Climate change is the new eugenics, or so says Sarah Palin.
The debate over the fact or fiction of climate change is no longer relevant. Our mission now is to come to grips with the effects and try to stop them if we can. That’s a problem everyone is dealing with, and the largest reef in the world is no exception.
The Great Barrier Reef is 1,553 miles in length stretching along the coast of Queensland, Australia. It’s made up of 3,000 unique reef systems, islands and sandbars. There are 1,500 species of fish, 400 species of coral, 4,000 mollusc species and hundreds of species of birds that call the Great Barrier Reef home.
It’s one of the seven natural wonders of the world, but its close to being listed as endangered by the Unesco World Heritage site.
Photo credit: James Cook University
That’s why Australia’s government drafted theĀ Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.
But the Academy of Science says the plan to protect the reef won’t help. ItĀ fails to address the effects of climate change and coastal development on the reef’s health.
Academy Fellow Professor Terry Hughes says bolder actions need to be taken. “The science is clear, the reef is degraded and its condition is worsening. This is a plan that won’t restore the reef, it won’t even maintain it in its already diminished state. It is also more than disappointing to see that the biggest threat to the reef – climate change – is virtually ignored in this plan.”
The draft plan will be submitted to the World Heritage Center in January 2015 to be considered by the World Heritage Committee, which has already threatened to place the Great Barrier Reef on the endangered list.
Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt says the draft plan was based on the best available science.
“We have a clear plan and a strong commitment to ensure the reef is healthy and resilient – and we are making strong progress. Water quality in the World Heritage area is improving as a result of a partnership between farmers and governments to stop fertilizers, chemicals and sediments running off farming land and into the rivers and creeks along the Queensland coast.”