Queensland: Australia pledges to invest millions in Great Barrier Reef restoration
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Off the coast of Queensland, Australia, lays the world’s largest coral reef system, composed of nearly 3,000 individual reefs which are home to around 400 types of coral and 1500 species of fish: this is The Great Barrier Reef.
Hardy Reef, WhitsundaysBack in 2016, marine heat waves caused by continuous global warming resulted in coral bleaching in two-thirds of the reef, triggering widespread morality of corals. Much of this impact was spread across 500 miles of the northern reefs - originally the most pristine region in the ecosystem. Today the Australian Government has pledged more than 500 million Australian dollars ($379 million, approximately £275 million) to help preserve the Great Barrier Reef, in an attempt to better help and protect the site from the effects of climate change. The Australian government intends to partner with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation as part of an ambitious conversation project to improve and monitor the long-term condition of the reef. In what will be the largest single investment for reef conservation in the country’s history, Mr. Frydenberg (representing the Australian Liberal Party) stated from the city of Cairns: “We’ll be improving the monitoring of the Reef’s health and the measurement of its impacts. The more we understand about the reef, the better we can protect it.” But what exactly is the huge investment going to be spent on? Supposedly, the money will be used to improve water quality to consequently enhance underwater monitoring and invest in coral restoration. However, environmentalists have said the plan from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is nowhere near enough.
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