Coral reefs have exceptional levels of biodiversity and provide important social and ecological services, including food, coastal protection, recreation, tourism, and cultural connections. However, local stressors and climate change are causing a sharp decline in coral reefs and the more than 230 international agreements with coral reef provisions have failed …
The corals of the South Pacific have been ravaged by bleaching, according to US government scientists. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) said a global die-off was increasingly likely with the return of El Niño conditions. The warmth that caused an unprecedented die-off in the North Pacific in the …
It turns out that protected areas are more important than ever for coral reefs. Scientists have found that coral trout in protected "green zones" are not only bigger and more abundant than those fished in "blue zones," but are also better able to cope with cyclone damage. In this latest …
Conservation groups are ‘eco-traitors’ for lobbying the Unesco world heritage committee on reef, says Abbot government backbencher George Christensen Conservation groups are guilty of treason for lobbying the Unesco world heritage committee on the Great Barrier Reef, Coalition backbencher George Christensen has said. Christensen made a speech in parliament on …
Scientists are looking for -- and finding -- little bits of plastic in a lot of places lately: ice cores, deep sea sediments, coral reefs, crab gills, the digestive system of mussels, even German beer. Now, new research suggests they need not actually be searching for the man-made material to …
Australian coral reef experts say if the mining and port expansion projects go ahead, there will be permanent damage to the reef Australia’s leading coral reef scientists have called for huge coalmining and port developments in Queensland to be scrapped in order to avoid “permanent damage” to the Great Barrier …
A plan to save Australia's Great Barrier Reef from destruction has been announced as Prime Minister Tony Abbott sought to persuade the United Nations that the World Heritage site was not in danger. The reef has lost about 50 per cent of its coral in the past 30 years, partly …
Climate change threatens Florida coral, but the government has a plan $250 million — an underestimate — is the price tag for saving two coral species Here's the estimated price for restoring two declining coral species found in South Florida and the Caribbean: about $250 million. No one expected it …
Without better local management, world's most iconic ecosystems are at risk of collapse under climate change, warn researchers. Protecting places of global environmental importance such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Amazon rainforest from climate change will require reducing pressures like over-fishing, fertiliser pollution and land clearing, they said. …
Research published in journal Science shows local protection of three world heritage sites is too weak and leaves them at risk of ‘unfolding diaster’ The world’s most prized ecosystems, such as the Amazon rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, require stronger local management to reduce the enormous global threat posed …
Order of the Gujarat High Court in the matter of L & T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd. Vs Gujarat Maritime Board & Others dated 19/03/2015 regarding developing a port at Kucchigarh, District Jamnagar, Gujarat.
Environmental violations in India by mining giant Adani will be the subject of a Federal Court case challenging the company's development of Australia's largest coal project. Adani is developing the mammoth Carmichael coal mine in central Queensland and Australia's largest coal terminal at Abbot Point on the doorstep of the …
The Great Barrier Reef risks being officially listed as “in danger” unless Australia provides greater funding to reduce pollution and widens a ban on dumping sediment into the reef’s waters, environment groups have told the UN. In a joint submission to Unesco’s world heritage committee, the World Wildlife Fund and …
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Dr Orville Grey, technical officer in the Government’s Climate Change Division, says Jamaica is highly vulnerable when it comes to the effects of climate change. “Small and developing states such as Jamaica have a very important status of being particularly vulnerable. We are ranked highly in terms …
The sun goes down over coal stacks that tower about the coastline in Mundra in India's west. The camera shows degraded farm land and kilometres of barren, dry coastline where the sea used to be. "The Adani power plant came in 2007," says Praveen Singh, a Mundra farmer. "When the …
Global warming worsens a disease that has almost wiped out Caribbean coral reefs, according to a new study by researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology. In only 40 years, the iconic elkhorn and staghorn corals that have dominated Caribbean reefs for 3.5 million years have declined by more than …
A North Florida non-profit proposing a National Marine Sanctuary for Northern right whales and Oculina coral that would cover more than 7,000-square miles of ocean from Jacksonville to Fort Pierce is headed back to the drawing board after having its initial application rejected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. …
Australia has embarked on a “whole of government” diplomatic and ministerial lobbying campaign to correct “misinformation” and prevent the Great Barrier Reef from being placed on the Unesco world heritage committee’s “in danger” list, a Senate committee has been told. The environment minister Greg Hunt visited German environment minister and …
The Queensland environment department is examining claims that Adani’s chequered environmental and legal history is grounds to revoke its status as a “suitable operator” for Australia’s largest coalmine. The department is considering an Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) report that questioned how Adani Mining continued to pass its “character check” in …
It turns out that corals are making use of the plastic in our oceans-sort of. Scientists have found that corals commonly found on the Great Barrier Reef are actually eating plastic. In this case, the corals are consuming microplastics, which are tiny fragments of plastic in the environment that are …
Reef-building corals, algae, and other symbiotic marine organisms develop ecosystems that could withstand the impacts of climate change, says a new study. Understanding these relationships could aid in the efforts on reef conservation. The research led by the University of Exeter in the UK states that coral reefs may be …
