Great Barrier Reef recommended to be added to a list of “in danger” World Heritage Sites
Part of: GS Prelims and GS -III – Climate change
In news
Recently, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has recommended that the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of “in danger” World Heritage Sites.
It was recommended to add to the list because of the impact of climate change.
Despite Reef 2050, the coral reef ecosystem has suffered three major bleaching events since 2015 due to severe marine heatwaves.
The Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan is the Australian and Queensland Government’s framework for protecting and managing the Great Barrier Reef by 2050.
Australia, which is one of the world’s largest carbon emitters per capita, has remained reluctant to commit to stronger climate action and has pointed out jobs as a major reason to continue fossil fuel industries.
It has not updated its climate goals since 2015.
About Great Barrier Reef
It is the world’s most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
The reef is located in the Coral Sea (North-East Coast), off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
It can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
Polyps are tiny, soft-bodied organisms.
At their base is a hard, protective limestone skeleton called a calicle, which forms the structure of coral reefs.
These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues. The corals and algae have a mutualistic (symbiotic) relationship.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), India has included the studies on coral reefs under the Coastal Zone Studies (CZS).
The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with help from Gujarat’s forest department, is attempting a process to restore coral reefs using “biorock” or mineral accretion technology.
National Coastal Mission Programme, to protect and sustain coral reefs in India.
