Global InformationEnvironmental threats to the Great Barrier Reef information
 | This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: new state of the environment report https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/19/labor-says-it-wont-put-head-in-the-sand-as-it-releases-shocking-environment-report, new plan https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/critics-pan-a-plan-for-the-barrier-reef-as-bleaching-threat-rises-20211222-p59jk9.html and 6th mass bleaching https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-11/queensland-great-barrier-reef-bleaching-report/101056520. (December 2021) |
The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef systems, stretching along the East coast of Australia from the northern tip down at Cape York to the town of Bundaberg,[1][2] is composed of roughly 2,900 individual reefs and 940 islands and cays that stretch for 2,300 kilometres (1,616 mi) and cover an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi).[3][4] The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland in northeast Australia. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
According to the 2014 report of the Australian Government's Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), says that climate change is the most significant environmental threat to the Great Barrier Reef,[5] while the other major environmental pressures are listed as decreased water quality from land-based runoff, impacts from coastal development and some persistent impacts from fishing activities. The reef is also threatened by storms, coral bleaching and ocean acidification.[6][7][8] The 2014 report also shows that, while numerous marine life species have recovered after previous declines, the strength of the dugong population is continuing to decline.[9] Terry Hughes, Federation Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, wrote in a 14 August 2014 Conversation piece that harmful government policies and ongoing conflicts of interest over mining royalties are risks of an equivalent magnitude.[10]
The GBRMPA consider climate change, poor water quality, coastal development, and some impacts from fishing to be the area's major threats, but reef scientists Jon Day, Bob Pressey, Jon Brodie and Hughes stated that the "cumulative effects of many combined impacts" is the real issue.[11]
In a Conversation article,[12] Mathieu Mongin, a biogeochemical modeller at CSIRO and colleagues mapped parts of the Great Barrier Reef that are most exposed to ocean acidification. This map of pH on the Great Barrier Reef presents the exposure to ocean acidification on each of the 3,581 reefs, providing managers with the information they need to tailor management to individual reefs. The Great Barrier Reef is not a singular reef nor a physical barrier that prevents exchange between reefs; it is a mixture of thousands of productive reefs and shallow areas lying on a continental shelf with complex oceanic circulation.
In March 2022, UNESCO launched a monitoring mission to assess the impact of pollution, fishing, climate change and coral bleaching. The report concluded that the Great Barrier Reef should be included on the list of World Heritage in Danger, which would probably have had an impact on tourism. In May 2023, after years of warnings from UNESCO, Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek promised in a letter to UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay a "combined investment of A$4.4 billion" to protect the reef. In the letter, Australia committed to following UNESCO's recommendations, creating no-fishing zones in one third of the site by the end of 2024, completely banning gillnetting by 2027 and meeting targets for improving water quality by 2025. The Albanese government has pledged to set targets for reducing CO2 emissions, in order to align with the objective of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 °C.[13][14][15][16]
- ^ UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1980). "Protected Areas and World Heritage – Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area". Department of the Environment and Heritage. Archived from the original on 31 August 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2006.
- ^ "Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Values". Archived from the original on 6 October 2006. Retrieved 10 November 2006.
- ^ "Great Barrier Reef Travel Guide". Fodor's. Retrieved 8 August 2006.
- ^ Department of the Environment and Heritage. "Review of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975". Archived from the original on 18 October 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2006.
- ^ John Upton (1 June 2016). "Best Protected Great Barrier Reef Corals Are Now Dead". Scientific American. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ Mongin, Mathieu; Baird, Mark E.; Tilbrook, Bronte; Matear, Richard J.; Lenton, Andrew; Herzfeld, Mike; Wild-Allen, Karen; Skerratt, Jenny; Margvelashvili, Nugzar (2016). "The exposure of the Great Barrier Reef to ocean acidification". Nature Communications. 7: 10732. Bibcode:2016NatCo...710732M. doi:10.1038/ncomms10732. PMC 4766391. PMID 26907171.
- ^ Thompson, Helen (23 February 2016). "Great Barrier Reef acidification predictions get worse".
- ^ Kennedy, Merrit (14 May 2016). "New Photos Show The Rapid Pace Of Great Barrier Reef Bleaching". NPR.org.
- ^ "GBRMPA Outlook Report 2014". Australian Government Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Australian Government. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ Hughes, Terry (14 August 2014). "Reef condition is 'poor', and probably worse than healthcheck suggests". The Conversation. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ Day, Jon; Bob Pressey; Jon Brodie; Terry Hughes (28 October 2014). "The plan to save the Great Barrier Reef is destined to fail unless …". The Conversation. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ Lenton, Andrew (23 February 2016). "The Great Barrier Reef faces a mixed future in acidifying oceans". The Conversation. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ "UNESCO hails $2.9-bn Australian plan to protect Great Barrier Reef". RFI. 6 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ Readfearn, Graham (6 June 2023). "Unesco praises Albanese government for efforts to protect Great Barrier Reef". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ Readfearn, Graham (28 November 2022). "Great Barrier Reef should be placed on world heritage 'in danger' list, UN-backed report says". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ "Great Barrier Reef: Australia to put in place urgent safeguarding measures requested by UNESCO". UNESCO. Retrieved 20 June 2023.