Foreword Preface Acknowledgements List of contributors Section 1: Natural history and ecology of the Lake Eyre Basin 1 The Lake Eyre Basin - one of the world's great desert river systems 2 Water - where, when, how much? Challenges in understanding and managing flow in rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin 3 Fish distribution, status and threats in the rivers and springs of the Queensland Lake Eyre Basin 4 Natural flows drive the 'boom and bust' ecology of fish in Cooper Creek, an arid-zone floodplain river 5 Turtles of Cooper Creek - life in the slow lane 6 Developing the desert - potential effects on wildlife Section 2: Cultural and socio-economic dimensions of the rivers 7 Connecting the champions of the Lake Eyre Basin rivers 8 Looking after the rivers - a view from nearly 50,000 years of experience 9 Caring for our sacred waterways - learning from our past 10 River sustainability - essential for the livelihoods of landholders 11 Clean green beef - the importance of free-flowing rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin 12 A life living between a river and a creek 13 Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre - not just a wildlife paradise but also an economic lifeline 14 When our rivers ran dry - 30 years of water resource development in the Murray-Darling Basin 15 A river and a livelihood - all but lost in a decade 16 Making a living from the Macquarie Marshes - coping with decisions upstream 17 'Once more into the breach, dear friends .' - the ongoing battle for the Cooper 18 River and wetland health in the Lake Eyre Basin - an economic perspective 19 Mining and the Lake Eyre Basin environment - past, present and possible futures Section 3: Looking after the rivers 20 Sustainable management of the Lake Eyre Basin rivers - regulate, educate or open the gate? 21 Water governance in Queensland - implications for Wild Rivers declarations in the Lake Eyre Basin 22 Sustainability for the rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin Index.