Future of the Outback

Australia is one of the few remaining large natural areas remaining on the planet.  In fact, the Australia leads all countries in number of mammal and reptile species (4).  This vast ecosystem, however, is in danger.

A combination of wildfires, invasive weeds, and feral animals are huge threat to the longevity of the desert ecosystem of the Australian Outback.  A recent study shows that all native mammals in Australia will be extinct in the next 10 to 20 years (7).  With the small amount of the population living in the desert, there are not enough people to properly care for such a vast proportion of the continent.  In order to help rectify this, many organizations have been created to help look out for this ecosystem.

To help protect the outback in general, the Wild Australia Program has joined forces with The Nature Conservatory in order to use conservation approaches that care for the region as a whole (4).  In addition, the state government issued the Wild Rivers Act which will stop intrusive mining and irrigation on the Cooper Creek, one of the three main rivers in the Outback (4). The other two are the Georgina and the Diamantina which are not protected yet.  By protecting these rivers, the heavy rains will continue to cause flooding across the vast landscape resulting in an explosion of life when they come.  Also, certain species of birds from around the world migrate to Australia in order to breed, and these rivers are a main reason for their appearance.

In conclusion, the Australian Outback has not been impacted by human life too badly yet, however, human intervention is going to be needed if we want to preserve one of the most vast areas of wildlife still on the planet today.  With areas starting to become protected, more individuals and organizations getting involved, and the government also helping, the future is bright for Australian deserts.  If global warming, and the increasing levels of rainfall, do not have an effect too great for preservation groups and the government to offset, then the Outback isn't going anywhere.  Action is required though because at the rate things are currently going, the native animals are going to be displaced by the ferrel ones that were introduced with the humans that settled Australia.