The bleaching of the Great Barrier reef will cost Australia $760 million
Moscow. April 12. INTERFAX.RU — coral Bleaching of the Great Barrier reef in connection with climate change could cost the Australian government up to 1 billion Australian dollars ($760 million), reported Wednesday by the independent Australian Council on climate change.
“The great barrier reef every year brings our economy more than 7 billion Australian dollars, as well as a resource providing about 70 thousand people”, — said the Chairman of the Board Leslie Hughes.
“It’s not just a problem of the environment, the Great barrier reef is one of the strongest economic assets in Australia,” she added.
According to a study conducted with the support of the Council, in the case of continued bleaching the area of tourism associated with the reef will decrease, which will lead to a sharp decline in tourist flow in the country and, consequently, a sharp decline in profits and a decrease in the number of jobs in the tourism sector.
Earlier, Australian scientists reported that the Great barrier reef may never recover from bleaching caused mass extinction of corals due to global warming.
According to them, cases of mass bleaching recorded in 1998, 2002 and 2016, had a devastating effect on the reef has led to a reduction in its ability to heal itself.
Discoloration accompanies the process of destruction of coral, which in turn leads to a decrease in biological diversity of the oceans and, in particular, to the disappearance of many animal species. Great barrier reef listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO.