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Agence France-Presse

Mass coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef could cost the region more than 1 million tourists a year and up to A$1 billion (US$760 million) in lost revenue, a study warned on Wednesday.
Scientists said this week that coral bleached for two consecutive years at the World Heritage-listed site had “zero prospect” of recovery after researchers detected another round of mass bleaching due to warming sea temperatures.
In a new study, Australia’s independent Climate Council said that further damage to the 2,300km long reef could severely affect tourism prospects and cost around 10,000 jobs.
Scientists despair as Australia’s Great Barrier Reef reaches ‘terminal stage’ because of bleaching
“This isn’t just an environmental issue. The Great Barrier Reef is one of Australia’s greatest economic assets,” said the council’s Lesley Hughes.
“It’s responsible for bringing in more than A$7 billion each year to our economy, while also supporting the livelihoods of around 70,000 people.”

Even if parts of the reef hurt by bleaching bounce back, scientists say it could take up to a decade for even the fastest growing corals to recover.
“If coral bleaching persists, tourism areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef risk declines ... from 2.8 million visitors [2015 figures] to around 1.7 million per year,” the study said, citing analysis by the Australia Institute think-tank.
Second year of mass coral bleaching means Great Barrier Reef may not recover
“This is the equivalent of more than A$1 billion in tourism expenditure, which supports around 10,000 tourism jobs in regional Queensland.”
The reef is experiencing its fourth mass bleaching – where stressed corals expel the algae that live in their tissue and provide them with food – after previous events in 1998, 2002 and 2016.
It is also under pressure from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish.

And last month the site was hammered by Cyclone Debbie, mostly affecting southern areas around the Whitsunday islands which largely escaped the bleaching.
In another setback, scientist Andrew Brooks of Griffith University on Wednesday said aerial assessments showed flood plumes from two rivers swelled by the cyclone were now pushing sediment and nitrogen pollution into reef waters.
Devastating coral death seen in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef: Scientific Survey
“We know sediment can harm coral and sea grass by restricting light,” he said.
“Now we’re learning that sediment from this area also carries large loads of harmful nitrogen because it sticks to the sediment sourced from these same soils.”
WWF-Australia’s Sean Hoobin said: “We need greater investment in catchment repair so that the next cyclone or flood does less harm to the reef.”


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Climate change

Mass coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef could cost region A$1 billion

epa05900630 An undated handout photo made available by the Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies on 10 April 2017 shows the bleaching damage on the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. Recent aerial surveys by the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies has revealed only the southern third of the Great Barrier Reef has escaped unscathed from coral bleaching. Back-to-back bleaching has killed huge tracts of the reef, the Council said. EPA/BETTE WILLIS/ARC CENTRE CORAL REEF STUDIES HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

epa05900628 An undated handout photo made available by the Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies on 10 April 2017 shows a shadow cast by a surveying plane on the damaged corals of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. Recent aerial surveys by the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies has revealed only the southern third of the Great Barrier Reef has escaped unscathed from coral bleaching. Back-to-back bleaching has killed huge tracts of the reef, the Council said. EPA/ED ROBERTS/ARC CENTRE CORAL REEF STUDIES HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

epa05900629 An undated handout photo made available by the Arc Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies on 10 April 2017 shows the bleaching damage on the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. Recent aerial surveys by the Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies has revealed only the southern third of the Great Barrier Reef has escaped unscathed from coral bleaching. Back-to-back bleaching has killed huge tracts of the reef, the Council said. EPA/BETTE WILLIS/ARC CENTRE CORAL REEF STUDIES HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES

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In a new study, Australia’s independent Climate Council said that further damage to the 2,300km long reef could severely affect tourism prospects and cost around 10,000 jobs
