Australia pledges RM1.5b to restore Great Barrier Reef

SYDNEY: Australia pledged half a billion dollars to restore and protect the Great Barrier Reef yesterday in what it said would be a gamechanger for the embattled natural wonder, but conservationists were not convinced.

The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.

It is also under threat from the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, which has proliferated due to pollution and agricultural run-off.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said more than A$500 million (RM1.48 billion) would go towards improving water quality, tackling predators and expanding restoration efforts.

Turnbull said it was the “largest ever single investment — to protect the reef, secure its viability and the 64,000 jobs that rely on the reef ”.

“We want to ensure the reef’s future for the benefit of Australians, particularly those whose livelihood depends on the reef,” he added. The reef is a critical national asset, contributing A$6.4 billion a year to the Australian economy.

Canberra has previously committed more than A$2.0 billion to protect the site over the next decade, but has been criticised for backing a huge coal project by Indian mining giant Adani nearby.

With its heavy use of coal-fired power and relatively small population, Australia is considered one of the world’s worst per-capita greenhouse gas polluters.

Canberra insists it is taking strong action to address the global threat of climate change, having set an ambitious target to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

REUTERS PIC A senior ranger taking photographs during an inspection of the reef ’s condition in an area called the Coral Gardens located at Lady Elliot Island and 80km northeast from the town of Bundaberg in Queensland in 2015.