Australia’s leading research organisations will collaborate to build resilience and repair the Great Barrier Reef, following the country’s Federal Government announcement of $60 million for measures aimed at protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
Like many coral reefs globally, the Great Barrier Reef is under increasing pressure from a range of threats, especially climate change. The Great Barrier Reef has experienced significant losses of corals over the past few years, because back-to-back coral bleaching in the 2016 and 2017 . However many areas of the Great Barrier Reef resist, giving the opportunity for action to be restored.
The new measures for the Great Barrier Reef were unveiled at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), and include a $6 million concept feasibility phase led by AIMS with CSIRO and other partners, including the Great Barrier Marine Park Authority, Great Barrier Reef Foundation, James Cook University, The University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology to develop a new substantive Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program.
The funding recognizes the importance of the Great Barrier Reef and assesses the benefits, risks and costs of existing and new technologies to assist in the repair of the Reef.
The package also includes $10.4 million to reduce coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, $4.9 million to enhance the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park’s Joint Field Management program and $36.6 million to improve the water entering of the Reef.
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority Chairman Dr Russell Reichelt said: “This funding will enable us to protect live coral cover by expanding our crown-of-thorns starfish control program. Ramping up our on-water presence in the Marine Park to improve compliance with Reef-wide zoning and doing more in-park conservation work will protect Reef biodiversity.”
However, these measure need to be accompanied by greenhouse gas mitigation and conventional management, in order to ensure the protection and preservation of the reef.
“In adopting a broad-based partnership approach, there is now also an unparalleled opportunity for philanthropists, businesses and individuals from around the world to invest in the future of the Great Barrier Reef and support this ambition, particularly as we celebrate the International Year of the Reef in 2018,” Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Managing Director, Anna Marsden stated.