Australia tackles Great Barrier Reef water quality
SYDNEY—Australia on Friday launched a multimillion dollar effort to stop pesticide runoff and other water quality issues on the Great Barrier Reef, the latest effort to save the ailing natural wonder.
Environment minister Tanya Plibersek unveiled a $130-million bid to reduce nutrient and pesticide runoff, improve invasive species management, and support better land management across some of the most vulnerable spots along the reef.
Often dubbed the world’s largest living structure, the Great Barrier Reef is a 2,300-kilometer (1,400-mile) long expanse, home to a stunning array of biodiversity that includes more than 600 types of coral and 1,625 fish species.
But repeated mass bleaching events—when extreme heat saps the coral of nutrients and color—threaten the reef’s fragile ecosystem. Mass bleaching events along the reef occurred in 1998, 2002, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2022 and now 2024.
Such is the damage to the reef that the UN’s cultural organization Unesco has weighed labeling the world heritage site “at risk,” a move that could put millions of tourist dollars at risk.
