Australia, the sixth largest country in the world, encompasses an area of about 7.6 million sq. km. The population is mostly concentrated on the narrow, fertile coastal plain in the east and on the southeast and not in the interior of the country, which is barren. For tens of thousands of years, the lives and sense of cultural identity of Indigenous Australians were inextricably linked to the land, its forms, flora and fauna. Today, the identity of all Australians is linked to a relationship with the natural environment.
Currently, there are 15 Australian properties on the world heritage list. The Great Barrier Reef, the wet tropics of queens land, Purunululu national park and Fraser Island are some of these. The flora includes eucalyptus (there are 700 species), wattle, bottlebrushes, paper barks and tea trees. Kangaroo, koala, wombat, platypus crocodiles, spider and snake are few of the common fauna. There are many birds like emus, cockatoos and parrots. In the Australian continent, summer starts in December, autumn in March, winter in June and spring in September. There are no extreme variations in temperature, except in the deserts, where there can be scorching heat in the day and freezing cold in the nights.
One of the most visible and grave concerns is the effect of urban settlement on the environment. Pollution of water and airways, clearing of lands, demolition of habitats, noise pollution linked with motor vehicles and aircrafts and pressure on landfills are some of the major problems. Moreover, though Australia has some of the oldest land surface on earth, its soils and seas are among the most nutrient poor and unproductive in the world. However, 10.1 per cent (as at June 2002) of mainland Australia's environment is protected by legislation and there is a constant effort to keep the environment pollution free.