The Australian government has announced a $1 billion plan to protect the world’s largest coral reef – the Great Barrier Reef. This is the largest ever investment to protect the reef, announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison recently in the Queensland city of Cairns. This plan will focus on the development of such technologies and water management systems, which are necessary for the protection of the reef.
Most of the investment in the new scheme will be towards reducing water pollution and improving water management. Many organizations working for environmental and reef protection in Australia and globally have welcomed the federal government’s plan. World Wildlife Fund – Australia’s ocean chief Richard Lake said, the availability of funds for the reef will remain almost at current levels.
The government has missed its goal in reducing water pollution to protect the reef. Therefore, it is imperative that this investment be implemented in a manner that improves water quality. Along with this, there is also a need for more strict laws against water pollution and strictness in their compliance. The Australian Institute for Ocean Conservation has welcomed the announcement from the Marison government. According to Jamie Webster, the organization’s water quality expert, increasing investment in tackling water pollution is essential to enable the reef to fight climate change.
With the crisis the reef is currently facing, and the slow progress made in reducing water pollution, it is imperative that investments in water management be harnessed rapidly over the next three years. On the other hand, many experts consider the scheme insufficient and are not happy with the announcement of the government. Jodi Rumer, associate professor at James Cook University in Queensland, says the announcement doesn’t seem significant without mentioning weather changes. We must spend our resources and money towards achieving the goal of net zero by 2035 and reducing our emissions by 75 per cent in this decade. According to him, an increase of 1-1.2 degrees in global warming caused 3 million heat waves in five years and 98 percent of the world’s reef erosion.
In fact, there has been constant criticism of Australia’s government’s stand on environmental change. Not only local politicians and activists, but also international environmentalists have been saying that Australia is not doing as much as it should in fighting global warming. According to the country’s Meteorological Department, since the data was collected in the year 1910, Australia’s temperature has increased by 1.44 (+- 0.24) degrees and the incidence of extreme heat has increased continuously in the country.
The department says that since 1970, there has been a 16 percent decrease in the rainfall between April and October in the southwestern part of the country, while the May-July rainfall has decreased by 20 percent. There has also been an increase in the number of fires, extreme heat events and the length of the fire-prone season in Australia since 1950. The number of cyclonic storms has decreased since 1982, but data since 1910 shows that ocean temperatures around the country have increased by one degree and their acidification has increased, leading to an increase in ocean heatwaves.