Living in Australia, Oceania and Antarctica

Chapter 34-1 Objectives 1. Describe how people in Australia, New Zealand and Oceania make their living. 2. Discuss the role that trade plays in the economics of South Pacific countries. 3. Identify the means of transportation and communication that are used in the region.

Agriculture The most important economic activity in the South Pacific is agriculture. Australia and New Zealand export large amounts of farm products. Australia is the world’s leading producer of wool.

5% of Australians work in agriculture. Most of the land is used to raise livestock. The dry climate forces ranchers to roam over large areas to find enough vegetation for the livestock herds. Some Australians ranches, called stations, are as large as 6000 square miles. Because of the dry climate, only 10% of the land can support crops.

New Zealand uses about half of its land for agriculture. New Zealand ranchers, known as grazers, raise sheep, beef and dairy cattle. New Zealand’s fertile soil supports wheat, barley, potatoes and fruits such as kiwi.

Kiwi Fruit

Kiwi Bird

Much of Oceania lacks soil suitable for farming. Most island farmers practice subsistence farming. Many South Pacific people fish for food. Copra, or dried coconut meat, is a major South Pacific cash crop.

Copra – dried coconut meat

Mining and Manufacturing Australia is a leading exporter of diamonds, gold, opals and iron ore. There are two obstacles to mining in Australia. Transportation costs are high. There are limits on where mining can occur because of conflicts over Aboriginal land rights.

Opals

New Zealand has a large aluminum industry. Antarctica has large mineral deposits, but mining is prohibited by an agreement signed by 44 countries in 1991.

The most industrialized countries in the South Pacific region are Australia and New Zealand. Because agriculture is important in these two countries, food processing is the most important manufacturing activity.

Service Industries Most people in Australia and New Zealand work in service industries. The expansion of air travel has boosted tourism throughout the region.

Global Trade Links Most South Pacific countries export mining products. Spices are a major export of Oceania. Many South Pacific countries import food to supplement their subsistence crops.

Transportation/Communication Physical barriers, harsh climates and long distances make land travel difficult in the region. Cargo ships and planes move imports and exports.

Pacific islanders use outrigger canoes. In Antarctica, ships with reinforced bows are used for breaking ice.

Outrigger Canoe

Modern technology has increased contacts within Australia, Oceania and Antarctica and with the rest of the world. New technologies such as cellular, digital and satellite communications and the internet are common in developing areas.

Key Points Manufacturing in Australia and New Zealand centers on food processing, and the rest of the region engages in small-scale production of clothing and crafts.

People and Their Environment Chapter 34, Sec. 2

Managing Resources Australia, Oceania and Antarctica have some of the earth’s richest and most diverse natural resources. Sometimes these resources have been mismanaged. As a result, the region faces many environmental challenges.

Australia has many unique animal species, including 144 kinds of marsupials. These are mammals such as kangaroos or koalas whose babies live in a pouch until they mature. Native animals have been threatened by introduced species, or nonnative animals that have been brought to the continent by humans.

The introduced species have taken over natural habitats of many of Australia’s native species. Some native species have become extinct and others are endangered.

Marsupials – Koala

Wombat

Kangaroos

Blue Fairy Penguins

Wallaby

Dingo

Dingo Pup

Tree Frog

Tree Kangaroos

Cane Toads

The protection of forest, soil and freshwater resources is another environmental concern in the region. In Australia, woodlands have been cleared for farms and grazing lands. This deforestation causes soil erosion. Countries in the region, such as New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, are finding ways to harvest the valuable timber resources without damaging the environment.

Drought, salt, irrigation and agricultural runoff threaten freshwater sources in Australia and Oceania. Lack of clean water keeps the standard of living low in some countries. Toxic wastes, tourists, boaters, divers and oil-shale mining endangers sea life in the Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs.

Algae and plankton are key parts of the ocean’s food web, an interlinking chain of predators and their food sources in the ecosystem. As the tiny food sources die, so do the larger plants and animals that eat them.

Nuclear Weapons In the late 1940s and 50s, the U.S. and other countries tested nuclear weapons in the South Pacific region. This testing has caused radiation exposure and environmental damage to the region, leading to people’s deaths, illness and genetic damage. In the 1990s the U.S. gave money to the region to help clean up the environment.

Atmosphere and Climate Australia, Oceania and Antarctica face challenges with atmosphere and climate changes. There is a hole in the ozone layer of the atmosphere over Antarctica. The ozone layer has protective gases that prevent harmful solar rays from reaching the earth’s surface.

The loss of the protective ozone shield can cause overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. This overexposure can lead to skin cancer and cataracts in the eyes. It can also contribute to global warming. Global warming may cause an increase in the occurrence of El Niño. El Niño – climate change that is usually caused by warm waters off the coast of South America.

Some scientists claim that global warming could cause polar ice caps to melt and warm ocean waters to expand. If this happens, many of Oceania’s islands would be flooded by rising ocean levels. Rising ocean temperatures could cause the overgrowth of certain types of algae and plankton. It could also cause the death of diatoms, plankton that grow in cold ocean waters.

Diatoms

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