Great Barrier Reef in trouble

2004-02-23 08:37

Sydney - Australia will not sign the Kyoto pact on global warming, despite a new report that warns rising ocean temperatures will kill most of the coral on the Great Barrier Reef by 2050, an official said on Sunday.

In the report, Queensland University's Centre for Marine Studies said the Pacific Ocean is getting too warm too fast for the world's largest chain of living coral to survive.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature and Queensland state's main tourism body commissioned the report, which was partly funded by the government.

The reef, which stretches almost 2 000km along the Queensland coast in northeastern Australia, is one of the country's biggest tourist attractions. Tourists who visit it each year pump billions of dollars into the state's economy.

"Coral cover will decrease to less than 5% on most reefs by the middle of the century, under even the most favourable assumptions," said the study, excerpts of which were published in the weekend edition of The Sydney Morning Herald.

"There is little to no evidence that corals can adapt fast enough to match even the lower projected temperature rise," it said.

Studies have found that a rise in water temperature of less than one degree Celsius correlates directly with coral deaths and bleaching - when coral loses its vibrant colours. Analysts have predicted that water temperature will rise between two and six degrees C this century.

The conservative government of Prime Minister John Howard has made attempts to limit damage to the reef.

Last year it increased the size of high-protection zones on the reef from 4.5% to 33.3% of its total area, or from 16 000km² to 114 000km². In these areas, fishing is banned and tourism is the only industry allowed.

Authorities say fishing and the runoff of sediments after heavy rains also hurt the reef and make it more susceptible to bleaching.

A spokesperson for the Environment Ministry said on Sunday that the report was "a good contribution to debate about the reef from a constructive organisation."

However, speaking on condition of anonymity, he said it did not change the government's view that it should not sign the Kyoto pact because it is not a global treaty. The United States and Russia have not yet ratified the treaty.

- AP