The Role Of Climate Change In Australia

Illustrating the actual and potential impacts of climate change this paper seeks to dramatize the impacts climate change could have on Australia’s national security if action to cut carbon emissions is not taken.

Tourism in Australia has evolved over the years and continues to increase to this day, however it is the effects that tourists have the ability to place on the Southern Great Barrier Reef which are potentially threatening for, not only the reef of lady Elliot Island, however, the corals surrounding it. “International visitations within Australia alone reached 3.9 million visitors within the first 7 months of 2014, which was an increase of approximately 9.5%, a number which continues to rise” (Tourism Australia, 2015). However, with this increasing number, comes possible damaging effects to the surrounding reefs of Lady Elliot Island, possibly leading to the excessive damage of corals due to activities and infrastructure requirements

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

Consisting of less than 1% of the world oceans, the coral reefs are ancient animals comprising of thin calcium carbonate deposits within the photic layer. Aside from its biologically diverse ecosystems, coral reefs are major source of food for millions and provides habitats and nursery areas for many marine organisms. Coral reefs also act as a physical buffer to protect the coastlines from tropical storms and erosion. In addition, many local communities rely on coral reefs to generate an income through activities such as fishing and diving. However, 75% of the coral reefs are under threat from induced impacts of humans and climate change (Burke, et al., 2011). This essay looks at the human impacts constantly being inflicted on coral reefs.

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:

These methods minimise the risk of breaking corals and are safer than manual removal that prevents the risk of spiking and breaking. Since 2011, more than 80 reefs have been monitored and over 300 000 of the Crown of Thorns predators have been culled (Environment.gov.au, n.d.). Previously divers had to remove the starfish from its location and inject it over 20 times to get the same effect. It is estimated the new method has led to a two and a half fold increase in injection efficiency. The results have been outstanding; such as 27 000 starfish removed in just eight days at Arlington Reef and 9000 at Batt Reef, as well as 14 000 at Spitfire Reef near Cooktown. This remarkable success of the crown-of-thorns starfish control programme is a key element of the overall strategic approach by the Australian Government to protect the World Heritage listed Great Barrier

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.

The Great Barrier Reef has and will continue to face countless threats in its lifetime. The reef has survived through millions of disastrous events through the years. The Crown of Thorns Starfish (COTS) is a major threat to the coral reefs which helps destroy the Great Barrier Reef. This threat may be no bigger than a dinner plate, but it is one of the biggest threats to the Great Barrier Reef. Kate Osborne and researchers discovered that Crown of Thorns Starfish were responsible for 36.7% of coral damage, 33.8% caused by storms, 6.5% by disease, 5.6% created by bleaching and 17.4% unknown or multiple causes of the damage to the Great Barrier Reef, as shown in Appendix 1 (The Conversation. 2012).

Climate change induced coastal hazards in Australia: vulnerabilities, adaptation strategies in development planning and adaptation cost in South Australia

Coral reef ecosystems around the globe are threatened by human interferences and climate change. This has led to many scientists conducting studies on global coral reef ecosystems to gain a better understanding of the cause and effects of coral reef damage. In both Hodgson’s (1999) and Carpenter et al.’s (2008) studies, they are aware of the continuous degradation of global coral reef ecosystems. Hodgson's study involved conducting a survey on global coral reef ecosystems to see whether human actions were affecting the health of supposed pristine Coral reefs. Carpenter et al. incorporated Hodgson’s study into a compiled study about the possible extinction of reef building corals due to climate change and anthropogenic effects. Carpenter’s

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.

According to several Australian government agencies, 22% of the Great Barrier Reef is now dead. Roughly the size of Japan, the reef is home to thousands of different species of marine wildlife; making it one of the most diverse and complex ecosystems in the world. Sadly, these creatures’ livelihood are in danger as their home slowly dies. Even worse, this is not an isolated incident as coral reefs around the world are succumbing to the same fate. This raises the question: why are coral reefs dying worldwide? The causes include increased CO2 emissions, global climate change, agricultural runoff, overfishing, and improper tourist activities.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the world’s seven natural wonders and is the largest reef system and the biggest living structure on the planet. It covers an impressive area of 344, 400 square kilometers and is so large that it can be seen from space. It includes the world’s largest collection of corals with more than 400 different kinds of corals, coral sponges, mollusks, rays, dolphins, over 1500 species of tropical fish, more than 200 types of birds, around 20 types of reptiles including sea turtles and giant clams over 120 years old. The Great Barrier Reef is composed of 3,000 individual reef systems, 600 tropical islands and about 300 coral cays. In the past three decades, it has lost half its coral cover, pollution has caused deadly

Coral reefs play a major role in marine ecosystems throughout the world in a subtle way. They are a for all intents and purposes a rich source of food for many different organisms. They house and protect several different species and they mostly protect our coastlines. However, coral reefs face various concerns because of climate changes, and so it has been seen that coral blanching frequently causes the termination of reefs. In conjunction with environmental change, there are different elements that corals reefs confront regularly. Generally, few coral reefs suffer through infection, intrusive species and even an over development of algae. Different corals definitely close Florida, have demonstrated a real decrease in coral development

The human impact of tourism on reefs, while having its economic and social benefits, also has detrimental impacts on the surrounding environment of the reefs, globally. A study, conducted by the ARC Centre of Excellence: Coral Reef Studies has stated that more than half of Latin America’s coral reefs are potentially going to be tainted and disintegrated within the next 5-10 years and that 70% of the world’s coral reefs are likely to vanish by 2030, as a result of tourism related activities (ARC Centre of Excellence, 2011). An example of this coral loss can be seen below, in Image 1.1, which demonstrates the estimated coral loss along the North-East coast of Queensland, in the next 15 years.