The Big Dry Case Study Flashcards
Where was The Big Dry?
The big dry was experienced in southeastern Australia.
What were the agricultural impacts of the big dry?
Significant loss of livestocks and crops.
Fewer crops meant Australia had to increase food price for the whole country.
Droughts causing soil erosion.
What were the environmental impacts?
Wildfires caused by drought destroyed vegetation and animals’ habitats.
Creeks and rivers dried up
Increased soil erosion destroyed vegetation and the creatures which relied on it to survive.
What was a human cause for the drought?
23 million people live in Australia and this dry country cannot maintain the water demands from this size population.
What were the social consequences?
People in rural areas left due to lack of water, putting greater pressure on the population of cities.
Tourism was negatively affected.
Rural suicide rates soared
What was the economic consequences?
Farmers had to sell cattle as they could not afford to feed them.
10000 people directly employed by the cotton growing industry were affected.
Water bills rose 20% in 2008
The number of dairy farms reduced by nearly half.
Food prices rose as Australia became more dependant on imports.
How was the Murray-Darling river basin a cause of the big dry?
It is home to 2 million people and 40% of agricultural produce,70% of which is irrigated. This puts the basin under a lot of pressure.
