Global
Environmental Issues
Student
Pilbara Case Study Assignments N212/N412: 2nd Semester 2003
ISTP
students are encouraged to address issues relevant to sustainability
planning and implementation. These reports were produced by Murdoch
University students as part of their academic work. Some readers may
find the reports useful and informative. However, ISTP makes this
space available to the students in good faith and accepts no responsibility
for any actions which may arise from access to these documents.
To
access the full reports in PDF format, click on the title of each project listed
below.
Cathy
Gossel: Community Vision (PDF 50KB)
A comprehensive community visioning process
in the Pilbara has not yet been undertaken, and so the following information
is a summary of the content of the WA Collaboration sustainability workshops
in Port Hedland and Karratha in 2002, a consultation for the Northern
Australia Forum in Port Hedland in 2000, which focussed on economic development,
and a Pilbara Development Commission survey on Pilbara infrastructure
needs in 1998, and so does not represent the views of all of the residents
in the Pilbara. |
Nivia
Giuffre: Demographics (PDF 276KB)
This
report will describe and portray the characteristics of the population
in order to better understand and examine the people and trends of the
Pilbara region. It is integral to understand the characteristics of a
population and to examine the trends over time, in this way we are better
able to comment on the future of the Pilbara region and identify issues
within the community.
Population characteristics, family structure, origin of the population
and employment will be examined in this report. The data and information
was collated mainly with the aid of the 2001 Australian Bureau of Statistics
Census |
Brendan
Tapley:Sense of Place (PDF 232KB)
A 'sense of place' describes a sense of belonging,
attachment and ownership of particular places. A 'sense of place' - an
identity - is something all communities need, and indeed it can be argued
that a principle cause of alienation, crime and dysfunction is the loss
of this sense of identity (Pearson & Sullivan 1995, cited in Workers
Online 2002). The loss of a ‘sense of place’ within sectors
of the community is a factor of vital concern for sustainability in the
Pilbara region. This paper documents the sense of place in the Pilbara
with two main themes - that of indigenous sense of place and of non-indigenous
sense of place. |
| Justine
Rose Webb: Indigenous History (PDF 100KB)
Human occupation of the Australian continent is estimated
between 30 000 and 80 000 years. It is believed that Australia’s
Indigenous people journeyed over the Pilbara craton from Indonesia when
seas were low. The last ice-age occurred between 14 000 and
25 000 years ago, archeological evidence suggests that the Pilbara coastline
acted as a refuge during this period. Post glacier, Aboriginal people
began to move inland. It is believed between 2000 and 4000 years ago,
most areas of the Pilbara region were either occupied or had been transversed.
(Quin, 2000). |
Lauren
Holst: Culture (PDF 84KB)
This report investigates the provision of cultural and arts
facilities in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, as well as exploring
the issues of funding, events and festivals that take place, the organizations
currently established in the region relevant to the topic, and current
or proposed initiatives that are relevant to community cultural development
in the region. The cultural identity of the Pilbara community, and more
specifically the indigenous community of the region, will be explored
particularly in relation to the valued aspects of life and the issues
of concern to the community. |
Anna
Pearce: Biodiversity (PDF 88KB)
This report is concerned with the terrestrial biodiversity
of the Pilbara. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity
has defined ‘biodiversity’ as “the variability among
living organisms from all sources, including, inter alia, terrestrial,
marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which
they are part.
This report will cover the following points: examples of
two community types present in the area; National Parks and Reserves,
and regional endemic and ANZECC species. A list of further information
and resources will also be provided. |
| Danielle
Jackson: Health (PDF 180KB)
Within this report the intention is to cover
the topic of health in the Pilbara region, in relation to the facilities
available and the subsequent state of health of the population within
the Pilbara region, in comparison to the rest of Western Australia.
|
Dean
Laslett: Housing (PDF 420KB)
This report covers the sustainability issues related to
housing in the Pilbara. The following sections are covered: Background
information that affects housing issues in the Pilbara, aspects of the
housing market in the Pilbara compared to the rest of Western Australia,
energy and water efficiency, and indigenous housing issues. This report
does not cover the wider issue of sustainable urban design, or the built
environment in general. |
Shona
Hunter Education (PDF 80KB)
Education is central to human development. In the Pilbara
region of Western Australia, the right to education has been challenged
by the regions remote location, sparse population densities and many other
factors that continuously make it difficult for providing access to appropriate
and efficient, high quality education. These challenges will be highlighted
in this report which aims to; provide an understanding of education as
it is available in the Pilbara currently; reflect the cultural history
and aspirations for the region with respect to education; and consider
projected trends and changes in a global and local context. |
Gabrielle
Bass: Coastal and Marine (PDF 28KB)
This paper deals with issues pertaining to
the Pilbara coast and the marine environments that exist there. It examines
these issues from an environmental perspective however, due to the interrelated
nature of these issues with social, cultural and economic issues there
is some overlap and these other perspectives are taken into account as
well. The North West Shelf, upon which the Pilbara coast is situated,
is not only home to some amazing natural environments, but also rich in
natural resources and at the center of much development occurring in WA
right now. As such, it is important that this development proceeds in
a sustainable way and not at the price of losing some of the greatest
treasures the region has to offer. As will be explained here, there is
a lot at stake on the Pilbara coast. |
Jacqueline
Leitch: Waste (PDF 248 KB)
Waste is a highly tangible indicator of how
well we are managing our resources and to what degree our environmental
protection efforts are enjoying success. No sustainable development policy
or programme can be complete without the analysis of waste and the issues
around its disposal and minimisation. |
Cara
Shaw: Air quality (PDF 328KB)
Recent studies conducted in the Pilbara have found PM10
to be the only air pollutant to exceed NEPM standards. Dispersion of air
pollutants from industry is strongly influenced by the wind patterns and
the topography of the Pilbara region. The key contributor to gaseous air
pollutants in the region is industry. With many proposed industrial works
for the future, and those which have been recently approved, air quality
in the region could potentially degrade if strict emissions guidelines
are not enforced. The implications of increased air pollution could potentially
affect not only environmental and human health in the region, but is believed
to pose a threat for the extensive rock art found in the region. |
| Donghang
Huang Eric: Energy (PDF 96KB)
Electricity is the only form of reticulated
energy supply available in Pilbara. Energy has significant impact on not
only economic but also the daily life and the environment. As the draft
of State Sustainability Strategy described, ‘The use of household
electricity and gas, renewable fuels, transport fuels, commercial and
industrial fuels are all opportunities for addressing sustainability through
providing an efficient service to the economy, helping build communities
and not harming the environment.’ Because the Pilbara is a mineral
rich region, it is no doubt that there is a highly energy dependent nature
in its mining and energy sector. Therefore, the need of sustainable energy
is about assisting local business to remain competitive with other regions,
and enabling the Pilbara’s communities and industrials growth. |
Ramon
Gregory: Water (PDF 87KB)
The area of the Pilbara in North Western
West Australia is a major producer of primary resources. Petroleum and
mining activities are the prime movers for current development, as there
are widespread sources of many minerals in this part of the state, also
established access to offshore petroleum and gas products.
These industries use large amounts of water throughout their operations,
usually for mine dewatering operations, treatment process and process
cooling, dust control, or for potable water supplies for conjunctive
communities. Often, mine-dewatering wastewater is returned to downstream
areas of the aquifer, or recycled during processing.
|
Brendan
White:Oil and Gas (PDF 144KB)
This is a largely detached report exploring
the oil and gas industry and its potential for sustainable development
in the Pilbara Region. The report was designed with the knowledge that
it is only a small insert to be integrated with a series of other reports
on economic, social, environmental and cultural history and aspirations
in the Pilbara Region to form Australia’s first Regional State
Sustainability Plan.
|
| Claire
Robson: Iron Ore Industry (PDF
1.5MB)
The iron ore mining industry commenced in the Pilbara region
in the early 1960’s.
The Pilbara is the third largest producer of iron ore after China and
Brazil. This region produces almost one third of the world’s seaborne
trade of iron ore and is home to Australia’s largest and third largest
ports by tonnage, Dampier and Port Hedland respectively (unspecified author,
2003).
The economy of the Pilbara is dominated by the iron ore and the petroleum
industry and as a result is of fundamental importance to the region. Furthermore,
the iron ore industry is crucial to the state as it is one of the largest
export revenue earners. |
Robert
Alexander: Mining Other Than Iron Ore (PDF 388KB)
The mining industry, excluding Iron Ore mining,
is a major industry and income earner in the Pilbara region of Western
Australia. Gold, Chromite, Manganese, Tantalum, Salt, Petrochemicals,
Copper, Lead and Zinc are the other major resources that are mined in
the Pilbara along with Iron Ore. In terms of wealth, the petrochemicals
industry is the largest scale operation being conducted in the Pilbara,
bringing in approximately 62 % of the regions income. Iron Ore accounts
for 36 % whilst other minerals including salt account for approximately
3.8 % of the areas income. The topic of mining activities other than
Iron Ore, is an extremely important one as it is the major income earner
for the region and accounts for a large slice of the states annual revenue.
|
Javier
Micucci: Salt (PDF 188KB)
Western Australia became a strategic provider
of salt since the revolution of the Japanese chemical industry began
in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Japan has been the main importer
of Australia salt production for the last 40 years, due to the lack
of land-based salt suppliers in Eastern Asia and the need for appropriate
climate for the evaporative salt process. As a result, to satisfy the
current increasing demand of salt in Eastern Asian countries, multinationals
continue establishing solar evaporative salt fields in the Northwest
of W.A.
|
|
Milica
Subotic: Rangelands (PDF 100KB)
This report focuses on the rangelands in the Pilbara. It
looks at what a rangeland is and how much of the Pilbara is classified
as one, how the Pilbara first became settled, the major vegetation cover,
what the major land uses within the Pilbara rangelands, what sort of condition
the rangelands are in and rangeland management.
|
Gary
Scadding: Agriculture (PDF 60KB)
This paper deals with the economic aspects
of Agriculture and Pastoral issues in the Pilbara region. It forms the
initial part of the Murdoch ISTP N212 and the Western Australia DPC
project that will form an appropriate integrated strategic sustainability
policy. It is in essay/story format to present (dry) economics in a
socio-economic perspective aligning more with the ‘integrative
processes’ of developing sustainability policy.
|
Claire
Harrold: Tourism (PDF 100KB)
This report outlines the present and future
scope of the tourism industry in the Pilbara and provides an overview
of how it is responding to State strategy in terms of infrastructure,
product and marketing development. Given the complexity of the industry
and the breadth of its impact, it also offers an explanation of roles
and responsibilities, concluding with a summary of the numerous information
sources available.
|
|
![[ Murdoch University logo and link to homepage ]](/images/header/cs/logo/mu_logo_lhs_45.gif){kind=logo}