Biodiversity - Holidays & Water

Rock, Reef, Rainforest

Australia was one of the first countries in the world to ratify the World Heritage Convention in 1974. There are no less than 13 areas in Australia on the World Heritage List, the most famous of which are:

The Rock: Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park (Ayers Rock and the Olgas), a spectacular area in central Australia. By the year 2000 about 800,000 visitors will be visiting the area each year. Uluru has had great spiritual, economic, territorial and cultural significance for Aboriginal people for thousands of years.

The Reef: The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area is a 2000 kilometres long living treasure, visited by about 2.2 million visitors each year. Its rich biodiversity is amongst the greatest in the world. The reef is home to 1500 species of fish, 300 species of hard corals, more than 4000 mollusc species and more than 400 species of sponges.

The Rainforest: The Wet Tropics World Heritage Area includes the Daintree rainforest. Here grows the oldest rainforest in the world and the highest concentration of ancient flowering plants found anywhere. It is one of only a few places in the world where the rainforest grows down to meet the coral reef and is home to the rare giant Cassowary bird. About 1.8 million people visit the Wet Tropics each year.

How to protect biodiversity on holiday

Leave an area cleaner than you find it.

Travel by your own muscle power where possible.

Stay on the path, or if in a car, stick to the roads.

Take only pictures to remember the places you visit. Leave only footprints.

Be careful not to introduce exotic plants, animals and diseases - take out all fruit peelings.

Don't take pets to natural areas.

Familiarise yourself with local regulations, especially when fishing.

Don't use soaps and detergents in rivers and creeks and don't drop plastic bags overboard.

Drive carefully at dusk to avoid hitting nocturnal animals such as kangaroos and wombats.

In and On the Water

The seas are a staggering variety of life, covering three quarters of the surface of the earth and plunging to a depth of 11 kilometres. Australia has responsibility for 11 million square kilometres of oceans, containing some of the richest biodiversity in the world. However, over-fishing and pollution is turning this rich soup into a watery wasteland. One of the hardest hit is the Southern Bluefin Tuna. After decades of unsustainable harvesting the breeding stock of the tuna is a mere 10 per cent of what it once was.

At our shorelines lives a wealth of biodiversity. These animals and plants have adapted to the impact of pounding waves and can survive regardless of whether they are submerged or not. However, they cannot withstand over-harvesting . Shellfish have been taken for food or bait, literally stripping many of the more popular rock platforms.

Freshwater environments are particularly special because many species are restricted to just one or two river systems. The Black Grunter Fish, for example, is found only in the Prince Regent and Roe Rivers which flow into the Timor Sea. If these rivers were substantially altered, the Black Grunter could become extinct.

Most fish need free flowing rivers with natural changes in depth, temperature and salinity over the seasons in order to live and reproduce. Recreational fishing, agriculture, irrigation and urban development have altered many of our rivers and depleted fish stock. Rivers are suffering from over extraction of water, increasing salinity, nutrients and chemicals, artificial dams, removal of riverside vegetation and introduction of exotic species. These changes have left native fish species struggling to survive.

An organisation called Native Fish Australia is working actively to protect our native fish species. NFA encourages the use of only ethical and sustainable angling in the wider community and promotes strategies for long term protection of rivers and lakes. Telephone NFA on: (03) 9848 2285 or see their link on the Links and Resources page.

This section of my environment web site is based upon a booklet produced by the Department of the Environment and Heritage, Environment Australia. This material can be freely reproduced for non-commercial purposes provided Environment Australia is acknowledged. Their logo appears at the bottom of this page.