Coral scientists urge Australia to conserve reefs, curb CO2 emissions

As the largest international gathering of coral reefexperts comes to a close, scientists have sent a letter toAustralian officials calling for action to save the world's reefs,which are being rapidly damaged.

The letter was sent Saturday to Australian Prime Minister MalcolmTurnbull imploring his government to do more to conserve thenation's reefs and curb fossil fuel consumption.

• FAQs: Worldwide bleaching of coral reefs worries scientists

The letter, signed by past and present presidents of theInternational Society for Reef Studies on behalf of the 2,000
attendees of the International Coral Reef Symposium that was held inHonolulu this week, urged the Australian government to prioritizeits Great Barrier Reef.

"This year has seen the worst mass bleaching in history,threatening many coral reefs around the world including the whole ofthe northern Great Barrier Reef, the biggest and best-known of allreefs," the letter said. "The damage to this Australian icon hasalready been devastating. In addition to damage from greenhousegasses, port dredging and shipping of fossil fuels across the GreatBarrier Reef contravene Australia's responsibilities for stewardship
of the Reef under the World Heritage Convention."

• Massbleaching in Great Barrier Reef kills huge swaths of coral
• The Great Barrier Reef: 5 fascinating things about it

Leaders from the scientific community at the convention inHonolulu said Friday that the unprecedented letter was critical tothe conservation of the fragile reef habitat.

Rare political activism by scientists

Scientists are not known for their political activism, said JamesCook University professor Terry Hughes, but they felt this crisiswarranted such action.

"We are not ready to write the obituary for coral reefs," saidHughes, who is also the president of the ARC Centre of Excellencefor Coral Reef Studies in Australia.

Messages seeking comment from the Australian prime ministerSaturday were not returned.

A call to action from three Pacific island nations whose reefsare in the crosshairs of the largest and longest-lasting coralbleaching event in recorded history was presented Friday at theconclusion of the International Coral Reef Symposium.

The heads of state from Palau, Micronesia and the MarshallIslands attended the conference and provided a plan to help savetheir ailing coral reefs, which are major contributors to theirlocal economies and the daily sustenance of their people. The callto action, signed by the three presidents, asked for bettercollaboration between the scientific community and localgovernments, saying there needs to be more funding and astrengthened commitment to protecting the reefs.

"If our coral reefs are further degraded, then ourreef-dependent communities will suffer and be displaced," theletter said. They also called for more integration of "traditionalknowledge, customary practices and scientific research" in buildinga comprehensive coral reef policy.

In response to the letter, the scientific community at theconference said: "We pledge to take up the 13th ICRS Leaders' Callto Action, and will work together with national leaders of theFederated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, the Republicof the Marshall Islands, and the world to curb the continued loss ofcoral reefs."

Bleaching is a process where corals, stressed by hot ocean watersand other environmental changes, lose their colour as the symbioticalgae that lives within them is released. Severe or concurrent yearsof bleaching can kill coral reefs, as has been documented over thepast two years in oceans around the world. Scientists expect a thirdyear of bleaching to last through the end of 2016.

'Absolute catastrophe'

In the northern third of the Great Barrier Reef, close to half ofthe corals have died in the past three months, said Hughes, whofocuses his research there. The area of the reef that suffered mostis extremely remote, he said, with no pollution, very little fishingpressure and no coastal development.

"That's an absolute catastrophe," Hughes said. "There'snowhere to hide from climate change."

Last year, the United Nations expressed concern about the stateof the Great Barrier Reef and urged Australia to boost itsconservation efforts.

Following the release of a bleaching report in May, Australianpoliticians who are in the midst of an election campaign jumpedon the issue, with the opposition Labor Party pledging to create a$500 million Australian fund for better management and research of the reef.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt, meanwhile, announced that if hisparty is re-elected, the government would invest $6 million tohelping combat the crown-of-thorns starfish, which feast on coral.

The panel of scientists in Hawaii emphasized the progress theyhave made over the past 30 years in helping improve the health ofcoral reefs and stressed that good research and management programsfor coral reefs are available. The scientists said they just needthe proper funding and political will to enact them.

The researchers focused on the economic and social benefits coralreefs contribute to communities across the globe, saying thecritical habitats generate trillions of dollars annually butconservation efforts are not proportionately or adequately funded.

• Corals diewhenoverfishing, pollution and climate change combine
• Coral reef at Amazon River's mouth surprises scientists