Australia is creating a new multi-million dollar project to save the Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef system, according to an Agence France-Presse article published in Phys.org.
The main goal of the initiative is to stop pesticide runoff and other issues that are threatening the reef's water quality. Environment minister Tanya Plibersek presented the $130 million bid, which not only aims to reduce nutrient and pesticide runoff, but also hopes to improve invasive species management and promote land management across the reef's most vulnerable areas.
Known as the "largest living structure," the Great Barrier Reef is a biodiverse hotspot — home to 1,625 fish species and over 600 different types of coral, per Phys.org. However, rising global temperatures and sediment runoff have been threatening the survival of this natural wonder of the world.
Extreme heat has caused significant portions of the coral reef system to lose their color and nutrients, a phenomenon known as mass bleaching. When mass bleachings occur and the coral dies, the entire ecosystem is at risk.
On top of rising global temperatures, sediment run-off also poses a major problem for the Great Barrier Reef. Poor water quality prevents the coral from regrowing, kills seagrass, and blocks the sunlight needed for a healthy reef, according to Plibersek.
"Sediment run-off is one of the biggest threats to the Great Barrier Reef," Plibersek said, per Phys.org. She emphasized that the latest funding is to "make sure the beauty and majesty of the Reef can be enjoyed for our kids and grandkids."
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Saving the Great Barrier Reef has both major environmental and economic impacts.
First, protecting the Great Barrier Reefs preserves unique marine species found nowhere else on Earth. From an economic standpoint, the tourism that the reef system attracts contributes to more than $6.4 billion annually to Australia's economy and supports about 64,000 jobs, per the Australian Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
"Water pollution is one of the biggest threats to the reef outside of climate change," Australian Marine Conservation Society marine ecologist Lissa Schindler told AFP, per Phys.org. "The reef needs every bit of help it can get."
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