Climate Change

Australia's Resources,

Many Australian Landscapes are overcommitted to Livestock Grazing, cropping, irrigation and urban development. There is insufficient "ecological margin" to maintain ecologically sustainable environmental conditions or stem further biodiversity loss. Serious thinking, planning, and local management action are needed to avoid worsening the problems of our already heavily committed landscape and natural resources.

Australia is a wealthy country, but our long term productive capacity and economical prosperity depends on the appropriate injection of financial and logistical investments necessary to truly tackle the problems associated with our environment and biodiversity loss. We need new ways to generate these funds.

Almost none of Australia's natural resource base industries can be considered ecologically sustainable. Their activities lead to significant biodiversity loss, environment degradation and ultimately a serious reduction in productivity. The challenge to create truly ecologically sustainable resource management combining production and conservation. This applies to fisheries, forests, agriculture, and other industries.

The Western Rock lobster, and Kangaroo industries are two leading examples of the precious few model industries that are ecologically sustainable. There is almost no monitoring of Australia's biodiversity. We have no way to access the effectiveness of billions of dollars currently being spent on revegetation and river restoration programs, weed and feral animal control, resource system for conserving and prescribed burning programs. We desperately need a formal and systematic ecological monitoring system for future prevention of current disasters.

The lessons from history is that we must not repeat the actions of our past. It is frustrating in the most extreme circumstances of environmental Australia that we do not repeat the past mistakes. The mistakes of over clearing, overcommitted land, infestation and huge over commitment of water resources that have been made in Southern Australia. We must repeat the past, OUR NATURAL HERITAGE IS AT STAKE.