Great Barrier Reef Outlook Downgraded to ‘Very Poor’

Canberra: The health outlook for Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral system stretching 2,300 km, has been downgraded to “very poor”, according to the long-term projection report published on Friday.

“The challenge to restore reef resilience is big, but not insurmountable,” Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) said in its Outlook Report published every five years.

“Without additional local, national and global action on the greatest threats, the overall outlook for the Great Barrier Reef’s ecosystem will remain very poor, with continuing consequences for its heritage values also,” it added. The Great Barrier Reef has faced constant threats from mass bleaching, cyclones, crown-of-thorns (a species of starfish) and pollution from agricultural sediments, among other factors, Efe news reported. “The accumulation of impacts, through time and over an increasing area, is reducing its ability to recover from disturbances, with implications for reef-dependent communities and industries,” said GBRMPA chair Ian Poiner. The report, which downgraded the long-term health of the reef from “poor” to “very poor”, underlined the urgency of initiatives that stop and reverse the effects of climate change globally. (IANS)

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