The Great Barrier Reef is one of the worlds natural wonders.
It was the first coral reef ecosystem in the world to be inscribed into the World Heritage list in 1981 and is now one of 49 marine World Heritage Areas.
The Great Barrier Reef world heritage area covers 348,000 km2 and includes both marine areas and all the Great Barrier Reef islands contained inside its boundary.
It stretches more than 2,300km alongside Queensland’s coastline and is made up of around 3,000 individual coral reefs providing critical habitats and ecological communities to a breath-taking array of species.
All of this makes the Reef one of the most complex natural ecosystems in the world.
Sadly, this natural wonder is facing a number of escalating pressures and key ecosystems continue to be in poor condition.
Unsurprisingly, climate change is the greatest threat to the Reef and is predicted to have great consequences for the ecosystem over the next 50 years.
In recent years there have been multiple significant coral bleaching events; these events occur when corals are stressed, in these cases from overheating.
According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science’s long-term monitoring by mid-2018 coral cover in the Northern Great Barrier Reef was less than half of what it was in 2013.
More frequent and severe coral bleaching events are expected in the near future as well as major losses of coral and seagrass from severe tropical cyclones.
Poor water quality is another pressure for the Reef, particularly for inshore areas. This is a result of excess nutrients, fine sediments and pesticides from land-based runoff, coming from industries including agriculture.
Science shows that improving the water quality is critical to building the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef and enabling it to recover from the effects of a warming climate.
The Great Barrier Reef Outlook report in 2019 identified that initiatives to halt and reverse the effects of global climate change and improving regional water quality are urgent matters when it comes to the Reefs long-term outlook.
Protecting the environment is a priority for the Queensland government, which since 2015 has committed over $700 million towards protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
The Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan aims to reduce dissolved inorganic nitrogen loads by 60% and sediment loads by 25% by 2015.
Under the Queensland Reef Water Quality Program the government is continuing to invest in projects focused on improving Reef water quality.
Other government departments also continue to deliver valuable initiatives.
Everything possible must be done to help protect and conserve this natural wonder and its inhabitants.
Bronwyn Reid | 4t Consultants. 29\11\2021