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Conservation in Australia
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==Conservation issues== {{Main|Environmental issues in Australia}} {{further|Invasive species in Australia|Salinity in Australia|Whaling in Australia}} A key conservation issue is the preservation of biodiversity, especially by protecting the remaining [[rainforest]]s. The destruction of habitat by human activities, including [[land clearing in Australia|land clearing]], remains the major cause of [[biodiversity loss]] in Australia. The importance of the Australian rainforests to the conservation movement is very high.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McIntyre |first=Iain |date=2020-11-04 |title=Environmental Blockading in Australia and Around the World - Timeline 1974-1997 |url=https://commonslibrary.org/environmental-blockading-in-australia-and-around-the-world-timeline-1974-1997/ |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref> Australia is the only [[Western World|western]] country to have large areas of rainforest intact.<ref>Our Rainforests and the issues'' by Beryl Morris, Tondy Sadler and Graham N. Harrington. 1992. [[CSIRO]]. {{ISBN|0-643-05141-4}}</ref> Forests provide [[timber]], [[drug]]s, and [[food]] and should be managed to maximize the possible uses. Currently, there are a number of environmental movements and campaigners advocating for action on saving the environment, one such campaign is the Big Switch.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thebigswitch.org.au/ |title=The Big Switch |access-date=2007-06-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629130111/http://www.thebigswitch.org.au/ |archive-date=2007-06-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Land management]] issues including [[land clearing in Australia|clearance of native vegetation]], reafforestation of once-cleared areas, [[Invasive species, Australia|control of exotic weeds and pests]], expansion of dryland [[salinity]], and changed [[fire]] regimes. Intensification of resource use in sectors such as [[forestry]], [[fishery|fisheries]], and [[Agriculture in Australia|agriculture]] are widely reported to contribute to [[biodiversity loss]] in Australia. [[Habitat fragmentation]] is one of the most important factors affecting the persistence of species.<ref name="pcia"/> Coastal and [[ocean|marine]] environments also have reduced biodiversity from reduced water quality caused by [[pollution]] and sediments arising from human settlements and agriculture. In central [[New South Wales]] where there are large plains of grassland, problems have arisen from—unusual to say—lack of land clearing. [[Shark culling]] (the killing of [[shark]]s) currently occurs in [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]] (in government "shark control" programs).<ref name="AusCull">https://web.archive.org/web/20181002102324/https://www.marineconservation.org.au/pages/shark-culling.html "Shark Culling". marineconservation.org.au. Archived from the original on 2018-10-02. Retrieved December 26, 2018.</ref> These programs have damaged the [[marine ecosystem]].<ref name="AusCull"/> Roughly 50,000 sharks have been killed by Queensland authorities since 1962, including in the [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref>https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/aussie-shark-population-is-staggering-decline/news-story/49e910c828b6e2b735d1c68e6b2c956e ''Aussie shark population in staggering decline.'' Rhian Deutrom. December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.</ref><ref name="maritime">https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/queensland-government-kills-sharks-faces-court-challenge ''"Queensland Government Kills Sharks, Faces Court Challenge"''. maritime-executive.com. September 4, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.</ref> Queensland's "shark control" program has been called "outdated, cruel and ineffective".<ref name="maritime"/> The "shark control" programs in New South Wales and Queensland have killed thousands of animals, such as [[turtle]]s and [[dolphin]]s.<ref name="AusCull"/><ref>http://www.afd.org.au/news-articles/queenslands-shark-control-program-has-snagged-84000-animals Action for Dolphins. Queensland’s Shark Control Program Has Snagged 84,000 Animals. Thom Mitchell. November 20, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2018.</ref> In 2018, the [[Humane Society International]] filed a lawsuit against the government of Queensland to stop shark culling in the Great Barrier Reef.<ref name="maritime"/> The protection of the iconic [[Wollemi Pine]] is an important conservation issue because the tree is one of the rarest in the world.<ref name="eac">{{cite journal |last1=Mackenzie |first1=Berin D.E. |last2=Clarke |first2=Steve W. |last3=Zimmer |first3=Heidi C. |last4=Liew |first4=Edward C.Y. |last5=Phelan |first5=Maureen T. |last6=Offord |first6=Catherine A.|last7=Menke |first7=Lisa K. |last8=Crust |first8=David W. |last9=Bragg |first9=Jason |last10=McPherson |first10=Hannah |last11=Rossetto |first11=Maurizio |first12=David M. |last12=Coote |first13=Jia-Yee Samantha |last13=Yap |first14=Tony D. |last14=Auld |date=2022 |title=Ecology and Conservation of a Living Fossil: Australia's Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128211397001884 |journal=Imperiled: The Encyclopedia of Conservation |pages=884–894 |doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-821139-7.00188-4 |isbn=978-0-12-821139-7 |access-date=6 October 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> There are only 46 mature individual trees remaining in the wild.<ref name="eac"/> The small grove of unusual conifers in a remote canyon are threatened due to its highly restricted [[Species distribution|distribution]], extremely small population size, the ongoing impacts from exotic pathogens, inappropriate fire regimes, unauthorized site visitation and climate change.<ref name="eac"/> '''Specific issues:''' * [[Blue Gum Forest]] * [[Fraser Island]] * [[Franklin Dam]] * [[Lake Pedder]] * [[Uranium mining in Kakadu National Park]] * Plight of the [[Murray River]] system
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