page_title: Geography of Australia
section_title: Environment
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Australia / Environment
caption_attribution_description: English: Sunrise on Mt Kosciuszko - Kosciuszko National Park
context_page_description: The geography of Australia encompasses a wide variety of biogeographic regions being the world's smallest continent but the sixth-largest country in the world. The population of Australia is concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts. The geography of the continent is extremely diverse, ranging from the snow-capped mountains of the Australian Alps and Tasmania to large deserts, tropical and temperate forests.
  The countries that govern nearby regions include Indonesia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and the French dependency of New Caledonia to the east, and New Zealand to the southeast.
context_section_description: Current environmental issues include: soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification (partly as a result of the introduction by European settlers of Rabbits); introduced pest species; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources; threats from invasive species.
  International agreements:
  party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Kyoto Protocol, Biodiversity, China–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban 1963, Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 1994, Ramsar Convention, Whaling
  signed, but not ratified: Desertification
caption: Mount Kosciuszko in the alpine region of southeastern Australia
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