Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. (click here) Its ocean territory is the world's third largest, spanning three oceans and covering around 12 million square kilometres.

Nearly seven million square kilometres, or 91 per cent of Australia, is covered by native vegetation. Although this figure may seem high, many of Australia's desert landscapes are covered by native plants such as saltbush, albeit sparsely.

For tens of thousands of years, the lives and sense of cultural identity of Indigenous Australians were inextricably linked to the land, its forms, flora and fauna. Today, the identity of all Australians is shaped by a relationship with the natural environment.

Australia is one of the most urbanised and coast-dwelling populations in the world. More than 80 per cent of Australians live within 100 kilometres of the coast....