Great Barrier Reef

Giant sea snail plan to rescue Great Barrier Reef

Sydney - Muslimchronicle

A giant starfish-eating snail could be unleashed to help save the Great Barrier Reef, officials said Monday, with a trial underway to breed thousands of the rare species. Predatory crown-of-thorns starfish, which munch coral, are naturally-occurring but have proliferated due to pollution and agricultural run-off at the struggling World Heritage-listed ecosystem. Their impact has been profound with a major studyRead more

India's Adani to start work on mine

Sydney - Muslimchronicle

Indian mining giant Adani on Tuesday said it will start work on a huge US$16 billion coal project that environmentalists warn will damage Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Billionaire chairman Gautam Adani said in Townsville that the board had made its "final investment decision" which marked the "official start" of the Carmichael coal mine, destined to be one of the world'sRead more

Endangered species poached in protected areas

Geneva - Arab Today

Illegal poaching, logging and fishing of sometimes critically endangered species is taking place in nearly half of the world's most protected natural sites, environmental campaigners WWF warned Tuesday. Natural world heritage sites such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Galapagos Islands support large populations of rare plant and animal species.Read more

Reef damage could cost Australia

Sydney - Arab Today

Mass coral bleaching on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could cost the region more than a million tourists a year and up to Aus$1.0 billion (US$760 million) in lost revenue, a study warned 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 ofRead more

'Zero recovery' for corals in back-to-back Australia bleaching

Sydney - Arab Today

Coral bleached for two consecutive years at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef has “zero prospect” of recovery, scientists warned Monday, as they confirmed the site has again been hit by warming sea temperatures. Researchers said last month they were detecting another round of mass bleaching this year after a severe event in 2016, and their fears were confirmed after aerial surveysRead more

Thousands evacuated as cyclone bears down on Australia

Cairns - Arab Today

Thousands of people including tourists were evacuated Monday as northeast Australia braced for a powerful cyclone packing destructive winds, with warnings of major structural damage and surging tides. Cyclone Debbie has been forming off the coast of Queensland state over recent days, the Bureau of Meteorology said, and is expected to make landfall as a category four storm -- onRead more

Scientists find huge ancient landslide

Sydney - Arab Today

A massive underwater landslide that could have triggered a towering tsunami some 300,000 years ago has been discovered in the depths of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, scientists said Wednesday. The ancient landslide, likely caused by a strong earthquake that could have generated a tsunami wave 27 metres (90 feet) high, was discovered unexpectedly by researchers conducting three-dimensional mapping of theRead more

India-backed Australia mega coal mine

Sydney - Arab Today

A controversial India-backed Aus$21.7 billion (US$16 billion) giant coal project near Australia's Great Barrier Reef is set to start construction by the middle of next year, the miner said Tuesday. Adani Enterprises' Carmichael coal mine -- destined to be one of the world's biggest -- has encountered numerous regulatory and legal hurdles, leading to six years of delays. It hasRead more

Great Barrier Reef 'not dying', Australia insists

Sydney - Arab Today

The Great Barrier Reef is "not dying", Australia insisted Friday as it updated UNESCO on efforts to protect the natural wonder while scientists blasted a lack of urgency in dealing with climate change. Canberra last year narrowly avoided the UN body putting the site on its endangered list and was ordered to report to the World Heritage committee by DecemberRead more

1/3 of corals dead in Northern, central Great Barrier Reef

Canberra - QNA

More than one-third of corals on the northern and central Great Barrier Reef have suffered bleaching due to global warming and acidification of the ocean, scientists said Monday. The impact is still unfolding, researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies said following months of aerial and underwater surveys. At least 35% of corals on that partRead more