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Is the Great Barrier Reef dead? Headlines to that effect zoomed around the world after two consecutive bleaching events in 2016 and 2017. But Australia’s most famous World Heritage wonder is still very much with us - a vast eco-system, roughly the size of Germany, it teams with life. It is however under threat from climate change and other factors - what’s being done to build resilience on the reef?
CAST
In order of appearance:
LAURA WELLS is a multi-tasking marine biologist, presenter, science communicator and model. She was also the first person interviewed on the podcast, in Episode 1.
ANDY RIDLEY is CEO of Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, a global social purpose community empowering current and future generations of the world to protect and enjoy the reef.
Jarrod Scott photographed by Damian Bennet @damianbennettphoto
JARROD SCOTT is an ambassador for Citizens. An international model, he shot to fame after covering Vogue Hommes International’s Spring 2013 cover, shot by Sølve Sundsbø. Jarrod has appeared in campaigns for Tom Ford, Chanel, Roberto Cavalli and Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Fiona Merida
FIONA MERIDA is the assistant director of reef stewardship at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
David Suggett
DAVID SUGGETT is a marine biologist and Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney.
KATIE CHARTRAND is a senior research office at the Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research at James Cook University.
NOTES
CORAL is animal… and vegetable, and mineral, says Dave Suggett. Tim Flannery gives more detail in Episode 17.
CORAL SPAWNING happens every year. Hermaphroditic coral simultaneously releases its eggs and its sperm, so that they can meet in the water, settle and develop into new coral. Of course the world’s biggest and most coordinated coral spawning happens on the Great Barrier Reef, and it’s quite a sight!
Coral spawning in the GBR
SCALE The vastness of the Great Barrier Reef cannot be overstated. It’s made up of 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands, stretching across almost the entire length of Queensland. It’s bigger than Tasmania and Victoria put together, in fact, it’s bigger than the UK, Holland and Switzerland put together! It’s the world’s largest reef system (incase you hadn’t guessed) and yes, can be seen from space.
CITIZENS OF THE GREAT BARRIER REEF is a network of individuals, organisations and businesses, working to conserve the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs around the world. They’re engage the world with the future of the GBR by showcasing citizen driven projects and collaborating with businesses, communities and individuals along the length of the Reef that bring the movement to life. You can become a citizen here.
The GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AUTHORITY (GBRMPA) is a federal govt organisation. It was created when the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act came into law in 1975), they acknowledge that climate change is the biggest problem for the reef.
In July 2019 they issued a position statement, which acknowledged: “Climate change is the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. Only the strongest and fastest possible actions to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions will reduce the risks and limit the impacts of climate change on the Reef.” It also talks about reducing emissions globally, and “fast-tracking actions to build Reef resilience.” Download the full report here.
CROWN OF THORNS STARFISH (COTS) feed on coral. They’ve been emerging in plague proportions, scientists think as a result from agricultural run off, which increases the nutrients in the water for COTS. The starfish eat about their own body diameter in coral every night, which is very significant over time when numbers are as high as they are.
Crown of thorns starfish in the GBR
EARTH HOUR was started by Andy Ridley in Sydney in 2007. It’s a worldwide movement that encourages climate commitment from individuals, communities and businesses by having them turn off their lights for an hour at 8:30 PM on a night in March every year. In 2020 it’s on the 28th, and in 7,000 cities and towns across 187 countries and territories.
MUSIC is by Montaigne, who sang this special acoustic version of “Because I love You” from her album Glorious Heights, just for us.
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Clare & the Wardrobe Crisis team x