Australia is home to a rich array of plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet, not to mention the world’s largest coral reef system. Over 80 percent of Australia’s mammals, reptiles, and flowering plants are found only in Australia. Unfortunately, Australia also has one of the highest extinction rates in the world, and the largest documented decline in biodiversity of any continent over the past 200 years. It also is typically cited as being one of the countries most at risk from climate change.
In addition to pressing environmental concerns, Australia, like many countries, is facing concerns about the loss of its traditional cultures and languages. Aboriginal Australians have a long history of and connection to caring for the land, and are the keepers of a wealth of invaluable traditional knowledge related not only to the environment, but also to the arts, to culture, and to history here.
By the end of the twenty-first century, it’s estimated that more than half of the 6,000 world languages spoken today will be replaced by dominant languages, such as English. At the start of European settlement in Australia, for example, there were more than 700 spoken languages in Australia. Today, fewer than 200 of these languages remain in use, and all but twenty are considered endangered. As language embodies cultural, traditional, and ecological knowledge unique to its speakers, the loss of language embodies the loss of unique place-based knowledge.
Australia has been working to institute programs and projects to help slow or stop these environmental and cultural trends, and to work toward sustainability of both its natural environment and its rich cultural heritage. These programs include efforts to incorporate sustainability and Aboriginal cultural heritage and history into school curriculums, joint initiatives between Aboriginal owners of the land and government or state entities, and grassroots efforts to preserve biodiversity in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike.
The Earthducation team will be learning and sharing information about some of these programs as they meet with schools and universities, Aboriginal communities and leaders, environmental organizations, and small businesses in New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and Queensland. They will travel from the most densely populated area of the country (the city of Sydney and New South Wales) to the most sparsely populated (the Northern Territory), as well as to the Great Barrier Reef communities of northeastern Queensland.
Some of the topics that will be investigated during their travels include biodiversity, uranium mining, sustainable beef production, the history of distance education and the School of the Air in Australia, the worldwide importance of the Great Barrier Reef, the role of reconciliation in the recent history of Australia, and the contributions and insights of the Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities to both the environment and the culture in this ancient and unique land.
QUICK FACTS ABOUT AUSTRALIA
- It is the driest inhabited continent on Earth (only 6 percent of the Australian landmass is arable).
- It is the world’s smallest continent, and the only continent without glaciers.
- It is one of the world’s least densely populated countries (after Mongolia and Namibia).
- Although Australia has fewer than three people per square kilometer, it is one of the world’s most urbanized countries. Less than 2.5% of the population lives in remote or very remote areas.
- It houses about 10 percent of the world’s biodiversity.
- About 85 percent of the flowering plants in Australia, 84 percent of mammals, 89 percent of reptiles, more than 45 percent of birds, and 89 percent of inshore, freshwater fish are found nowhere else in the world.
- Of the 378 species of mammals in Australia, almost half are marsupials.
- It has the greatest number of reptiles of any country, with 755 species.
- It is home to the world’s largest coral reef system (Great Barrier Reef).
- It is home to some of the most geographically isolated and remote communities in the world.
- Children in remote communities have government-sponsored schooling options to choose from such as community schools and the School of the Air (originally, lessons were delivered via radio; today, newer technologies are being incorporated).
- The most densely populated area is New South Wales, with an overall population of 7.23 million people, 4.5 million of whom live in the Sydney metro area. The least densely populated area is the Northern Territory, which has an overall population of only 230,000 people, despite being almost twice as large in area as New South Wales (the NT covers 1,349,129 square km, whereas NSW covers 800,642 square km).
- It is the world’s biggest exporter of coal (accounting for 29% of global coal exports), and one of its primary users as well, with most electricity being generated by coal-fired plants.
- It is the second largest producer of uranium, and uranium mining is a hot topic in Australia, particularly within Kakadu National Park lands.