Travel

The Great Barrier Reef in danger

On the largest coral reef in the world, in Australia, temperatures in a frightening dimension die off due to increased water corals. The competent authority imposed stage, therefore, the highest alarm.

In the Northern regions of the Great Barrier Reef, up to 50 percent of the corals were affected, as reported by the marine Park authority. A stage 3 alert will be called if a serious coral bleaching. “This means that we perform more studies to understand the different loads for the edge of the reef, and to give the Management decision-making AIDS,” said Russell Reichelt, head of the authority.

Divers have found at the North end of the Great Barrier Reef significant damage. “The corals have been for months in warm water. The generated heat stress, with the they are not longer ready,” said Reichelt. The warming of the sea water depends on, among other things, with the El Niño weather phenomenon. Shipping, fisheries, coastal Erosion, storms and the runoff of fertilizers and pesticides from intensive agriculture threaten also the reef. The Coral cover has shrunk by half since 1985.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral Ecosystem in the world. It consists of around 3000 individual reefs, 900 Islands and stretches over 2300 kilometres along the East coast of Australia. Here there are more than 600 coral and thousands of species of animals, such as sea serpents, whales, and dolphins. The reef is one of the largest tourist attractions of Australia. Since 1981, it is on the world heritage list of UNESCO.

ey/ak (dpa, afp)