. 24/7 Space News .
WATER WORLD
Barrier Reef report card paints bleak picture
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Oct 20, 2016


Australia Thursday admitted more needs to be done to protect the Great Barrier Reef from pollution after a government-backed report painted a bleak picture of the natural wonder.

The giant ecosystem is under pressure from farming run-off, development, the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish and the impacts of climate change, which saw mass a bleaching event this year that killed swathes of coral.

Canberra insists it is doing more than ever before to protect the reef, but its annual report into water quality, seagrass and coral gave it a "D" -- which represents "poor" -- for the fifth year in a row.

The reef receives run-off from 35 major catchments in an area larger than Japan, with sediment in the water reducing the light available to seagrass ecosystems and coral reefs, affecting coral settlement, growth and reproduction.

This ultimately hinders the reef's ability to recover from the impacts of climate change such as bleaching and more intense extreme weather events.

Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg admitted more work needed to be done, but said progress was being made under the government's Reef 2050 Plan to improve its health.

"This report card shows some real positives, but also some areas where we need to focus more effort," he said of the study for the year to June 2015.

"Almost half the horticulture and grains land across the Great Barrier Reef catchments is already managed using best management practice systems, with more work needed in sugarcane and grazing management."

Conservation group WWF said scoring "D" five years in a row was not good enough and more money was needed, with Australia due to report to UNESCO by December 1 on the progress being made to rescue the reef.

Australia last year narrowly avoided the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation putting the reef on its endangered list.

"The scary thing is this latest fail was for the period before the mass bleaching event killed an estimated 22 percent of the reef's coral," said WWF Australia spokesman Sean Hoobin.

"The continuing poor scores are further evidence that the current programmes and spending on reef pollution fall far short of what's required."

The reef experienced an unprecedented bleaching earlier this year that saw much of it whiten and almost a quarter of corals die.

The government has committed more than Aus$2.0 billion (US$1.53 billion) to protect the reef over the next decade.

Steven Miles, minister for the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland state where it is located, admitted greater efforts were needed to reduce pollutant run-off.

"We know that everyone, not just farmers, needs to play their part," he said.

"Moving forward, we will be working with councils, industry and communities to identify actions they can take to improve the quality of water flowing to the reef."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WATER WORLD
Study: Bait worms a surprisingly valuable marine resource
Washington (UPI) Oct 17, 2016
A new study quantifies the economics of the bait worm industry, as well as its environmental impact. Globally, the bait worm industry accounts for $6 billion worth of business activity each year. Surprisingly, the price of bait worms is greater than many premium seafood products. A pound of bait worms goes for roughly $82 in the U.S. - more than lobster. Each year, roughly 120,0 ... read more


WATER WORLD
Hunter's Supermoon to light up Saturday night sky

Small Impacts Are Reworking Lunar Soil Faster Than Scientists Thought

A facelift for the Moon every 81,000 years

Exploration Team Shoots for the Moon with Water-Propelled Satellite

WATER WORLD
Anxious wait for news of Mars lander's fate

Robot explorers headed for Mars quest: ESA

Ready for the Red Planet

ESA lander starts 3-day descent to Mars; Telemetry all good

WATER WORLD
Beaches, skiing and tai chi: Club Med, Chinese style

NASA begins tests to qualify Orion parachutes for mission with crew

New Zealand government open-minded on space collaboration

Growing Interest: Students Plant Seeds to Help NASA Farm in Space

WATER WORLD
China to launch manned spacecraft: Xinhua

Closing windows on Shenzhou 11

China to launch world's first X-ray pulsar navigation satellite

China may be only country with space station in 2024

WATER WORLD
Hurricane Nicole delays next US cargo mission to space

Automating sample testing thanks to space

Orbital CRS-5 launching hot and bright science to space

Roscosmos Sets New Date for Soyuz MS-02 Launch to Orbital Station

WATER WORLD
Ariane 5 ready for first Galileo payload

ILS Announces Two Missions under Its EUTELSAT Multi-Launch Agreement

More commercial spaceports going ahead

Orbital ATK and Stratolaunch partner to offer competitive launch opportunities

WATER WORLD
Proxima Centauri might be more sunlike than we thought

Stars with Three Planet-Forming Discs of Gas

TESS will provide exoplanet targets for years to come

The death of a planet nursery?

WATER WORLD
Pushing the boundaries of magnet design

Polymer breakthrough to improve things we use everyday

Efficiency plus versatility

Achieving ultra-low friction without oil additives









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.