling Conservation Alliance. Learn more about them and donate here: https://mdca.org.au/
Original painting on raw canvas with clear gesso base. This painting is #13 in the 26 Endangered Ecosystems series that will exhibit in early 2027. Pre-order the painting now to reserve it ahead of exhibition and it will ship to you for free in 2027. Email alissasyverson@gmail.com for any questions.
Context: The Murray–Darling Basin is an ecosystem of rivers, tributaries, and land that covers 1/7th of Australian landmass. It’s a significant agricultural area for the country, and provides a third of Australia’s food supply.
In January of this year, the Murray Darling basin was officially named as critically endangered. Decades of engineering, over-allocation and the drying effect of climate change have significantly reduced runoff to rivers, creeks and wetlands within the basin.
One piece I looked into also was the way water is allocated and used in the basin - in the 90s, the government limited how much water could be extracted to restore the health of the basin, by creating separate water titles to enable farmers to trade water. This created the world’s biggest water market, which is now worth billions of dollars, but a significant gap here is that the Aboriginal people of the area have largely been shut out of the water market. The 50 First Nations that live in the basin were the first inhabitants of this area, and these waters are a sacred source of life that are central to spirituality - and now, these people do not have equitable access to the water that is left in the area.
An organization that is working to conserve the basin and restore justice for traditional owners is the Murray Darling Conservation Alliance. Learn more about them and donate here: https://mdca.org.au/