Healthy environments are crucial for sustaining life, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring the well-being of both human and natural systems. An example of how maintaining our natural environments is important and what impact it can have if we don’t can be seen in the Murray- Darling Basin..
Our waterways are important for providing essential basics such as clean drinking water, reliable supply for crops and animals as well as support for native fish, birds, and plant life, which are essential to biodiversity. Areas such as the Murray- Darling basin have had a range of human interventions which have compromised the health of the basin. This has led to catastrophic consequences such as algal blooms causing fish kills, salinity leading to habitat destruction and economic impacts due to crop losses. The management of this important natural environment is ongoing and has big consequences for us all. The video below provides a snapshot of some of the issues in managing the Basin.
Other waterways that need management include our estuaries and coastal rivers, home to many tourist ventures and important industries such as oyster farming. For example, the Wallis Lake estuary system is home to many oyster farms which make up an important part of the local economy for towns such as Forster and Tuncurry. Maintaining a healthy aquatic environment is extremely important to ensuring that these oysters can grow and be taken to market. Click here to learn more about how this waterway is managed.
