Regardless of whether global emissions stabilize, the Great Barrier Reef is projected to experience effects from climate change that could become permanent by the middle of the century. In a paper released today, the Australian Academy of Science came to that conclusion.
The Great Barrier Reef (GBR)’s potential futures under several emission scenarios are examined in the report. Additionally, it pinpoints methods that are supported by data as well as potential hotspots for managing the reef ecosystem in the face of unremitting climate change.
In order to safeguard locations with a high cultural value to Traditional Owners, it is difficult to prioritize where to intervene because the flow-on consequences of climatic impacts to cultures and customs are fast changing and mostly unknown.
The report says this could be improved by ensuring transdisciplinary knowledge is integrated into prioritization processes.
In order to convene three roundtable discussions to evaluate the likely outcomes for the Great Barrier Reef in three climate scenarios near term, as well as both low-emissions and high-emission trajectories in the medium term the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water engaged the Academy as an independent scientific adviser.
A total of 84 multidisciplinary experts joined the roundtable discussions: the first on climate impacts on functions of the GBR, the second on interventions and the third on the future of the GBR.
It reminds us that sticking to that path we are currently on, simply because we started on it, will not offer the best solution for the Great Barrier Reef. It highlights that in the medium-term, there are opportunities to slow the decline in the health of the reef, however this requires Australia to take further action now.
Professor Chennupati Jagadish
The report has been delivered to the Reef 2050 Plan Independent Expert Panel. In their advise to the government regarding the current and probable health and resilience of the GBR in the face of climate impacts and potential reef initiatives, they took it into consideration.
President of the Australian Academy of Science, Professor Chennupati Jagadish, said the report makes clear that climate change is the primary threat to this global icon and its connected systems.
“It reminds us that sticking to that path we are currently on, simply because we started on it, will not offer the best solution for the Great Barrier Reef,” Professor Jagadish said. “It highlights that in the medium-term, there are opportunities to slow the decline in the health of the reef, however this requires Australia to take further action now.”
The report also identifies other opportunities including:
- In order to develop a management environment that is suitable for its intended use and flexible enough to respond to a changing environment, a thorough assessment of GBR management may present chances to streamline operations that are now dispersed. The paper emphasizes the fact that the management system was set up before it was known how climate change would affect the GBR.
- A consortium of pertinent research groups might be established to decide on sector-wide data standards and sharing protocols. These agreements would provide a better integration of ongoing and upcoming research initiatives.
- Identifying knowledge gaps in the high emissions scenario If these gaps were identified, including a greater understanding of how various ecological processes would be damaged, communities could be better prepared for the predicted changes to lives and livelihoods.
- Standardizing and centralizing socio-ecological data could aid GBR management. Understanding the divergent viewpoints held by various groups regarding the values, areas, or functions that require the most preservation or protection will be particularly crucial. If we are unable to conserve everything, then what we can must be made clear and understood by everyone.
- creating appropriate rules and legislation that can be fully executed without political involvement. Doing so will secure a more evidence-informed system for the benefit of the GBR.
- Traditional knowledge might offer a framework for directing a GBR that is evolving and adapting. Indigenous peoples have made adjustments to a changing GBR, but the pace of change currently underway and to come is unprecedented. Indigenous participants proposed that a collaborative strategy based on traditional knowledge may be used to address the deterioration of GBR values in a deeper and more integrated manner.
The Australian and Queensland governments to build a taskforce to operationalize the Reef 2050 Traditional Owner Implementation Plan’s actions in a collaborative co-design approach support the Reef Traditional Owners.
The report concludes:
Given that the GBR will continue to change as the environment becomes more difficult for its ecosystems and species, there is a need for honest, open, and transparent communication with the public in order to prepare Australians for what is to come.
For the GBR to be protected as much as feasible, effective management measures must be supported by clear communication.
