A team of scientists and stakeholders have informed the Australian federal government and the Queensland government that the Great Barrier Reef needs a new, better plan since the current Reef 2050 plan is not good enough.
According to scientists, irreversible damage could be done to the reef by 2050. And things need to change since they cannot be business as usual.
The Chair of the Report Panel and the former Australian chief scientist Ian Chubb wrote in a statement:
“Decision-making for conservation and sustainable use of the (reef) will need to be more selective and questions need to be asked, such as which region/s should be the focus of attention – which reefs, which corals, which species, which ecosystems?”
While the Australian Academy of Science also made a similar argument in recent report writing:
“Currently, policy is taking time to catch up. The speed of intervention will likely increase and regulators need to be able to keep pace … a lack of political will to implement the regulations and laws allows upstream activities that are in opposition to the intent of existing laws, ultimately negatively impacting the (reef).”
