Continuingdegradationthreatensreef’sWorldHeritageSitestatus
“We hope that the government will im-
prove the plan, and we’d like to help with
that,” Hughes says. A final plan must be
submitted to the World Heritage Commit-
tee by 1 February, after which an advisory
panel will review it and present a recom-
mendation at the committee’s annual meet-
ing in Bonn in June. At a 2 October press
conference, Environment Minister Greg
Hunt said he’s “optimistic” the committee
will maintain the reef’s current status. ■
atralia’s Great Barrier Reef is un-
der assault from fishers, agricultural
runoff, and coastal development,
and now climate change looms as
a threat. But it was the prospect of
humiliation—a threat by the World
Heritage Committee to list the reef as “in
danger”—that finally spurred the Australian
government to act. It has crafted what it
calls a comprehensive strategy to protect the
reef ’s “values” while allowing “sustainable
development and use.” Scientists who have
reviewed the draft plan are not impressed.
The plan “fails to effectively address” any of the pressures the reef is facing, according to a statement last week from the Austra- lian Academy of Science, which argued that “much bolder action is required” to prevent further degradation. Scientists hope the government will considerably strengthen the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan before submitting it to the World Heri- tage Committee early next year.
Australia created the 344,400-square- kilometer Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off the state of Queensland in 1975, along with a Marine Park Authority to protect it. Conservation efforts were bolstered in 1981, after the reef was designated a World Heri- tage Site in recognition of its “outstanding universal value.”
Yet conditions at the reef have deterio- rated. In a 2012 report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Glenn De’ath of the Australian Institute of Ma- rine Science in Townsville and colleagues reported that the reef’s coral cover shrunk
The plan “fails to effectively address” any of the pressures the reef is facing, according to a statement last week from the Austra- lian Academy of Science, which argued that “much bolder action is required” to prevent further degradation. Scientists hope the government will considerably strengthen the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan before submitting it to the World Heri- tage Committee early next year.
Australia created the 344,400-square- kilometer Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off the state of Queensland in 1975, along with a Marine Park Authority to protect it. Conservation efforts were bolstered in 1981, after the reef was designated a World Heri- tage Site in recognition of its “outstanding universal value.”
Yet conditions at the reef have deterio- rated. In a 2012 report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Glenn De’ath of the Australian Institute of Ma- rine Science in Townsville and colleagues reported that the reef’s coral cover shrunk
by half between 1985 and 2012. The cul-
prits, De’ath’s group found, were cyclones,
predation by crown-of-thorns starfish,
and bleaching—loss of the coral’s photo-
synthetic organisms when the water gets
too warm. “Without intervention,” the team
warned, “the GBR may lose the biodiversity
and ecological integrity for which it was
listed as a World Heritage Area.”
The Great Barrier Reef ’s decline has alarmed scientists around the world. “The fact that a very well managed reef system is still showing substantial deterioration should be cause for general concern, be- cause it reveals how pervasive our impacts are and how serious the consequences are for coral reefs,” says Peter Sale, a reef ecolo- gist and professor emeritus at the University of Windsor in Canada. It has also alarmed the World Heritage Committee, which warned last summer that in the absence of a long-term plan by early next year, it would consider listing the reef as “in danger.” That “would be such a public shame for Austra- lia,” says Selina Ward, a reef ecologist at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia.
The draft 2050 plan acknowledges that more work is needed to address threats to the reef and calls for targets on water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem health, and economic and community benefits. But the academy points out that “many important targets are not quantified, nor are they con- nected to any mechanisms through which they can be achieved.” The Australian Coral Reef Society adds that the plan anticipates port expansion and dredging and sets an objective of completing such work with “no detrimental impact on the health and resil-
The Great Barrier Reef ’s decline has alarmed scientists around the world. “The fact that a very well managed reef system is still showing substantial deterioration should be cause for general concern, be- cause it reveals how pervasive our impacts are and how serious the consequences are for coral reefs,” says Peter Sale, a reef ecolo- gist and professor emeritus at the University of Windsor in Canada. It has also alarmed the World Heritage Committee, which warned last summer that in the absence of a long-term plan by early next year, it would consider listing the reef as “in danger.” That “would be such a public shame for Austra- lia,” says Selina Ward, a reef ecologist at the University of Queensland, St. Lucia.
The draft 2050 plan acknowledges that more work is needed to address threats to the reef and calls for targets on water quality, biodiversity, ecosystem health, and economic and community benefits. But the academy points out that “many important targets are not quantified, nor are they con- nected to any mechanisms through which they can be achieved.” The Australian Coral Reef Society adds that the plan anticipates port expansion and dredging and sets an objective of completing such work with “no detrimental impact on the health and resil-
ience of the Great Barrier Reef.” However,
states the society, “There is no indication of
the method to achieve this ambitious objec-
tive.” Nor, states the Australian Museum,
does the plan address “the long term viabil-
ity of fisheries and endangered species.”
For a long-term conservation strategy, the plan pays little attention to climate change, says Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Cen- tre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Townsville. It notes that climate change will lead to more frequent bleaching and extreme weather events. But it doesn’t offer any so- lutions, Hughes says. Earlier this year, the Australian government repealed the nation’s carbon tax and is promoting the development of coal deposits for export from Queensland.
The Australian government says it is lis- tening to critics, but hasn’t tipped its hand on how it may revise the plan. “We appreci- ate community engagement in how we can better manage the reef,” wrote an environ- ment ministry representative in an e-mail to Science. He did note that “the plan ac- knowledges that climate change is a global problem which requires global action, and is being addressed by the government through other policies.”
For a long-term conservation strategy, the plan pays little attention to climate change, says Terry Hughes, director of the ARC Cen- tre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Townsville. It notes that climate change will lead to more frequent bleaching and extreme weather events. But it doesn’t offer any so- lutions, Hughes says. Earlier this year, the Australian government repealed the nation’s carbon tax and is promoting the development of coal deposits for export from Queensland.
The Australian government says it is lis- tening to critics, but hasn’t tipped its hand on how it may revise the plan. “We appreci- ate community engagement in how we can better manage the reef,” wrote an environ- ment ministry representative in an e-mail to Science. He did note that “the plan ac- knowledges that climate change is a global problem which requires global action, and is being addressed by the government through other policies.”
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