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1. Dryland rivers are a focal point of life. Highly variable flows that underpin the ecology of these rivers are the antithesis of requirements for regular water for irrigation. Proposals exist to divert water for irrigation on the dryland rivers, Cooper Creek and the Paroo River in central Australia, that cross political boundaries of three Australian states (Queensland, South Australia and New South Wales).

2. Poorly-planned water resource developments on dryland rivers incur unacceptably high ecological costs. Debate about the future of Cooper Creek and the Paroo River is challenging traditional political accountabilities for management hitherto focused on land rather than water. Diversion of water for irrigation threatens high conservation values of these unregulated rivers and livelihoods of rural communities who rely on floods. The current process whereby a Government water agency in one political jurisdiction assesses and judges the merits of proposals that have ecological consequences is restrictive. We critique current mechanisms for assessment, and approval of proposals to divert water from dryland rivers in Australia.

3. An alternative is to begin with a discussion of the impacts of such proposals and ecological and social values under threat that involves a ’collaborative’ resource management partnership between scientists, landholders and conservationists. Two scientific workshops on Cooper Creek and the Paroo River distilled such a process. This paper reviews the background to these workshops and their importance for decisions on sustainable management of dryland rivers and their floodplain wetlands. Scientific workshops involve the wider community in decision-making that is traditionally the province of water managers and developers. Transparency, independence and a catchment focus remain challenges for decision-making on the Paroo and the Cooper but the foundations were laid by the workshops. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.