This has put environmentalists at odds with Australia`s conservative government – which favours the expansion of its massive coal mining and export industry over climate change mitigation measures – and is a headache for the Queensland government as it seeks to balance farmers` interests with reef protection. A March 2016 report indicated that coral bleaching was more widespread than previously thought, seriously affecting the northern parts of the reef due to warming ocean temperatures. [14] In October 2016, Outside published an obituary for the reef; [15] The article has been criticized for being premature and hampering efforts to build reef resilience. [16] In March 2017, the journal Nature published a paper showing that large sections of an 800-kilometer (500-mile) stretch in the northern part of the reef died during 2016 due to high water temperatures, an event the authors attributed to the effects of global climate change. [17] The percentage of baby corals born on the Great Barrier Reef dropped dramatically in 2018 and scientists describe it as the early stage of a « giant natural selection event. » Many adult breeding animals died during bleaching events in 2016-2017, resulting in a low coral birth rate. The types of corals that have multiplied have also changed, leading to a « long-term reorganization of the reef ecosystem if the trend continues. » [18] Queensland Environment Minister Leanne Enoch said the reef was more likely to be added to the List of « Endangered » World Heritage if legislation was not introduced before the UNESCO meeting to consider the issue in 2020. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the inscription of the Great Barrier Reef on the World Heritage List. It should be a time to celebrate. Nevertheless, UNESCO has published a draft report recommending that the reef be added to a list of « in danger » World Heritage sites. The Tribunal`s main source of law is the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth (« UDRME »).2 For cases brought before Ecuadorian and Bolivian courts, the Tribunal may rely on the Ecuadorian Constitution or the Constitution. The Bolivian Framework Law on the Rights of Mother Earth and Integral Development in order to live well, as these existing national legal instruments explicitly recognize the rights of nature.3 The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority considers that the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef is climate change, which causes a warming of the oceans which increases coral bleaching. [54] [55] The summers of 1998, 2002 and 2006 were marked by massive coral bleaching events due to marine heatwaves,[56] and coral bleaching is expected to become an annual event. [57] As global warming progresses, corals will not be able to keep up with rising ocean temperatures.
Coral bleaching events lead to increased susceptibility to disease, which has adverse ecological impacts on reef communities. [58] Reefs can grow by 1 to 3 centimeters (0.39 to 1.18 inches) per year and grow vertically between 1 and 25 cm (0.39 to 9.84 inches) per year; However, they only grow above a depth of 150 meters (490 feet) due to their need for sunlight and cannot grow above sea level. [24] When Queensland switched to tropical waters 24 million years ago, some corals grew,[23]:29 but with the erosion of the Great Dividing Range, a sedimentation regime developed rapidly; Formation of river deltas, seepage and turbidity, unsuitable conditions for coral growth. 10 million years ago, sea levels dropped significantly, allowing sedimentation to continue. The reef substrate may have had to accumulate from the sediment until its edge was too far away for suspended sediments to inhibit coral growth. In addition, about 400,000 years ago, there was a particularly warm interglacial period with higher sea levels and a change in water temperature of 4°C (7°F). [23]:37 UNESCO has made absolutely the right decision. The reef is in danger. It is time for the Australian government to take ambitious climate action on the reef.
Discover for yourself each of Australia`s unique and diverse reef systems. 215 species of birds (including 22 species of seabirds and 32 species of shorebirds) visit the reef or nesting or resting place on the islands,[23]:450–451 including the white-bellied sea eagle and the Roseate Tern. [37] Most nesting sites are located on islands in the northern and southern regions of the Great Barrier Reef, with 1.4 to 1.7 million birds using the sites for breeding. [47] [48] The islands of the Great Barrier Reef are also home to 2,195 known plant species; Three of them are endemic.