After undertaking a voyage to the largest coral reef system in the world, a team of scientists came to the conclusion that the Great Barrier Reef should be put to the list of global heritage sites that are “in danger.”
The scientists stated that the reef is under severe threat as a result of the climate catastrophe and that action to save it must be made “with utmost urgency” in a new UN-backed research published on Monday.
According to the assessment, the property “fits the requirements for inscription on the list of World Heritage in danger” because of “the mission team’s conclusion that the property is faced with serious challenges that could have detrimental impacts on its intrinsic qualities.”
After the World Heritage Committee had recommended that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef be listed as “in danger” owing to the escalating effects of human-caused climate change, the 10-day monitoring expedition by UNESCO experts took place in March, months after the initial recommendation.
When the Australian government reacted angrily to the agency’s request that it “urgently” confront the growing threats posed by the climate issue, the agency’s plea was ignored.
Despite the report’s six-month delay in publication, the much-awaited final mission report outlines important recommendations that the scientists believe should be followed immediately. Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the report’s release date was postponed from its original May date before UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee conference in Russia.
In order to conserve the reefs in the long run, the recommendations include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reevaluating proposed projects and credit schemes, and scaling up financial resources.
The Great Barrier Reef, which covers about 133,000 square miles and is home to more than 1,500 fish species and more than 400 species of hard corals, is a very important marine ecosystem on Earth.
According to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, it also supports 64,000 employment in fishing, tourism, and research and adds $4.8 billion to Australia’s annual GDP.
But the reef’s long-term future is now in doubt as the world continues to warm as a result of the rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Coral bleaching is a common occurrence due to the warming and acidification of the oceans brought on by the climate crisis. Scientists discovered this year that the amount of surviving coral has decreased by 50% worldwide since 1950 as a result of pollution, overfishing, and climate change.
The future is similarly bleak, with scientists projecting that between 70% and 90% of all coral species would vanish worldwide within the next 20 years. Since 2015, the Great Barrier Reef in particular has had numerous catastrophic mass bleaching events that have been brought on by the burning of fossil fuels including coal, oil, and gas.
Reef managers discovered that the Great Barrier Reef is experiencing its sixth mass bleaching episode as a result of heat stress brought on by climate change during the UNESCO monitoring missions.
Aerial surveys of about 750 reefs reveal widespread bleaching throughout the reef, with the worst bleaching being seen in the northern and central regions.
When coral that is under stress is cut off from its food source, bleaching results. With worsening conditions, corals may starve to death and turn white as their carbonate skeleton is revealed.
The Great Barrier Reef and other critical ecosystems on the planet are being pushed further toward tipping points where irreversible changes can occur, according to a troubling report from international scientists with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that was published weeks before the mission.
Researchers on the mission observed how the coral reef system has been significantly altered by the climate catastrophe as they assessed the dreadful condition of one of the world’s seven natural wonders.
After UNESCO produces a more detailed study that includes replies from the Australian federal and state governments, the World Heritage Committee will decide whether the reef should be officially classified as “in danger” the following year.