Chapter 34
Living in Australia, Oceania and
Antarctica
Chapter 34-1 Objectives
• 1. Describe how people in Australia, New
Zealand and Oceania make their living.
• 2. Discuss the role that trade plays in the
economics of South Pacific countries.
• 3. Identify the means of transportation and
communication that are used in the region.
Terms to Know
• station
• grazier
• copra
Drawing From Experience
• If you were planning a trip to Australia,
Oceania or New Zealand, what would you
plan to see while visiting these places?
• What methods of transportation would you
use to travel from place to place?
• This section focus on economic activities
in this region.
Introduction
• The people of Australia, Oceania and
Antarctica overcome remote locations and
challenging environments to earn a living.
• What are some economic challenges of
people in Australia, Oceania and
Antarctica?
Agriculture
• The most important economic activity in
the South Pacific is agriculture.
• Australia and New Zealand export large
amounts of farm products.
• Australia is the world’s leading producer of
wool.
• New Zealand produces dairy products,
lamb, beef and wool.
• 5% of Australians work in agriculture.
• Most of the land is used to raise livestock.
• The dry climate forces ranchers to roam
over large areas to find enough vegetation
for the livestock herds.
• Some Australians ranches, called stations,
are as large as 6000 square miles.
• Because of the dry climate, only 10% of
the land can support crops.
• Farmers use irrigation, fertilizers and
modern technology to make good use of
the croplands.
• Wheat grows in the dry Central Lowlands.
• Sugarcane grows in wetter climates and
fertile soil of the northeastern coast.
• New Zealand uses about half of its land for
agriculture.
• New Zealand ranchers, known as graziers,
raise sheep, beef and dairy cattle.
• New Zealand’s fertile soil supports wheat,
barley, potatoes and fruits such as kiwi.
Sugarcane
Kiwi Fruit
Kiwi Bird
• Much of Oceania lacks soil suitable for
farming.
• Most island farmers practice subsistence
farming.
• Many South Pacific people fish for food.
• Some islands have rich soil and enough
rainfall to grow a variety of crops for
export.
• Copra, or dried coconut meat, is a major
South Pacific cash crop.
Copra – dried coconut meat
• Fiji exports sugarcane, copra and ginger.
• Papua New Guinea exports coffee, copra
and cacao.
?
• What is the main economic activity in the
South Pacific region?
Mining and Manufacturing
• Australia is the leading exporter of
diamonds, gold, bauxite, opals and iron
ore.
• There are two obstacles to mining in
Australia.
• Transportation costs are high.
• There are limits on where mining can
occur because of conflicts over Aboriginal
land rights.
Opals
• New Zealand has a large aluminum
industry.
• Papua New Guinea mines gold and
copper.
• Antarctica has large mineral deposits, but
mining is prohibited by an agreement
signed by 44 countries in 1991.
• The most industrialized countries in the
South Pacific region are Australia and
New Zealand.
• Because agriculture is important in these
two countries, food processing is the most
important manufacturing activity.
?
• What mining and manufacturing activities
take place in the region?
Service Industries
• Most people in Australia and New Zealand
work in service industries.
• In Oceania, the major service industry is
tourism.
• International banking and investment are
growing service industries in Nauru.
• The expansion of air travel has boosted
tourism throughout the region.
?
• What is the main service industry in the
region?
Global Trade Links
• Transportation and communication
improvements have increased trade
between the South Pacific region and
other parts of the world.
• Most export income is from agricultural
and mining products.
• Spices are a major export of Oceania.
• Many South Pacific countries import food
to supplement their subsistence crops.
• During most of the 1990s, Australia and
New Zealand traded only with the United
Kingdom and the United States.
• Recently these countries have expanded
their trade with Asian countries.
• In 1971 countries in Oceania set up the
South Pacific Forum.
• This organization promotes trade and
economic growth.
• Some South Pacific islands depend on
some outside investment or foreign aid.
?
• What are some major exports of the South
Pacific region?
Transportation/Communication
• Physical barriers, harsh climates and long
distances make land travel difficult in the
region.
• Air and water travel are important ways of
overcoming those barriers.
• Cargo ships and planes move imports and
exports.
• Commercial airlines and cruise ships bring
tourists and business travelers.
• Pacific islanders use outrigger canoes.
• In Antarctica, ships with reinforced bows
for breaking ice, small planes and
helicopters provide transportation.
• The same obstacles that make
transportation difficult in the region make
communication difficult.
Outrigger Canoe
• Modern technology has increased
contacts within Australia, Oceania and
Antarctica and with the rest of the world.
• New technologies such as cellular, digital
and satellite communications and the
internet are common in developing areas.
?
• Why are transportation and
communication difficult in much of the
region?
Key Points
• Agriculture is the most important economic
activity in the region, although mining is
done in Australia and some island
countries.
• Manufacturing in Australia and New
Zealand centers on food processing, and
the rest of the region engages in smallscale production of clothing and crafts.
• The importance of service industries,
particularly tourism, is increasing in the
economies of the region.
• Transportation and communications
technologies, such as air travel, satellite
communications, and the internet, are
helping people in the region to overcome
geographic obstacles.
People and Their Environment
Chapter 34, Sec. 2
Sec. 2 Objectives
Specify why Australia, Oceania and
Antarctica face many environmental
challenges.
Explain the effects that nuclear testing had
on the region.
 Discuss why global warming and the
thinning of the ozone layer are special
challenges for the region.
Terms to Know
• marsupial
• introduced species
• food web
• ozone layer
• El Niño-Southern
Oscillation (ENSO)
• diatom
Drawing From Experience
• What is global warming?
• How can it affect you?
• How would it affect the islands and coastal
areas of the region?
• This section focuses on the environmental
challenges facing the people of the region.
Introduction
• Scientists believe that 40% of Western
Australia’s wheat-growing area could be
lost to salty swamps within 20 years.
• This is one problem that has resulted from
human interaction with the environment.
• The countries of the region are working to
solve these challenges.
?
• What is one of the environmental
challenges facing Australia?
Managing Resources
• Australia, Oceania and Antarctica have
some of the earth’s richest and most
diverse natural resources.
• Sometimes these resources have been
mismanaged.
• As a result, the region faces many
environmental challenges.
• Australia has many unique animal species,
including 144 kinds of marsupials.
• These are mammals such as kangaroos or
koalas whose babies live in a pouch until
they mature.
• Native animals have been threatened by
introduced species, or nonnative animals
that have been brought to the continent by
humans.
• The introduced species have taken over
natural habitats of many of Australia’s
native species.
• Some native species have become extinct
and others are endangered.
• Efforts to help the native species include:
A. the use of electric fencing to
keep out nonnative animals.
B. the setting up of hunting and
trapping programs.
C. the introduction of natural
predators of the introduced
species.
D. the creation of reserves
where wildlife is protected.
Marsupials – Koala
Wombat
Kangaroos
Blue Fairy Penguins
Wallaby
Dingo
Dingo Pup
Goanna
Tree Frog
Tree Kangaroos
Cane Toads
• The protection of forest, soil and
freshwater resources is another
environmental concern in the region.
• In Australia, woodlands have been cleared
for farms and grazing lands.
• This deforestation causes soil erosion.
• Countries in the region, such as New
Zealand and Papua New Guinea, are
finding ways to harvest the valuable
timber resources without damaging the
environment.
• Drought, salt, irrigation and agricultural
runoff threaten freshwater sources in
Australia and Oceania.
• Lack of clean water keeps the standard of
living low in some countries.
• Toxic wastes, tourists, boaters, divers and
oil-shale mining endangers sea life in the
Great Barrier Reef and other coral reefs.
• Algae and plankton are key parts of the
ocean’s food web, an interlinking chain of
predators and their food sources in the
ecosystem.
• As the tiny food sources die, so do the
larger plants and animals that eat them.
Nuclear Weapons
• In the late 1940s and 50s, the U.S. and
other countries tested nuclear weapons in
the South Pacific region.
• This testing has caused radiation
exposure and environmental damage to
the region, leading to people’s deaths,
illness and genetic damage.
• In the 1990s the U.S. gave money to the
region to help clean up the environment.
?
• What environmental challenges face the
countries of the South Pacific?
Atmosphere and Climate
• Australia, Oceania and Antarctica face
challenges with atmosphere and climate
changes.
• There is a hole in the ozone layer of the
atmosphere over Antarctica.
• The ozone layer has protective gases that
prevent harmful solar rays from reaching
the earth’s surface.
• The loss of the protective ozone shield can
cause overexposure to the sun’s ultraviolet
rays.
• This overexposure can lead to skin cancer
and cataracts in the eyes.
• It can also contribute to global warming.
• Global warming may cause an increase in
the occurrence of El Niño-Southern
Oscillation (ENSO), or changes in the El
Niño weather pattern.
• This can cause droughts in Australia and
cyclones in the South Pacific.
• Some scientists claim that global warming
could cause polar ice caps to melt and
warm ocean waters to expand.
• If this happens, many of Oceania’s islands
would be flooded by rising ocean levels.
• Rising ocean temperatures could cause
the overgrowth of certain types of algae
and plankton.
• It could also cause the death of diatoms,
plankton that grow in cold ocean waters.
• The loss of this plankton would affect other
sea life in the food web.
• Scientists in the region are studying global
warming to find its causes, consequences
and solutions.
Diatoms
?
• Why is global warming a concern in the
South Pacific region?
Key Points
• Australia, Oceania and Antarctica have
many natural resources, but the region’s
environment is threatened by human
activity.
• Governments and individuals in the region
are focusing on balanced management of
water resources, forests, land and wildlife.
• Nuclear testing conducted in Oceania
during the 1940s and 50s has had a
lasting impact on people and the
environment.
• Scientists are studying global warming and
the thinning ozone layer to prevent
potential risks.
End of Slide Show