‘At its best’: Australia urges urgent action to safeguard Great Barrier Reef

Australia must rise to the occasion to protect the Great Barrier Reef from mounting environmental threats, Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt said on Tuesday, warning that failure to act would amount to “gross negligence.”

Speaking at an event hosted by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, Watt described the reef as the nation’s most valuable natural asset and stressed that its survival hinges on decisive and sustained intervention.

“The challenges may be immense. But the alternative is losing the reef — and that’s not an option,” he said.

Highlighting the reef’s economic and ecological significance, Watt cited recent research indicating that it contributed over 9 billion Australian dollars (around USD 6.5 billion) to the economy in 2023–24 and supports approximately 77,000 full-time jobs — making it one of the country’s largest employment drivers.

However, the reef faces escalating pressures from a range of threats. These include climate change-induced warming, extreme weather events, declining water quality, and invasive species such as the crown-of-thorns starfish, which has long been linked to coral loss. Certain fishing practices have also added to the strain on the fragile ecosystem.

“Faced with these challenges, humankind must be at its best,” Watt said, calling for collective global and national action.

Australia has outlined ongoing conservation efforts in a recent submission to UNESCO, detailing measures such as improving water quality, controlling starfish outbreaks, mitigating climate impacts and advancing sustainable fishing practices.

In a further step, Watt announced the launch of a five-yearly review of the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan, a strategic framework established in 2015 to guide conservation and investment efforts. The review will be conducted in partnership with the Queensland state government and is expected to shape the next phase of protection strategies.

As climate pressures intensify, the future of the Great Barrier Reef remains uncertain — making the stakes of conservation efforts higher than ever.

With IANS inputs