UN: Great Barrier Reef should be on heritage 'danger' list
A United Nations-backed mission is recommending that the Great Barrier Reef be added to the list of endangered World Heritage sites, sounding the alarm that without โambitious, rapid and sustainedโ climate action the worldโs largest coral reef is in peril.
Australia pledges $704 million to save Great Barrier Reef
The Australian government has pledged to spend another 1 billion Australian dollars ($704 million) over nine years on improving the health of the Great Barrier Reef after stalling a UNESCO decision on downgrading the natural wonderโs World Heritage status.
Report: Climate change damaging more World Heritage sites
A leading conservation agency is warning that climate change is damaging the U.N.' most cherished heritage sites. Sixteen World Heritage sites have deteriorated since the last World Heritage Outlook was released three years ago, while only eight improved, said the International Union for Conservation of Nature, made up of governments and civil society groups and advises UNESCO on natural threats to those sites. โNatural World Heritage sites are amongst the worldโs most precious places, and we owe it to future generations to protect them,โ IUCN Director-General Bruno Oberle said. It said while 63% of the heritage sites are classified as โgoodโ or โgood with some concerns,โ 30% are of โsignificant concernโ and 7% are in โcriticalโ shape. ___Read all of APโs stories about climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/Climate.
Giant pumice stone could help heal Australia's Great Barrier Reef
We could just see the edge where it went back to regular water -- shiny water -- at night," Michael added, saying they could see the rock from every direction. The pumice, which is filled with holes and cavities, floats like an iceberg does, with about 90% underwater and 10% above water, the pair explained. When the pumice makes its way to the Great Barrier Reef, the sea life attached will travel too, potentially bringing diverse new colonies of barnacles, corals and more. "This is a way for healthy, young corals to be rapidly introduced to the Great Barrier Reef," he said. In 2016 and 2017, marine heat waves caused by climate change resulted in mass bleaching, which killed about half of the corals on the Great Barrier Reef, along with many others around the world.