Australian
Population Until the end of the 18th century, the Australian population was made by Australian aborigines, Torres Strait Islanders and Tasmanian aborigines (between these three groups there are cultural and even external differences that came 40-50 thousand years ago). The majority of the Australian population are descendants of immigrants of the 19th and 20th centuries, with most of these immigrants coming from the UK and Ireland. The settlement of Australia by immigrants from the British Isles began in 1788, when the first consignment of exiles was landed on the eastern coast of Australia and the first English settlement of Port Jackson (the future of Sydney) was founded. Voluntary immigration from England took considerable dimensions only in the 1820s, when sheep breeding began to develop rapidly in Australia. After the discovery in Australia of gold here from England and partly from other countries, a lot of immigrants arrived. For 10 years (1851-61) the population of Australia has increased almost threefold, having exceeded 1 million people. Live nature Although most of the continent is occupied by semi-deserts and deserts, Australia has a variety of landscapes: from similar alpine meadows to tropical jungles. Due to the considerable age of the continent (as well as low soil fertility), a wide variety of weather conditions and long geographical isolation, Australia's biota is rich and unique. Flora and fauna of Australia in total include about 12 thousand species, about 9 thousand of them are endemic [112]. Among flowering plants, 85% of endemic plants, 84% of mammals, 45% of birds, 89% of coastal fish [113]. Many of Australia's ecological regions and their flora and fauna are threatened by human activities and introduced species of plants and animals. The main legal document regulating the protection of endangered species in Australia is the 1999 Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (English Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999). In order to protect and preserve the unique Australian ecosystem, a large number of protected areas have been created in the country: 64 marshlands were included in the Ramsar List of wetlands of international importance, 16 sites on the World Heritage List. For such an indicator as the index of environmental sustainability, Australia in 2005 ranked 13th
