Mineral Sand Mining in the Murray Darling Basin
Ecologically Sustainable Natural Resource Management
The Murray Darling River System is undoubtedly an Australian icon and the way we have exploited this unique natural asset has become an embarrassment to our nation. Recent national initiatives have accepted it as our responsibility to repair the damage done by our forebears and to alter our practices within the region in order to restore the Murray and the Darling Rivers to their former glory. The job is immense. It may take many decades to repair the region in order that we can hand it over to future generations in a state that allows them to benefit from and work in harmony with this natural asset. We don't know if it is possible to repair the damage that has been done over the past two hundred years but it is clear that business as usual is not an option. The mineral sands developments represent a continuation of this unsustainable trend of ecological exploitation and cannot be allowed to proceed without a better understanding of the environmental costs. The long term benefits of repairing the ecology of the Murray Darling and passing this asset onto future generations will far outlast the short term economic benefits derived from such an invasive and destructive form of mining.
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
