Australia to launch urgent measures to protect the Great Barrier Reef

Australia has committed to implementing an action plan to protect the Great Barrier Reef. This was announced by the Australian Minister for the Environment in a letter sent this week to the Director General of the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO), Audrey Azoulay.

The decision has been welcomed by the Organization after years of warning the Australian Government about the dangers of continuing to allow practices such as mesh netting.

Azoulay explained that they had found concrete measures to protect the Great Barrier Reef based on scientific data. “I am pleased that this ongoing dialogue between our experts and the Australian authorities is being translated into formal commitments today,” said the director.

In 2021, in view of very worrying data about the state of conservation of the sitethe Organization’s experts recommended its inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, a warning that seems to have had an effect.

Research and dialogue

In March 2022, a joint mission of the Unesco and from the International Union for Conservation of Nature traveled to the Great Barrier Reef to expand the studies and dialogue with all the parties involved: public authorities, researchers and civil society organizations.

In their report, the experts confirmed that the Great Barrier Reef was in an alarming situation and threatened at the same time by the pollution, overfishing and warming water.

The two organizations indicated that the implementation of corrective measures urgently could achieve the conservation of the site. In addition, they specified ten actions to the Australian authorities.

Based on the results of the mission, an incessant dialogue was established between the UNESCO experts and the Australian authorities to start implementing the priority measures, following a action plan and a precise calendar.

Protection measures

In the letter, the Australian Government commits in particular to:

• create fishing grounds in one third of the world heritage area by the end of 2024 and a total ban on mesh net fishing by 2027
• improve the water quality by 2025, considerably reducing the discharge of agricultural and industrial pollutants and thus restoring the fauna and flora in the hydrographic basins

• set progressively more ambitious targets for reduction of CO emissions_2, in line with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial times

These three measures are added to others already announced in recent months by the Australian authorities.

UNESCO has declared that it will closely monitor the effective implementation of these measures and that the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef will be re-examined by the World Heritage Committee at its next meeting, which will take place from 10 to 25 September in Saudi Arabia.

We will lose 90% of living coral by 2050

For its part, the Program of United Nations for the Environment (UNEP) recalled during the world reef dayon June 1, that a quarter of all known marine species inhabit coral reefs, ecosystems that provide work and sustenance to more than 1 billion people.

However, given the record increase in ocean temperatures, there may be a decrease in 70-90% of living coral in the world’s reefs by 2050 if drastic measures are not taken to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Importance of citizen science

In order to find the necessary measures, the UN agency highlights the need for reliable data.

“Scientists alone cannot gather enough data. They need more eyes, ears and perspectives. This is where the citizen science –trained people collecting data on corals in a standardized way – can help fill the gaps in data collection and inform better decision-making”, say experts from the agency.

According to dive operators, these types of programs also benefit communities and businesses by raising awareness of environmental issues. Many clients want to do more than recreational scuba diving, seek purpose while on vacation, and want to participate in learning, protecting, and conserving the ocean.