Indeed, the Prime Minister's Science and Engineering Council said in 1995 that 'the changes necessary to sustain the agricultural resource base and put Australia's production and natural resource management systems on a sustainable basis are fundamental and far-reaching. Failure to meet this challenge is likely to undermine the national economy. Vegetation clearance in Australia continues to approach 500,000 hectares per year. It destroys habitat, endangers yet more species of wildlife, kills over five million birds and exacerbates the greenhouse effect. Indeed we are among the greatest per capita producers of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the world.
Water is also a major issue.
Its quality and quantity are prime measures of sustainability. But world demand is doubling every 21 years and, in 2025, two thirds of the world's population will experience water shortages. Water tables are falling, wetlands drying up, and pollution and sedimentation occur on a grand scale. In Australia, a continent with poor and variable rainfall, we are degrading entire riverine ecosystems. Elevated turbidity and nutrients, massive algal blooms and staggering declines in native fish are well documented.