GREAT BARRlER REEF - Saint Ignatius' Moodle Community

The future of the Great Barrier Reef looks grim because the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park Authority cannot directly protect the Reef from the worldwide threat
of climate change. However, addressing local threats gives the Reef a better
chance of resisting the effects of climate change.
Climate change
In the Great Barrier Reef area, climate change
is causing increased coral ble ching, sea
temperature, sea level and acidification. The
Reef’s future largely depends on how well
and how quickly the world adopts renewable
energy sources to decrease greenhouse gases.
Without swift global action, the Reef’s structure
and ecosystem will ultimately collapse.
The Great Barrier Reef Climate Change
Action Plan 2007–2012
This Action Plan aims to build the Reef’s
health and limit the impact of climate change.
Part of the funding from a ‘Caring for our
Country’ program, which has received $200
million dollars over five years, is going towards
putting the Action Plan into practice.
Pollution
Management actions are tackling the problem of pollution
entering the Reef. Recent improvements to nearby farming
practices have reduced pollution levels in catchment runoff.
Revisions to planning and development rules by the
Queensland Government address pollution coming from
coastal towns and cities. Maritime laws deal with pollution
coming from shipping. However, critics argue for stricter
laws, better enforcement and tougher fines.
I have seen the sediment
plume from the Fitzroy River
after the big ’90–’91 flood, that
was the one that killed all the
Reef out here at Keppel Island.
It was enormous.
Lionel Bevis, resident of Keppel
Island, 2007
… much of what will happen
to the Great Barrier Reef in
the future will be determined
by factors external to it and
Australia.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority, Outlook Report, 2009
Coastal
development
By 2026, the number of
people living beside the Great
Barrier Reef is predicted to
be almost 40 per cent higher.
Ongoing careful planning and
management will be needed
to minimise the impact of
pollution and habitat loss
from coastal development
on the Reef’s ecosystem.
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Without swift, effective
global action against
climate change, coral
bleaching in the Great
Barrier Reef will become
more frequent and more
severe.
Coastal development
can destroy nearby
habitats and pollute
the Great Barrier
Reef ecosystem.
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Macmillan Digital Library: What’s the Issue? Set 2 © Michelle Atkins, Julie Murphy, Greg Reid, Geoff Thompson, Ashten Warfe/Macmillan Publishers Australia 2011 ISBN 978 1 4202 9209 1 Macmillan Digital Library: What’s the Issue? Set 2 © Michelle Atkins, Julie Murphy, Greg Reid, Geoff Thompson, Ashten Warfe/Macmillan Publishers Australia 2011 ISBN 978 1 4202 9209 1