The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the most extensive reef complex and the largest biologically built structure in the world, covering 133,000 square miles off the coast of Queensland. It is so vast that it can be seen from space. Above all, it is distinctive for its ecological diversity: 3,000 coral reef systems are home to a vast array of marine plants and wildlife. It is in danger, and needs urgent protection.
Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian prime minister, announced yesterday a rescue plan amounting to A$60 million (£34.6 million), including funds for research into how to save the reef. Both the federal and Queensland state governments are offering grants to scientists, but research alone will not be enough to save the reef.
It was born in the Miocene epoch, some 20 million years ago, but the risks have emerged in, by the standards of geological time, the blink of an eye. It is threatened by climate change; higher water temperatures kill the algae that live within the vividly coloured coral and cause it to become bleached and sterile. Sediment and agricultural pollutants in the water can prevent sunlight from reaching the algae. A very recent threat is a dramatic expansion in the population of starfish, which eat the coral quicker than it can regrow.
Some protection is being provided in the form of more reef patrol officers and vessels that can cull the starfish. But the damage is already far advanced. If the reef is to be rescued it will take decisive and co-ordinated action by Australia’s government, supported by all the ingenuity the global scientific community can muster. Engineers have suggested floating giant solar-powered pumps over the reef to draw up cooler waters from the depths to allow it to regrow. If that doesn’t work, alternatives have to be dreamt up and tried. The fate of a great wilderness hangs in the balance.