US-led airstrikes

Scientists discover resilient 'heart' of Great Barrier Reef

Barrier Reef - Muslimchronicle

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is in peril from climate change and widespread bleaching, but scientists said Tuesday a small portion may be resilient enough to keep much of the rest alive. About three percent of the World Heritage site -- home to the planet's largest collection of coral reefs with 3,800 in all -- has so far emerged relatively unscathedRead more

Australia's Queensland calls election in test for populist Hanson

Sydney - Muslimchronicle

The Australian state of Queensland, home to the Great Barrier Reef, has called a snap election that is set to test support for both the populist party of Pauline Hanson and an environmentally sensitive Indian coal mine project. Campaigning began Monday in the state, a major tourist destination, after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of the Labor Party set down a pollRead more

'Underwater wasteland' worries

Sydney - ArabToday

A powerful cyclone that smashed into northeastern Australia could have caused further damage to the under-pressure Great Barrier Reef, turning parts into an "underwater wasteland", scientists warned Thursday. There are already fears for the survival of corals in the central and northern areas of the World Heritage-listed marine ecosystem that stretches 2,300 kilometres (around 1,430 miles) off the Queensland state coast,Read more

Plan to save Great Barrier Reef set back decades

Sydney - ArabToday

Australia's plan to rescue the beleaguered Great Barrier Reef has been set back at least two decades after the fragile ecosystem suffered its worst-ever bleaching last year, experts said Friday. The vast coral reef -- which provides a tourism boon for Australia -- is under pressure from agricultural run-off, the crown-of-thorns starfish, development and climate change. Last yearRead more

Australian state buys cattle station

Sydney - Arab Today

A huge cattle station that pours sediment into the Great Barrier Reef was bought Wednesday by the government as efforts are stepped up to help the World Heritage site bounce back from mass bleaching. Global warming has been wreaking havoc on the reef, contributing to an unprecedented bleaching event this year that saw much of it whiten and almost aRead more

Great Barrier Reef bleaching could cost a million tourists

Sydney - Arab Today

Severe coral bleaching on Australia's Great Barrier Reef could cost it more than a million visitors a year and huge sums in lost tourism revenue, a survey said Tuesday. The World Heritage-listed reef which teems with marine life experienced an unprecedented bleaching earlier this year that saw much of it whiten and almost a quarter of corals die. "The reefRead more

Coral bleaching hits 93% of Great Barrier Reef

Sydney - Arab Today

Australia's Great Barrier Reef is suffering its worst coral bleaching in recorded history with 93 percent of the World Heritage site affected, scientists said Wednesday, as they revealed the phenomenon is also hitting the other side of the country. After extensive aerial and underwater surveys, researchers at James Cook University said only seven percent of the huge reef had escapedRead more

Industry threatens nearly half of natural heritage sites

Paris - Arab Today

Almost half of all natural World Heritage Sites, including the Great Barrier Reef and Machu Picchu, are threatened by industrial activities such as mining, oil exploration and illegal logging, conservation group WWF warned Wednesday. The 114 threatened sites, virtually half the total listed by UNESCO, provide food, water, shelter and medicine to over 11 million people -- more than theRead more

Worst bleaching on record for Great Barrier Reef

Sydney - AFP

Aerial surveys of Australia's Great Barrier Reef have revealed the worst bleaching on record in the icon's pristine north, scientists said Tuesday, with few corals escaping damage. Researchers said the view was devastating after surveying some 520 reefs via plane and helicopter between Cairns and the Torres Strait in the north of Queensland state. "This will change the Great BarrierRead more