As the world warms up, hundreds of millions of people will face the same ecological crisis as the residents of the Murray-Darling basin.

As Australia's population continues to grow so does demand for water in the cities and for the crops that grow in the river basin.

Most alarming of all, the Murray-Darling's troubles are likely to worsen.

the city of Adelaide, for example, depends on the Murray for about 40% of its water.

Negotiations over the federal constitution almost foundered on the subject of the Murray-Darling.