The paradisiacal islands of the South Pacific. The unworldly landscapes and wildlife of Australia. The frozen expanses of Antarctica. This new title in ABC-CLIO’s World Environments series encompasses some of the most exotic and forbidding ecosystems on Earth. How is humanity threatening—and preserving—these diverse and far-flung environments?

A concise yet thorough overview of environmental issues, problems, and controversies facing Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica.

They are vast, distant, and scarcely populated. Yet the environments of Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica are facing the same threats confronting the rest of the planet, as well as some unique ones of their own. How have human-introduced species impacted Australia’s natural order? What new global conventions are helping close Antarctica’s ozone hole? And how is global climate change threatening the South Pacific’s species-rich coral reefs?

The region’s governments are grappling with the spectre of global warming, which, if not meaningfullly addressed by industrialized nations half a world away, could produce rising sea levels capable of engulfing several states of Oceania and partially submerging portions of many other inhabited islands. Australia, Oceania, and Antarctica tackles the difficult issues, tough problems, and political controversies surrounding these lands of extremes.

Features
• Interesting sidebar articles, tables and figures, and photographs
• Overview maps of the area and a listing of environment-related organizations on the Internet

Highlights
• Offers historical and contemporary portraits of the regions’ environments. At the dawn of the 21st century, the waters of the South Pacific are under severe stress from an array of ecological pressures, including persistent overfishing, escalating levels of water pollution, and runaway coastal development
• Covers threats to—and efforts to save—the regions’ environments. For example, Australia is the global leader in the development of marine parks; 190 areas have been formally designated as marine protected areas
• Places regions’ pollution problems in global perspective—Australia’s coastal waters have the largest seagrass and coral reef systems on the planet.