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Great Barrier Reef Gets $379 Million Boost After Coral Dies Off (bloomberg.com)
The Great Barrier Reef is being given a $379 million boost by Australia in the battle to save the world's largest living structure as it faces mounting challenges such as climate change, agricultural runoff and a coral-eating starfish. From a report: "Like reefs all over the world, the Great Barrier Reef is under pressure," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement on Sunday, calling the funding the largest granted to the famous tourist icon. "A big challenge demands a big investment -- and this investment gives our reef the best chance." [...] The new funding comes after Deloitte Access Economics valued the reef last year at A$56 billion, based on an asset supporting tens of thousands of jobs and which contributes A$6.4 billion a year to the economy. Still, that was before a study released this month in Nature showed about 30 percent of the reef, which is bigger than Japan, died off in 2016 during an extended marine heatwave.
"$379 million boost" doesn't mean anything by itself.
TFA actually lists projects that get funded.
Reality is, the reef goes through ups and downs. You can't control the whole reef like a theme park, there will always be dead zones and regenerating zones. It's way to big to control.
Yeah, life finds a way, species and ecosystems find ways to adapt to whatever we throw at them.
Just ask the Passenger pigeon.
I stole this Sig
Has nobody thought this through? What's a reef going to do with 379 million dollars?
Invest in SpongeBob SquarePants lunchboxes?
I stole this Sig
Well if you RTFA...
The funding includes:
A$201 million to improve water quality through reducing fertilizer use and adapting new technologies and land management practices
A$100 million for science research to restore the reef and boost its resilience
A$58 million to fight the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish
A$45 million for sea country management, coastal clean-up days and to raise awareness
A$40 million to enhance reef health monitoring
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Is fertilizers even the problem here?
Algae blooms block sunlight and when they die, sink, and rot, deeper layers are deprived of oxygen. Coral reefs are very sensitive to water quality.
What does land management have to do with the ocean?
A lot. Erosion and runoff carry silt, phosphates, and iron into the ocean.
Isn't this just feel-good stuff?
Getting local people involved and changing attitudes can make a big difference.
Also, no mention of global warming?
Get a grip. AGW is an enormous global problem that will take generations to fix. That is not something that Australia can do on their own, and certainly not with $379M.
The scientists who have most studied the Reef work for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, and these are what they list as primary threats to the reef. Warming is far from the only problem (and acidification is a fair ways down the list) - agricultural runoff has been a problem for years, and the stress from that is aggravating the stress from warming. The other threats are a much bigger issue for the southern third of the reef, where the water remains relatively cool.
Additionally, the science research includes efforts to identify and nurture coral species that are more resistant to warming waters and acidification. It may be too late to preserve the bulk of the Reef in its current form, but we may be able to lay the groundwork to speed any future recovery.
Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?