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https://theconversation.com/the-nullarbors-rich-cultural-history-vast-cave-systems-and-unique-animals-all-deserve-better-protection-212262>
"The Nullarbor is one of Australia’s iconic natural places. It’s renowned as a
vast and mostly treeless plain. But hidden beneath this ancient landscape is an
immense network of caves.
These caves are part of the world’s largest contiguous limestone karst system.
This karst landscape, created by water dissolving the limestone, spans some
200,000 square kilometres.
The caves are as important for their geological value and what they can teach
us about Australia’s past, as they are for the unique animals they house, the
fossils they hold and their beautiful and unusual cave decorations.
The Nullarbor Plain is the land of the Mirning people. Their Dreaming,
associated with the Great Australian Bight, recalls oral histories of changing
sea levels.
The Mirning have actively traversed the plain for millennia. Their artwork in
its caves, extensive flint mining and artefacts scattered over its surface
provide evidence of their presence.
But it’s only in modern times that the plain’s natural values have been
threatened. The threats include invasive species, such as foxes, cats, camels
and buffel grass, climate change and, perhaps most detrimentally, human
activities. Mining, wildlife poaching, uncontrolled tourism and large-scale
development, for example a proposed green energy project, could impact much of
what makes the Nullarbor Plain so precious.
Greater recognition of the Nullarbor’s superlative natural features is needed
to change a common perception that there is nothing out there, and to ensure
the preservation of unprotected areas in the region."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
