Education for Sustainability in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

As the driest continent on Earth, Australia is facing many issues of sustainability, many of them related to water resources. These were highlighted in 'Australia: State of the Environment' (1996), the first ever independent and comprehensive report on the state of Australia's environment, prepared for the Australian Federal Government by the State of the Environment Advisory Council. The report highlighted a number of serious concerns that needed to be tackled with determination if Australia was to achieve the goal of ecologically sustainable development. Some of the issues identified in the report were: 1. enhanced greenhouse effect 2. consumerism 3. social justice and equity issues 4. the loss of bio-diversity and the continued destruction of habitat 5. the depletion of river systems and ground-water aquifers 6. high rates of land clearance and vegetation loss 7. poor quality of soils 8. land degradation, loss of remnant vegetation and air pollution in cities 9. substantial adverse impacts on water quality in the areas of stormwater, sewage and other forms of waste disposal 10. invasive plants and animals posing a serious and increasing threat to native ecosystems in rural, urban and marine environments 11. rising salinity 12. waste management 13. population.