Benefits of a Healthy Environment
There are multiple factors affecting Estuaries like Belongil. Each one needs addressing separately. It is too easy to blame climate change for these cumulative effects and it is almost an excuse for inaction.
As the report below says:
The health of the natural environment matters because it affects the wellbeing of people directly, and because it underpins other things that people value:
- Healthy landscapes improve agricultural production, reduce costs, and protect land and water resources from degradation and extreme events;
- Our international competitiveness is enhanced when we demonstrate that we are determined to implement policies of clean air, clean water, and clean products;
- High environmental standards create opportunities for innovation and investment in areas that enhance sustainability, such as renewable energy technologies, waste management, water conservation and carbon farming; and
- Access to nature and healthy environments improve mental and physical health, and in an increasingly congested urban world, our natural environment will be valued more highly by Australians and attract growing numbers of international visitors.
Environmental assets are healthy when their capacity to provide food and materials, filter the air and water, absorb wastes, provide habitat for humans and other species, and give people the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of nature, can be sustained:
- Healthy atmosphere provides clean air to breathe, protects life against harmful radiation, and helps maintain a stable climate.
- Healthy rivers, wetlands and groundwater systems have the capacity to provide habitat for native aquatic plants and animals, be used for swimming, fishing, drinking and irrigation, have sufficient flows to flush pollutants such as salts, and recover from floods and droughts.
- Healthy soils maintain their structure and store carbon and nutrients, support production of food, fibre and raw materials, store and filter water, and host rich biodiversity.
- Healthy native vegetation and forests protect river corridors, filter water, store carbon, provide wood products, protect against erosion, give people access to nature, manage salinity, and provide habitat for native plants and animals.
- Healthy coasts, estuaries and beaches provide habitat for plants and animals, buffer the effect of storms on nearby communities, and give people a place to enjoy the benefits of nature.
- Healthy oceans provide food, a place for recreation, and habitat for marine plants and animals.
Nevertheless, Climate change is very real
Blueprint for a Healthy Environment and a Productive Economy