The Coorong National Park is a protected area located in South Australia 156kms southeast of Adelaide. (See Figure 1) It forms part of the Murray Darling river system and is situated close by to Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert. The Coorong stretches for more than 130kms and protects many saltwater lagoons of which are sheltered from the pounding surf of the Southern Ocean, by the sand dunes of the Younghusband Peninsula. The Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth all form part of a unique wetland environment, consisting of 23 different wetland types ranging from freshwater to hypersaline, dense vegetation to open water and temporary to permanently inundated land. These features contribute to the Coorong, area meeting 8 of the 9 criteria for classification as a ‘Ramsar Wetland’ (See Appendix 1) The Coorong area is classified as a Mediterranean Warm biome with a Mediterranean climate featuring temperatures ranging …show more content…
from -1°C - 22°C and an average annual rainfall of 51cm. (See Figure 2) The major environmental change occurring at the Coorong is the decrease in water levels. Over-allocation, misuse of water and population growth, as well as climate change causing drought are the major causes for the decrease in water levels. The effects of these causes include: acid sulfate soil, salinity and invasion of pest plants and animals, reduction in vegetation, drying of wetlands, reductions in fish species numbers and decrease in shorebird numbers. As a result of drought and farmer reliance on irrigation the water levels in the Coorong Wetlands are dramatically reduced which is severely affecting the sustainability of this important natural environment.Through detailed research the significant changes observed to the Coorong Wetlands Environment is the alarming rate at which the water levels are decreasing, therefore leaving the community with very little freshwater availability. Insufficient water levels have been left to keep the environment running sustainably. According to Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, 2010 it is stated that “Consumptive use in the Murray Darling Basin has reduced average annual stream flow at the Murray mouth by 61%.” Since 2006, water flows into the Coorong have been significantly less than the volume of water being extracted. This has had an effect on the Lower Lakes causing them to fall to unprecedented levels. (See Figure 3) The causes of the environmental change, is due to increased climate change which has caused drought, as well as the farmers reliance on irrigation, leading to the over-allocation of water has caused dramatic impacts to the wetland. Many years of water over-allocation and current severe drought have led to extremely low water levels in the Coorong and Lower Lakes. There have been insufficient water flows through the barrages, resulting in the water quality of the system declining. (See Figure 4) Extracting large volumes of water for consumption has left insufficient water for the environment. The social effects from the environmental change at a local level includes the effect on business and families as they have not been able to maintain their crops due to a decline in freshwater availability. This has resulted in a loss of income and a rise in the costs of food and water eventually leading to poverty and further, immigration. The farmers have had to work for longer hours to ensure their crops and livestock are correctly managed, leading to poor health as they encounter added pressure and stress. The system on a whole has been affected as the health of the farmers is decreasing, this means they are unable to operate at their full potential meaning their business are unable to continue running, resulting in a decline in income and a loss of jobs for employees. This has a major effect on the rest of the community. The economic effects from the environmental change at a local level includes the effect on the tourism industry, as companies have to assure tourists that there is a sufficient level of water in the river allowing for water sports to continue, tourists may be hesitant to stay in the area if they cannot do what they desire, therefore resulting in a decline in the economy as there is a decrease in the number of tourists. This affects peoples businesses and jobs as there is a decline in income. The system on a whole has been affected by the fish industry, as there is a decline in the number of fish, therefore they cannot sell to the large markets including Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. This results in a decline in income, as they have to stop selling to these markets. The onion industry supplies to Woolworths, a major grocery store company. The farmers growing the onions may lose their contract if the onions are unable to grow due to insufficient water levels. This again affects jobs and the income of the employees. The political effects from the environmental change at a local level include the local governments having to design and implement strategies to provide sustainability for the environment. The people in government have to undergo long hours of planning and researching the correct ways to manage the Coorong environment. There can be a lot of pressure placed on them to effectively manage the state of the Coorong. The system on a whole has been affected as the State governments are now getting involved and helping rebuild the Coorong wetlands, as the environment’s health is rapidly declining. This can lead to conflict within governments and added pressure on them to make the correct choices regarding the management of the Coorong. The environmental effects from the environmental change at a local level include: the release of acid sulfate soils, increased salinity, invasion of pest plants and animals, reduction in vegetation, drying and disconnectedness of wetlands, reductions in fish species numbers, decrease in shorebirds and a loss of biodiversity.
Each of these issues has a deeper effect on the overall health of the Coorong environment, meaning the entire environment suffers due to one problem.
The system on a whole has been affected as the surrounding Coorong and Lower Lakes areas are encountering declining environmental conditions including: degradation of swamps, receding riverbanks and irrigation banks, disruption of irrigation usage and the irregularity of ferry services. These environmental issues have an effect on the provision of portable water to Adelaide and regional towns who rely on this water source. This means the government is having to find other sources of water so that it can be provided to Adelaide and the regional towns, putting extra stress on the
government. The first strategy recommended to manage the environmental changes is to implement clear, strict regulations on irrigation and water usage in the surrounding community. Once the issue arose that the Coorong environment was in serious danger, regulations on irrigation were put into place, however the government was not clear and did not implement them as well as they should have. These regulations need to be very concise, implemented strictly by the local government, who need to hold meetings with the local community stakeholders to discuss the appropriate regulations and the consequences if these regulations are not adhered to. The second strategy recommended to manage the environmental changes is to provide local farmers with another source of water, other than the Lower Lakes and Murray River. If strict regulations are to be implemented on irrigation and water usage another source of water must be offered so farmers are still able to efficiently operate their farms. Water bores can be effectively used in place, by collecting water from underground, it is not extracting from the water in the Coorong, meaning the water levels can be restored to normal without causing major impacts on the environment. Implementing clear, strict regulations on irrigation and water usage ensures clear communications between the government and the locals, meaning everyone is involved politically and socially. According to, Jonathan D Sobels, 2007, Social Impacts of the Drought, it has been said that “…the locals are not receiving clear instructions on the irrigation regulations and hence are getting punished for using too much water, when the regulations were not clear to them in the beginning.” This is causing confusion and hence people are not clear on how much water they are able to use. Implementing appropriate regulations of water usage will ensure the local community know how much water they are to use, helping to restore water levels in the Coorong environment. These regulations should be implemented as soon as possible to ensure no further water is extracted from the Coorong and Lower Lakes. By using water bores, sufficient amounts of water can be collected and used for household needs, agriculture and other uses, without placing major impacts on the environment. Water bores are not expensive and will service the needs of the community. Water bores should be implemented as soon as possible, before the regulations are implemented as locals can start using this different source of water once the regulations are implemented. It is ensured that if these actions are taken they will effectively manage and rebuild the Coorong environment back to sustainability. Overall the major changes that have occurred in the Coorong environment are the decrease in the water levels. This has been caused by over-allocation of water, farmer reliance on irrigation and drought. The environmental change has effected the political, environmental, economic and social areas and have caused major issues. These issues can be effectively addressed through recommended strategies to rebuild the Coorong environment back to sustainability and to help the Coorong community stabilise all areas of production. Many strategies have already been implemented to help manage the Coorong, with consistent management strategies the Coorong will gradually restore to its almost full healthy state.
“Last Call at the Oasis” is a documentary about our world’s water crisis. The film discusses how many large cities in America are getting closer to use up their available water, how many areas across the globe do not have access to drinking water and are forced to drink contaminated water, how water shortages are causing acts of violence and are causing stress to agricultural communities, and a possible solution of using recycle water to stop us from wasting so much water. The film goes around the globe to talk to scientists who are studying contaminated water, people who have become very sick due to this water, and to the agricultural community in Australia where, unfortunately, some farmers have take their own lives due to water shortages.
The Badu Wetlands are located within the Bicentennial Park which is located in the Parramatta River Basin approximately 12km west of the CBD. It receives slightly less rainfall and higher average temperatures than that of the CBD (central business district). The latitude of Bicentennial Park is 3350’ and the longitude is 15304’ with an altitude of 0-10 meters above seas level (m.a.s.l )The average temperature of the park is a warm temperate eastern marine. The size of the park is 100 hectares with the wetland size being 58 hectares, showing that the wetlands cover more than half of the park.
Do you want to hear about the first national park that is the first and only dedicated to a president? Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established in 1947. The Mountains are over 55 million years old. The badlands of Theodore Roosevelt national park is dry with occasional monsoon showers. The park is located in Medora, North Dakota, and is home to some amazing animals including wild horses, reptiles and mammals.
What we have seen in late January has proved that the city of Phoenix needs one more water treatment facility. The tax revenue that will be lost if a water crisis every happen again will pay for the building of the new facility. The water department has known of this problem for years but has chosen not to rectify the hazard. City officials chalked up the high levels of sediment in the water to Mother Nature, but they acknowledge that a series of decisions by water officials could have worsened the problem. (Villa, Fehr-Snyder, 1) The water department knew and Frank Fairbanks knew that maintenance was required on rotating bases, on each facility and chooses to take two offline during the “winter” or “rainy months”.
Lee, S. Y., Dunn, R. K., Young, R. A., Connolly, R. M., Dale, P. R., Dehayr, R. R., & ... Welsh, D. T. (2006). Impact of urbanization on coastal wetland structure and function. Austral Ecology, 31(2), 149-163. doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.2006.01581.x
The National Park Service group should have their funds significantly cut by the Federal Government. In today's growing age of technology, there is no benefit aside from personal pleasure to go to national parks, their is also the issue that no one is interested nor has enough time to go to the national parks. The parks are not bringing in as much money as they once were, and the areas that are protected can be used for many more productive means than what they are used for now. Directing the funds allocated to the National Park Services elsewhere, would allow more promising projects to prosper. This change would create jobs, and opportunities for others, encourage people to embrace technology, instead of vilifying them for using it, and then
The Olympic National Park is located at Port Angeles in Washington and also has been as a known location with a history of mixed cultures; since it has been a settled by the Native Americans and Europeans; to Theodore Roosevelt visiting the national park. Olympic National Park endured a powerful windstorm that heavily damaged the park and a natural habitat to a unique group of animals living there. The climate in the location of the national park is rather different than others in certain seasons; like the temperature in the summer will go from 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning.
On September 9th, 2017 at approximately 7 p.m., I went to Gracedale Public Park to carefully conduct my observation on the individuals, who were at the park and their specific activities in the one hour of time. When I got there, the weather was beautiful with soft winds, a clear sky and with some dim sunlight. The park was full of people of all ages. Though, there were more kids than adults and some teenagers. There were many bicycles and strollers parked beside the tree I sat under. After a couple of minutes, the park filled up with more and more individuals and everyone seemed busy doing their own actions.
environment. The environment cannot care for itself and it is up to us to do it because if we do not do so, our
What if it was said that all of the National Parks were closing because no one is funding them anymore, would you be upset? Many people would be because it is something to do with your family on a long, boring day or maybe because they just like going to National Parks. Closing down National Parks would stop people from seeing the beautiful things in America, cause things to become extinct, and also would end with a lot of protests and angry people. National Parks make billions of dollars a year and 15 percent of the costs, go to the government but the parks need funds to do new things and buy items that the people may want. For instance, Yellowstone, Ellis Island, and any other famous parks that are visited, all have a different story that protects America.
In addition to this, the ‘Sydney Catchment Authority’ was created in 1999. The Sydney Catchment Authority was created to manage and protect drinking water catchments. According to “Sydney’s Cryptic Water Crisis” the low water levels in reservoirs due to drought Sydney Water announced in 2007 it would build the Kurnell Desalination Plant, powered by wind energy, that would supply up to 15% of the drinking water supply to Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains.” This is the largest water supply project for Sydney since 1960. Today, Sydney has 30 wastewater treatment plants and water recycling plants. These plants treat about 1.5 billion litres of wastewater today. This accounts for 12% of Sydney’s water needs. As for the droughts Sydney has experienced in this century and water levels that dropped about 32% in the Warragamba Dam, the NSW Government developed the Metropolitan Water Plan, which is the most recent response in water supply
The first global environmental problem is haze this is caused by burning down forest. As we all know that green forest is important because it creates photosynthesis for flora and fauna for human begin. When a deforestation activity happens all of these will be destroyed due to their shatters is being chopped down. Burning down forest is a result that produces bad air pollution to public; the effect of air pollution to humans is cardiovascular problems, respiratory infections and lastly gets irritations skin& eyes. Base on the articl...
MAIN POINT (state as a single declarative sentence): Pollution is a huge global problem that affects every living being on Earth.
The environment and health are very closely linked. The environment in which we inhabit and go about our daily lives, directly impacts on our physical, mental and social well-being. There are biological, chemical and physical factors that can affect human health in a physical and mental way. The World Health Organisation states that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" (WHO 1948), meaning that although many factors relating to health are associated with environmental pollution, they can also be caused by the environment in which we work and live in. The relationship between the environment and health, can however be quite complex. Human health is not only as a result of air, water and ground pollution, but also things such as food, genetics, life style and quality, which directly affect human susceptibility to illness, disease and possibly death. Disruptions to the environment, such as substance dispersal, climate change, acidification, ground pollution, photochemical air pollution and over fertilisation can also impact on human health. Therefore, there are direct and indirect links to the environment and health issues.
Today talking about environmental issues lately to be like a common topic discussion until people take it for granted. However, the world facing a complex environmental problems related to each trouble that connected to one another and come out with greater impacts to the environment and humans. This is because the effects of environmental only can be seen in long term period rather than immediately result show up. Environmental issues must become one of the controversial matters in the society in order to make people know the truth what the world currently facing. There were a lot of environmental disaster happened such as climate change, global warming, various of pollutions, earthquake and etc. the rise of environmental issues begin with this urban development occur through several countries following with the technologies equip along. For sure, development will cause a huge negative impact to the environment if it deals without a care. Besides, the environment is the place in the ecosystem to hold and use in finding resources to continuously survive in this world. Thus, the finding and digging for the resources which happening extensively without preservation will not restore the surrounding similar with before. But then, the change cannot be refuse and people need to take an action to save the threaten the world and the ecosystem from being extinct. If each country has own output in causing an environmental problem, then consider the world to hold all the damage occurred. Exposing the effects of environmental issues throughout the world, make people realize the important to take care the environment.