Chapter 372 Law on Protection of Ecological Environment

As the largest river in Australasia and Oceania, the Murray River has made an indelible contribution to the economic development of Australasia.

The Murray River and its tributary, the Darling River, provide a large amount of industrial, agricultural and domestic water for the central and southeastern regions of Australia, and are also the key to the rise of New South Wales and Victoria.

According to the preliminary report of the geographical survey team, the total area of ​​the Murray River and the Darling River basin is estimated to be 1 million square kilometers, accounting for more than one-eighth of the total area of ​​Australasia.

In the original history, this desertified and desertified area still had more than half of Australia's arable land, more than 75% of irrigated farmland, nearly half of cattle, sheep, livestock and at least one-third of dairy and meat production.

The total agricultural output value alone accounts for more than 40% of Australia's total agricultural output value, and is the economic pillar of Australia in later generations.

At the same time, the Murray River basin also provides sufficient agricultural products, industrial raw materials and fresh water for the development of major cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane outside the basin, and is the hinterland of the economy.

These achievements were made after the basin had become desert. At present, the land is still dominated by grasslands, and the proportion of Gobi is less than 0.5%.

If this area can be saved, it will become the cradle of agricultural and pastoral products in Australasia, which is even more exaggerated than in history.

Of course, this does not mean that this area is perfect. The famous Great Artesian Basin in Australasia overlaps with the Murray River Basin in some areas.

The reason why this basin is named the Great Artesian Basin is that the Great Dividing Range makes the central and western regions of Australia relatively dry and lacks precipitation.

However, the precipitation in the east of the Great Dividing Range is developed, and a large amount of rainwater seeps into the ground along the Great Dividing Range, flowing from the eastern region of Australia to the western region.

In the Great Basin of Australia, there are abundant groundwater resources underground. With just a little drilling, a large amount of water resources can gush out, which is also the origin of the name of the Great Artesian Basin.

It has been nearly 30 years since the Great Artesian Basin was mentioned in 1886.

With the influx of a large number of immigrants from Australasia, the exploitation of water resources in the Great Artesian Basin has become very extensive.

In the overlapping area of ​​the northern Murray River Basin and the Great Artesian Basin, you can find more than a dozen drill holes that are gushing a large amount of water resources.

These water resources provide a large amount of water for Australasia's animal husbandry and industry, which is also the reason why Australasia's industry and agriculture have developed so rapidly.

But excessive exploitation of water resources is always bad. Australasia is generally still short of water, especially in the central and western parts of Australia. With the growth of population, the water shortage problem has become more and more serious.

Some boreholes used to supply mines, after the mineral resources are exhausted, these boreholes that are still gushing a large amount of water resources are ignored, wasting a lot of water resources in vain.

According to the estimates of the geographical survey team, although there is no shortage of water resources in the Great Artesian Basin and the Murray River Basin at present, if this waste continues, Australasia will face a severe water crisis in 30 years at most.

Fortunately, the population of Australasia is less than 15 million so far, otherwise, the water crisis may have to be brought forward.

Australasia is a country with abundant resources, and it has all kinds of mineral resources.

This does not mean that Australasia has no shortcomings. Because of its remote geographical location, population has always been a big problem.

Coupled with the barrier of the Great Dividing Range, water resources in western Australia are very scarce.

Although Australia has more than 7 million square kilometers of vast land, water use is a hidden danger to national development, and may even directly restrict national development in the future.

Arthur had anticipated this. In the past ten years, in Australia, a large number of reservoirs and water storage areas have been encouraged to be excavated, ensuring that Australian residents can provide industrial and agricultural use on the premise that they have enough water for daily life.

However, these reservoirs are still too scarce compared to the water consumption of an entire country. If Australasia wants to completely solve the water use problem, at least for now, it is very important to save and cherish water resources.

In fact, New Guinea has abundant water resources and a lot of rainfall. But at least for 40 to 50 years, these water resources cannot be transported to Australia, and there is no help for Australia's water resources problem.

If Arthur remembers correctly, the submarine pipeline technology should be born more than 40 years later. This also means that perhaps after World War II, Australasia will have enough capacity to complete Australasia's own North-South Water Transfer Project.

In any case, water resources in Australia have always been a problem, and no one should be allowed to waste water resources recklessly.

Thinking of this, Arthur ordered someone to call the Prime Minister Kent and decided to do something about environmental protection.

While Prime Minister Kent was not here yet, Arthur continued to look at the report to see the current problems in the Murray River Basin.

In the past two months, the geographical survey team studied the causes of desertification and Gobi in western Australia, and temporarily attributed the culprit to the rich wildlife in Australasia.

As we all know, there are not many wild carnivores in Australia. Thylacines and wild dogs are the two largest wild carnivores in Australia.

However, with the development of animal husbandry in Australasia, these two wild animals, especially the larger and more ferocious thylacine, inevitably came into conflict with humans.

Thylacines have been hunted in Australia since colonial times. Some colonial governments even publicly offered rewards, with a reward of one pound for killing an adult thylacine and ten pence for killing an immature thylacine.

This resulted in tens of thousands of thylacines being killed during the colonial period. Although this policy did not continue after Arthur came to Australia, hunting thylacines has become a habit of many herders, and they can also protect their cattle and sheep.

Precisely because the number of wild carnivores in Australia is decreasing day by day, a large number of wild animals are spreading in a crazy way, causing serious damage to Australia's grasslands and promoting the formation of desertification.

The total number of wild animals such as hares, kangaroos, wild goats, camels, and wild boars is even in the billions, or billions.

The harm that such a large number of wild animals can do to Australian land can be imagined.

The geographical survey team boldly predicts that if there are no restrictions on these wild animals, desertification in the Murray River Basin will intensify in less than 20 years, making this plain of millions of square kilometers gradually become next door and desert.

Arthur had also heard about the proliferation of wildlife in Australia in later generations, but he did not expect it to be so serious more than 100 years ago.

No matter what, the development of the country is more important than anything else. Since these wild animals have seriously harmed Australian land, it is necessary to introduce quite strict restrictions to limit the number of wild animals.

A major reason for the proliferation of wild animals in Australia is actually Australians' lack of attention to Australia's native carnivores.

If the number of thylacines was sufficient, the problem of Australian wildlife would not be so serious, and would even endanger the survival of the country.

About ten minutes passed before Prime Minister Kent hurried over and knocked on the office door.

More than ten minutes was exactly the distance between the Government Office and the Royal Palace, which also meant that Prime Minister Kent rushed over non-stop after receiving Arthur's order.

After all, the communication between the palace and the Government Administration uses wired telegraph and wired telephone, and there is basically no delay in communication.

"Your Majesty!" After entering the office, Prime Minister Kent saluted Arthur respectfully.

"Sit down. Let's take a look at this report, Prime Minister Kent. It's really an exaggeration. Our current biological situation has become so serious that relevant laws must be introduced to restrict it." Arthur pointed to the report and asked Prime Minister Kent to have a look.

Seeing that Arthur was speaking very seriously and solemnly, Prime Minister Kent did not dare to be careless and picked up the report and read it carefully.

It begins with the advantages and benefits of the Murray River Basin, as well as the excellent geographical location and resources of this area.

But at a relatively low position, the current poor ecological environment in this area is clearly listed, as well as the problems that are likely to arise in the future.

It is not surprising that Arthur investigated the Kent Prime Minister in the Murray River Basin. The basins and plains of central Australia are undoubtedly more suitable for the development of the country than the hills of Southeast Asia.

Whether as the capital of the country or as an excellent agricultural, animal husbandry and industrial production area, it has unique geographical and resource advantages.

After seeing the current problems in the Murray River Basin at the end, Prime Minister Kent couldn't help but be speechless, and said to Arthur without hesitation: "Your Majesty, it is indeed necessary to introduce a law to protect Australia and even the entire Australasia. ecological environment.”

Arthur nodded, threw the question directly to Prime Minister Kent, and said: "I will leave this task to you, Prime Minister Kent. My request is to first protect the wild carnivores in Australia, especially the thylacine. population.”

"Secondly, drastically limit the number of wild animals in Australia, and if necessary, introduce corresponding incentive policies to encourage Australians to hunt wild herbivores. The fur of these wild animals can be made into corresponding manufactured products, and the meat can also be It can be processed into cans and become our food reserves for export to Europe in the future.”

"It seems that these wild animals also have good economic value. When the hunting of wild animals forms a certain industrial chain, the government and the royal family will fund the establishment of meat canneries and completely integrate wild herbivores into an industrial chain. It can not only solve the severe ecological and environmental problems we are currently facing, but also create considerable income for the country and the government.”

Needless to say, animal fur has a certain value. In addition to being made into various delicacies, the meat of wild animals is also made into various canned products and will be exported to Europe in the future.

This different type of meat can also be used to supplement future European armies. After all, you will get tired of eating the same kind of meat, right?

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(This should be the last chapter of Volume 4. Volume 5 will start tomorrow, a battle of war!)