The scientists’ final report outlines the key steps they believe must be taken urgently to save this ecosystem.
Great Barrier Reef should be added to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger, a group of scientists said after a mission to the world’s largest coral reef system.
In a new report published on Monday with the support of the United Nations, scientists said that the reef faces serious threats due to the climate crisis and that action to save it must be taken “as a matter of priority”. CNN.
“The mission team concluded that the site faces serious threats that could have a detrimental effect on its inherent characteristics and therefore meets the criteria for inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger,” the report said.
The 10-day monitoring mission of UNESCO scientists in March came months after the World Heritage Committee made an initial recommendation to list Australia’s Great Barrier Reef as “in danger” due to the effects of accelerating anthropogenic climate change.
At the time, the agency called on Australia to “urgently” address the growing threat of the climate crisis, but was rebuffed by the Australian government led by former prime minister Scott Morrison.
The mission’s final report outlines key steps that scientists believe need to be taken urgently.
Recommendations include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reassessing proposed projects and credit schemes, and increasing financial resources for reef protection.
Australia’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the UNESCO report unfairly drew attention to the Great Barrier Reef.
“Yes, climate change is a risk to ecosystems like the Great Barrier Reef, but that means it’s a risk to every reef around the world. There’s no need to single out the Great Barrier Reef like that,” Plibersek said.
Covering a large area and being home to more than 1,500 species of fish and more than 400 species of hard coral, the Great Barrier Reef is an extremely important marine ecosystem on Earth.
According to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, it also contributes $4.8 billion annually to the Australian economy and supports 64,000 jobs in tourism, fishing and research.
But as the planet warms due to increasing amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the long-term survival of the reef is in question. Ocean warming and acidification caused by the climate crisis have led to widespread coral bleaching. Last year, scientists found that the world’s living coral area has halved since 1950 due to climate change, overfishing and pollution.
Scientists predict that 70% to 90% of all living coral in the world will disappear in the next 20 years. In particular, the Great Barrier Reef has experienced multiple devastating mass bleaching events since 2015 caused by extremely high ocean temperatures.
During UNESCO monitoring missions, experts found that the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its sixth mass bleaching due to heat stress caused by climate change. Aerial photography of about 750 reefs shows widespread bleaching throughout the reef, with the most severe bleaching observed in the northern and central areas.
Discoloration occurs when a stressed coral is deprived of a food source. As conditions deteriorate, corals can starve and die, turning white as their carbonate skeleton is exposed.
A few weeks before the mission, scientists from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released an alarming report that concluded that with every warming extreme, the planet’s vital ecosystems, such as the Great Barrier Reef, are moving closer to tipping points. after which irreversible changes may occur.
A decision on whether the reef should be officially designated as being in danger will be made by the World Heritage Committee next year, once UNESCO has compiled a more detailed report that will include responses from the Australian federal and state governments.
The Great Barrier Reef – what is known
Great Barrier Reef – the world’s largest system of coral reefs, located along the eastern coast of Australia, its total area is more than 348 thousand square kilometers. It is believed that the Great Reef is one of the ten living things that will be the first to disappear as a result of global warming.
As UNIAN reported, in June 2021 UNESCO blamed the Australian government in insufficient protection against the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef due to climate change. This may be the first case when a natural object will be added to the list of monuments in danger.
In 1981, the 2,300-kilometer reef received the title of World Heritage. Since UNESCO first discussed the reef’s new status as “in danger”, Canberra has allocated more than A$3 billion to improve the site. In 2019, the Australian Reef Authority downgraded the status of the reef from poor to very poor over 5 years of observations.
Rising sea temperatures due to global warming caused by the burning of fossil fuels have led to mass coral die-offs in recent years.