Great Barrier Reef Essay

Describe the location and the ecosystem, including all known feeding relationships. What is its current status?
The rivers and creeks along the wet tropics in far North Queensland are followed by massive amounts of banana farms. These farms run across 1500 kilometres of the Queensland coastline. During heavy rainfall, which is plentiful in the area, sediment and nutrients run off into the rivers and eventually end up in the Great Barrier Reef. One of the biggest threats to the Reef is Johnstone River, as it is one of the closest rivers to the Reef, and the farms along its coast are producing the highest yields. Banana farms are used very intensely and combined with the plentiful floods in the area, sediment runoff from the farms is at an all-time

high.

The Great Barrier Reef is home to a starfish species called crowns of thorns, named as such due to their round and spiky appearance, these starfish are normally a beneficial part of the Reef ecosystem as they feed on the fastest growing corals, maintaining coral diversity. However, the nutrients found in all the sediment flowing into the Reef is acting as food for the younger crowns of thorns, allowing much larger populations of them to grow. The starfish begin eating massive amounts of the Reef, bringing it closer to destruction.

What are some of the impacts of human activity on the ecology? Clearly describe these and give evidence.
Banana farms are producing more sediment pollution than any other type of farm in the region. About 1.4 million tonnes of sediment enters reef waters every single year, which is almost five times more than before European settlement. This pollution is causing a variety of problems for the reef. Crowns of thorns outbreaks have already caused approximately 40% of the reef to be eaten away, and the silt from the wet tropics and Johnstone river reduces water clarity by half, meaning that half as much sunlight gets to the coral. This lack of light is the reason so many young corals are dying before adulthood, making recovery in between cyclones and crowns of thorns outbreaks even harder.

How has awareness of these impacts developed over time? Refer to the awareness and actions of individuals, organisations, and government if possible.
Sugarcane farms have often been taking the blame for the pollution as of late, but Martin Cunningham* has produced unequivocal proof that the banana farms located along the shores of the Johnstone River are the source. His drone footage makes it undeniably clear that the Johnstone River is a major supplier of sediment for the reef, as it shows the river water completely red with visible plumes of silt pouring out of it into the Great Barrier Reef.
The Australian Institute of Marine Science, or AIMS, has been researching the current state of the reef, and their work suggests that these plumes of sediment are a huge threat to the entire reef as they travel further and hang around longer than previously thought – all the way to the mid and outer shells of the reef.

What actions have been taken to lessen or rectify the impacts of human activity? Again refer to various stakeholders.
The federal and Queensland state government have both promised to protect the reef. Queensland Labour government has created a plan to protect the reef called “Reef 2050”. However, Reef 2050 has more ambitious water quality goals than previous plans, but even less funding. The plan has been endorsed by the World Heritage Committee, but specifically told the governments to come back with an investment plan and that it is a matter of priority as the plan would cost billions of dollars to achieve.
Banana farmers have also been working to reduce their sediment output, many have started planting grass in between rows of bananas to hold the soil in, and the Banana Farmers Council** has stated “[We need to] take all steps we reasonably can to minimise movement of soil from our farms.” Unfortunately, this is not enough. Even if every banana farm in the region operated with best practice we would only meet half of our water quality targets, more must be

done.

Summarise the current position and propose recommendations and achievable ideas for action on this issue.
The Great Barrier Reef is in serious danger due to the huge amounts of sediment coming from Banana farms along the Johnstone River and other rivers North Queensland and spreading all across The Reef, even the outer shells. The sediment is stopping young corals from growing to adulthood and causing coral feeding crowns of thorns outbreaks, actively eating away at The Reef preventing its recovery from cyclones and other natural disasters. The Queensland Labour Government has devised a plan called “Reef 2050”, but it has even less funding than previous more ambitious reef protection plans. Banana farmers have begun implementing methods to reduce their sediment output, but it isn’t nearly enough to save The Reef.