A sustainable future

Sustainability is about the ongoing capacity of the Earth to maintain all life. Valuing diversity and social justice are essential for sustainability.

Agricultural and urban ecosystems contrast with natural ecosystems because of the high degree of human influence and the dramatic reduction of natural processes such as nutrient recycling. Many practices result in permanent damage to our soils, waters and air, and are therefore not sustainable.

Humans are taking action internationally, nationally and locally to try to create a more sustainable lifestyle and future. We need to take into account the need for and interdependence of healthy social, economic and ecological systems.

Sustainable practices

In this video, Roy Barker, an Aboriginal man from the Murrawari language group who lives in Lightning Ridge, explains the principles used to ensure native animal populations remained sustainable.

Links to national scientific organisations researching sustainability:

The Centre for Sustainable Ecosystems¹ at the University of Wollongong.
CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences² and Ecosystem Services³
Case study of sustainable grazing in eucalypt woodlands⁴.

The Australian Conservation Foundation promotes sustainability issues such as the management of the Murray-Darling Basin⁵.

The Australian Government is faced with difficult decisions and demands including promoting environmental sustainability⁶. The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities recently included Indigenous heritage values as part of an existing National Heritage Listing for the Wet Tropics of Queensland⁷. The Indigenous Protected Areas described in the traditional knowledge tab are examples of the work of this government department.

The Virgin Foundation:

This foundation fought to end the practice of deep sea fishing.

Due to their efforts the EU Parliament have agreed to ban this practice.⁸

The Kyoto Protocol⁹ attempts to address climate change which has massive implications for the sustainability of all ecosystems.

This video promotes the WWF–the largest independent conservation organisation.