Spain opposes declaration of Great Barrier Reef ‘in danger’

On Friday, during the virtual meeting, 21 members of the World Heritage Committee –Presiding over China this yearThey will have to go paragraph by paragraph to see if they want to keep the original text or approve the modifications. In general, they explain from UNESCO, that decisions are adopted by consensus, and in order for there to be a vote, a member of the committee has to request the support of another member. Australia, as the State Party, is required to answer questions from other members of the Committee to submit its version on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef.

If the initial script continues, it will be For the first time a property is listed due to damages caused by climate change. The last time this ecosystem was attempted was in 2015. Since then, the Great Barrier Reef, which is 2,300 kilometers long, has been affected by Three episodes of coral bleaching due to high water temperature حرارة: in 2016, 2017, and 2020.

These events have transformed the Great Barrier Reef from being a “great concern” to “reconsidering”Worst rated for preservation. This concluded with a report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in December. Moreover, research indicates that this whitening Unprecedented in terms of “intensity, frequency, and impact” They have caused coral losses in two-thirds of the Great Barrier Reef.

The thesis on the state of the Great Barrier Reef is shared by the entire scientific community, which urges action before it is too late. Which is that its coral reefs have shrunk by more than half in the past 25 years, according to a study published in the journal Science. Proceedings of the Royal Society. The research warns, once again, that this rich and unique ecosystem You’re in danger of not being recognized if you don’t dramatically reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science (Aims) has also been designated. In his annual report, he pointed out that Chances of recovery are increasingly ‘rare’ due to the impact climate change On the Barrier Reef despite improvements in the last year. Also, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has downgraded the health of this ecosystem from “poor” to “very weak”.

Coral reefs, located off the coast of Queensland, in the north-east of the country, entered the World Heritage List in 1981. In this unique place that covers an area of ​​more than 348,000 square kilometres.²And the More than 600 species of coral reefs and more than 1,600 species of fish live.