One environmental issues posted on the facebook group on Ecologically Conscious Social is climate change’s effect impacts on Great Barrier Reef where is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. Great Barrier Reef is located in Queensland, Australia.
Environmentalists raised concerns over emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) that poses significant threat to the world heritage site is carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions emit from burning of coal that produced from Adani mining company. The concerns were happened when minister of environment of federation, Mr. Greg Hunt approved on the coalmine investment to Indian mining company that worth 16.5 billion dollar. Queensland premier and Adani company claimed that the investment of coalmine would create 10,000 jobs for local residents and inject 22 billion dollar for the Queensland state’s economy.
Emissions of CO2 was estimated around 130 million tonnes per year. The amount of emissions is account for around 25 percent of the total emissions in Australia. Environmentalists suggested that emissions from burning of coal and coalmine processing are substantially contributes to increase green house gas in the atmosphere that results in global warning. Importantly, the effect of climate change will have a great significance on Great Barrier Reef.
There are two important factors contribute to the ignorance of the Great Barrier Reef ‘s impacts. First, Mr. Hunt’s approval was taken into account for only the amount of CO2 emissions during
The Great Barrier Reef is under threat due to many human impacts and natural impacts. These impacts lead to other consequences that may harm our society as well. For example, if the Great Barrier Reef was to be damaged by pollution, tourism levels would decrease, which can lead to a drop in the economic stance of Australia. For these reasons, it is important to keep our ecosystems safe and protected. Some of the human impacts towards the Great Barrier Reef include:
What do you think about when you hear the words Great Barrier Reef? Most people would imagine turquoise water, colourful and littered with endless fish, rays, sharks and turtles. Most people would imagine an everlasting wonder that has existed for tens of thousands of years, preserved by its sheer size and beauty. An icon indeed that is seen from Space. Being as reputable as it is, the Great Barrier Reef is surely not in any sort of danger right? Many believe that the reef is under no such danger however the scientific community old grave fears that Australia’s wonder of the world is in fact under threat, and is potentially facing its untimely ruin in our lifetimes.
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most beloved regions of the world but due to recent human activity in surrounding areas and subsequent sediment delivery, coral and seagrass habits within are being negatively impacted. Extending 2000km along the North-eastern Australian coast (Brodie et al., 2007), the Great Barrier Reef is a major source of income for Northern Australia and fuels the growth of local businesses. As industrialization in areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon have increased since European settlement (McCulloch et al., 2003), the need for more resources to compensate for human population has led to harmful land practices such as overstocking and deforestation for cattle grazing inland. These are causing a significant
The Great Barrier Reef does many favours to us on earth and all we are doing is destroying this.
In 2015 the World Heritage Committee met in Bonn, Germany and agreed not to place the Reef on the “in danger” list. They praised the establishment of the 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, and particularly the government’s reconsideration of their Abbot Port development plans. They did, however, have a number of conditions to this. The government must continue to send 5- yearly reports on the progress of the reef. If the progress is not deemed satisfactory, the status of the reef is up to
Hunt’s promises of ecological responsibility may have convinced some UNESCO ambassadors that declaring the reef endangered is unnecessary. However, Australian conservationists remain unconvinced, especially since the government has since approved more of the same kind of major projects that caused the damage to the reef.
Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions have historically been steadily increasing. However, in recent years this trend has stopped - the emissions rate has steadied. The Australian nation has been emitting in the range of 250,000 to 450,000 thousand metric tons greenhouse gases per year from 1990 to 2010.
The Great Barrier Reef always under constant threat due to pollution, human use, global warming, crown thorn starfish and more. The Australian Governments putting new systems in place to try and save the reef. They currently have the 2050 reef plan in action as a long-term sustainability strategy along with contributing millions of dollars to the Reef Trust.
Because the GBR is such a highly visited tourist attraction for snorkeling and diving, there has been a large number of human structures that have been built in natural areas. Every five years, the Australian government publishes an Outlook Report that examines the Great Barrier Reef’s health, pressures, and likely future. “The report is required under Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (section 54) and aims to provide a regular and reliable means of assessing reef health and management in an accountable and transparent way.” The report shows the actions that have been taken since 2009, including the focus on improving the quality of water that runs off the land. The increased freshwater run-off is in direct relation to the coastal development that has occurred since the major bleaching events have begun. The report released in 2009, states that the greatest risks to the Reef are still climate change, land-based runoff, coastal development, and some remaining impacts of fishing and illegal fishing and poaching. The report points out climate change as being the main cause of the destruction or bleaching of the reef (Department of Environment and Energy 2017). Most observers conclude that the climate change is a direct result of human
Industrialisation is seen as a major threat to the Great Barrier Reef because it would have an impact on water quality and causes the destruction of habitats. this seems ideal, however, he planned to proceed with the construction of the biggest coal port which would result in the dredging of 3 million cubic metres of seabed. (White, 2013) This showed that theoretically the sustainability plan would cover the major threats but in practice it is not as effective due to projects initiated by the government as they often have underlying motives.
Accordingly, environmental conservation groups estimated that the amount of CO2 emissions is around 130 million tonnes per year and this amount is accounted for about 25 percent of the total emissions of Australia. Furthermore, environmentalists suggested that emissions from burning of coal and coal mine processing are substantially contributing to the increase of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere that results in the global warming. Importantly, the effects of climate change will have a great significance of impacts on the Great Barrier Reef.
How will the building of the world’s largest Coal Export Terminal at Abbott point effect Australia and it’s world heritage listed Great Barrier Reef?
The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world. According to Lewis (2016), it covers more than 300,000 square kilometers and has more than 3,000 reefs, 600 islands, and 300 coral cays. (Immediate response on social media section, para. 4). Because of high sea temperatures, the algae on the coral become stressed and release from the coral, which causes coral bleaching. As the coral reef is normally bright with color, the bleaching has caused the coral to become dull and lifeless. The marine life use this coral for shelter and food. Without the live coral reefs, the fish are dying of illness, variety of species are disappearing, and economy businesses are not productive.
Many issues have contributed to the Great Barrier Reef’s decline. The majority of these issues are human caused. This makes the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef so much more disappointing. The Great Barrier Reef is basically dying off. The amount of coral dying is increasing at an alarming rate. An issue that has contributed the most is Global Warming (Board). A journal called Nature stated,
Coral reefs around the world are in danger. One of the causes is global warming, which has been increasing the temperature of the ocean water resulting in coral bleaching. This essay will focus on damage occurring to the Great Barrier Reef.