Kakau Human Environment

Introduction
An ecosystem, according to Oxford Dictionary is “A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment” (Oxford University Press, 2017). An ecosystem can range in size from a large reef to a tree stump (University of Michigan, 2017), the range of ecosystems is staggering. This report will investigate ecosystems and the connections within them, using Kakadu National Park (Northern Territory, Australia) as a case study. This report will also cover the impacts that human activities have on these fragile ecosystems, both positive and negative.

The Importance of Maintaining Biodiversity for Functioning Ecosystems
In Kakadu, there are at least seven different biomes, types of ecosystem landscapes, in one small
Having a range of natural resources provides for many human activities - for example, medicines from plants and fuels for cars. Different ecosystems create opportunities for humans. Many of Australia’s major ecosystems like The Great Barrier Reef and Kakadu create tourism opportunities. Kakadu alone attracts 300 000 tourists every year (Kleeman, 2009). This is due to the scenery, walking opportunities and the aboriginal culture that exists in the park (Tourism Australia, 2017). Having lived in the area for approximately 50 000 years, the Aboriginal communities and clans still live in Kakadu, living semi traditionally and offering unique insights into their culture (Parks Australia 2013). Kakadu is also unique because of the relationship between the government and the Aboriginal community. Having won the rights to the land in 1997, the Aboriginal community then leases the land out to the government for the use of tourism (Kleeman,2009) The local Aboriginal communities have used the biodiversity to run tours that showcase traditional hunting and other wildlife viewing tours (Kakadu Cultural Tours, 2015). This provides tourists with experiences and the local communities with
Large amounts of uranium ore, used for the production of nuclear energy, were found and large mining companies soon wanted to develop a mine (Kleeman, 2009). To protect the environment, the Federal Government inquired into the suitability for a mine, more specifically the Ranger mine, to be built in Kakadu (Kleeman, 2009). This report recommended a mine be built so an agreement was signed and the mine was opened in 1980 (The Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation, n.d.). The Ranger mine’s sale of uranium ore has exceeded $3 billion (Kleeman, 2009). The mine uses water collected from creeks to extract uranium and then evaporates it into clean water to put back into the waterways (Energy Resources of Australia, n.d.). A large team of scientists make sure that the contaminant levels in the released water is low and healthy for the environment (Mineral Council of Australia, 2017). Luckily, this mine is safely managed and although there is huge potential for nuclear contamination there have been no major environmental impacts to date due to the large amount of government