The Rise Of Australasia

Chapter 467: Chapter 371: Environmental Protection Law of France

As the largest river in Australasia, and the biggest river in Oceania, the Mure River has played a crucial role in the economic development of Australasia.

The Mure River and its tributary, the Darling River, have provided an abundance of industrial, agricultural, and domestic water for the central region of southeastern Australia. This provision has been key to the rise of New South Wales and Victoria State.

According to the preliminary report from the Geological Survey Team, the combined area of the Mure River and the Darling River Basin is estimated to be 1 million square kilometers, occupying more than one-eighth of the total territory of Australasia.

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

The total agricultural output alone constituted more than 40% of Australia's total agricultural output, making it a key pillar of Australia's economy in later generations.

Simultaneously, the Mure River Basin has also provided abundant agricultural products, industrial raw materials, and freshwater for urban development outside the basin in cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane. This is the economic hinterland.

These achievements were made after this basin had become desertified. At present, the majority of this land is still dominated by grasslands, where the desertification portion accounts for less than 0.5%.

If this region can be salvaged, it will become an exaggeration of historic reality, transforming Australasia into a cradle of agricultural and pastoral products.

Of course, this does not mean that this area is perfect. The famous Great Artesian Basin of Australasia partly overlaps with the Mure River Basin.

The reason why this basin is named the Great Artesian Basin is that the Great Watershed causes relatively arid conditions in the central and western regions of Australia and a lack of precipitation.

However, there is abundant rainfall on the eastern side of the Great Watershed. A large amount of rainwater seeps underground along the Great Watershed, flowing from the eastern region of Australia to the western region.

In the Great Artesian Basin area of Australia, there are abundant underground water resources. A simple drilling process can allow a large amount of water to gush out. This is the origin of the name Great Artesian Basin.

Since the Great Artesian Basin was proposed in 1886, almost 30 years have passed.

With the inflow of a large number of immigrants to Australasia, the exploitation of water resources in the Great Artesian Basin has become quite extensive.

In the northern part of the Mure River basin, which overlaps with the Great Artesian Basin, you can find more than ten drilling sites, gushing a large amount of water resources.

These water resources provide a lot of water for Australasia's animal husbandry and industry. This is the reason for the rapid development of Australasia's industry and agriculture.

However, the excessive extraction of water resources is not good. Overall, Australasia is still water-deficient, especially in the central and western regions of Australia. As the population increases, the water shortage problem is becoming increasingly severe.

Some boreholes used to supply water to the mining areas, after the depletion of mineral resources, these boreholes that are still gushing a large amount of water resources have been left unattended, causing a lot of waste of water resources.

According to the Geological Survey Team's estimate, although the Great Artesian Basin and the Mure River Basin do not lack water resources at present, if such waste continues, Australasia will face a severe water crisis in no more than 30 years.

It is also fortunate that the population of Australasia is currently less than 15 million, otherwise, the water crisis may have to be brought forward.

Australasia is a country with abundant resources, full of various mineral resources.

This does not mean that Australasia has no shortcomings. Because it was previously located in a remote geographical position, the population has always been a major issue.

Furthermore, because of the barrier of the Great Watershed, the western region of Australia is very short of water resources.

Despite boasting over 7 million square kilometers of vast land, the issue of water use is a hidden danger to national development. It could even potentially limit the country's development in the future.

Arthur has anticipated this. Over the past ten years, in the Australian region, a large number of reservoirs and water storage areas have been encouraged to be excavated to ensure that while providing sufficient living water for Australian residents, it can also be used for industrial and agricultural use.

But these reservoirs still seem too few compared to the total water usage of an entire country. If Australasia wants to completely solve the water problem, at least for now, it is very important to conserve and cherish water resources.

In fact, the water resources in New Guinea are very rich, and the rainfall is indeed not small. But at least for the next 40-50 years, these water resources cannot be transported to Australia and do not help Australia's water resources problems.

If Arthur remembers correctly, underwater pipeline technology should have been born 40 years later. This also means that perhaps after World War II, Australasia will have enough capability to complete its own North Water South Transfer project.

No matter how it is said, the water resources in the Australian region have always been a problem. We must not allow anyone to waste water resources recklessly.

Thinking of this, Arthur had someone call the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Kent, and decided to make some advancements in environmental protection.

Seizing the time before Prime Minister Kent arrived, Arthur continued to look at the report, examining the current issues in the Mure River Basin.

In the past two months, the geological survey team had studied the desertification and gobi-formation in the Australian west and temporarily placed the blame on the abundant wildlife in Australasia.

It is well known that there are not many carnivorous animals in Australia, with the pouch wolf and wild dogs being the two larger meat-eating species in the region.

However, with the development of livestock farming by the Australasians, conflicts between these wildlife species, particularly the larger and more ferocious pouch wolf, and humans were inevitable.

From the colonial period, Australia had a habit of hunting pouch wolves. The colonial government even publicly rewarded it - one pound for a slain adult pouch wolf and ten pennies for a juvenile one.

This resulted in tens of thousands of pouch wolves being slaughtered during the colonial period. Although this policy did not continue after Arthur's arrival in Australia, hunting pouch wolves had become a habit for many herders as it also protected their cattle and sheep.

The increasing decline in the number of carnivorous animals in Australia led to the wild spread of a large number of animals, causing significant damage to Australian grasslands and promoting land desertification.

Wild rabbits, kangaroos, wild goats, camels, and boars, their numbers added up to billions or even tens of billions.

The damage that such a vast number of wildlife could cause to Australian land is self-evident.

The geological survey team boldly predicted that if restrictions are not imposed on these wild animals, the desertification of the Mure River basin will worsen within 20 years, gradually turning this plain of several million square kilometers into a desert.

Arthur had heard of the rampant wildlife in Australia in his later years, but he did not expect it to be so severe over 100 years ago.

In any case, the development of the country takes priority. Thus, since these animals have severely damaged Australian land, it is necessary to enact strict regulations to control the number of wildlife.

One of the main reasons for Australia's rampant wildlife is actually the Australians' lack of attention to native carnivorous animals.

If the number of pouch wolves was sufficient, the problem of Australian wildlife would not be so severe and would not have threatened the survival of the country.

About ten minutes later, Prime Minister Kent hurried in and knocked on the office door.

The duration of about ten minutes is the travel distance between the Administrative Court and the Royal Palace, which implies that Prime Minister Kent hastened over soon after receiving Arthur's order.

After all, the communication between the Royal Palace and the Administrative Court involved wired telegrams and telephones, leaving virtually no delay in communication.

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

"Sit. Check out this report, Prime Minister Kent. It's outrageous. Our current biological situation has seriously deteriorated to this extent that we must enact relevant regulations for control." Arthur pointed to the report, asking Prime Minister Kent to have a look.

Seeing that Arthur was quite serious and solemn, Prime Minister Kent also paid careful attention, reading through the report scrupulously.

At the beginning, the report listed the advantages of the Mure River basin as well as its favorable geography and resources.

However, the latter part clearly stipulated the terrible current ecological condition of the region and potential future issues.

Prime Minister Kent was not surprised that Arthur investigated the Mure River Basin. The plains and basins in the center of Australia are undoubtedly more suitable for national development compared to the hills in Southeast Asia.

Whether as a capital of the country or a superior agricultural, pastoral, and industrial producing area, it possesses unique geographical and resource advantages.

After seeing the current problems in the Mure River Basin, Prime Minister Kent also wasn't able to help but exclaim and unhesitatingly said to Arthur, "Your Majesty, it is indeed necessary to enact a law to protect the ecological environment of Australia and even the whole of Australasia."

Arthur nodded his head and immediately delegated the task to Prime Minister Kent, instructing, "I will entrust this task to you, Prime Minister Kent. My requirements are, first, that you must protect the wild meat-eating animals in Australia, especially the pouch wolf population."

"Secondly, drastically limit the number of native Australian animals. If necessary, introduce a reward policy to encourage Australians to hunt herbivorous wildlife. The pelts of these wild animals can be made into corresponding products, and the meat can be processed into canned food, serving as our food reserve and exporting to Europe in the future."

"In this way, these wild animals also have decent economic value.

Once hunting wild animals forms a certain industry chain, the government and the royal family will invest in the establishment of meat canning factories, thoroughly treating the herbivores as an industry chain which can solve our current serious environmental problem and also generate substantial revenue for the nation and the government."

The value of animal fur is, of course, undeniable. The meat of wild animals, besides being made into various delicious foods, can be canned into various products for future export to Europe.

This variety of meat will perfectly supplement the diet of the future European military. After all, always eating the same type of meat will get tiresome, won't it?