According to the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, approximately 1.99 million tourists have
visited the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Ecotourism is now one of the
fastest-growing sectors. With globalization, people can travel more easily
between different countries to participate in ecotourism adventures such as
diving and snorkelling. Chamy (2012) highlights that as much as ecotourism
needs globalization to grow, it is due to ecotourism that globalization has
become such an important aspect of interaction across geographic
spaces. Diving has become one of the few popular ecotourism
adventures. However, the increase in the number of divers has caused rapid
deterioration of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef. Scientific evidence has
shown that the Great Barrier Reef has lost half of its coral cover in the last
27 years, and 95% of its living coral could be lost by 2050 (Whiteman, 2012). Other
consequences include the extinction of species and negative impacts on the
locals. Because divers are responsible for the depletion of corals, the
Australian government should provide adequate education to divers and
sufficient funds in supporting corals preservation, thereby preventing the loss
of coral diversity in the Great Barrier Reef. Collaborative efforts among the
divers, government and non-profit organizations are needed to reduce the
negative impacts on the corals.
The loss of coral
diversity is one of the negative consequences caused by the divers. Many
inexperienced divers kick and break corals as they swim. Some divers may
touch or even remove corals from the sea, which ultimately kills the corals.
Butler (2005) convincingly argues that if the breaking down of corals continue,
it will result in permanent loss of marine ecosystem. Therefore, it is
important to let damaged corals have enough time to recover to prevent corals
extinction. Corals extinction will in turn negatively affect the species that
depend on them. For example, the fishes that depend on corals for food and
habitat may go extinct too. Another problem caused by the divers is that
they may indirectly affect the local’s standards of living. The loss
of corals will affect the locals who depend on them for food and income. Butler
(2005) further convincingly argues that for the Great Barrier Reef, more than
500 million people live within 100 kilometres of coral reefs rely on them for
their daily subsistence.
The first solution to
coral depletion is to educate and encourage the divers to adopt a
coral-friendly attitude. For example, government can work together with National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) and
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) to educate the
divers to limit their interactions with corals. Divers must be properly trained
in order to reduce the negative impacts on the corals. Lonne (2012)
highlights that to be a reef-friendly diver, one must have proper buoyancy
control and movement underwater. Furthermore, government can also encourage
divers to support non-profit organization such as Reef Relief and Coral Reef
Alliance.
The second solution is for
the Australian government to provide sufficient funds for corals preservation.
For example, to reduce the damage to the corals in the Great Barrier Reef, the government
has recently invested $208 million in its Reef Rescue Program (Wardell,
2013). In addition, the Great Barrier Reef was also designated as an
UNESCO World Heritage Site, which provides further protection to the coral reef
system (Milman, 2013).
Lastly, government and
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) can charge diving fees from divers, which may
be useful in controlling the number of divers. For the Great Barrier Reef,
divers must pay an Environmental Management Charge (EMC). According to the
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the money generated from EMC
can be used by the management for education, research and corals
conservation. The Australian government can also limit the number of divers
allowed in a dive site at one time. This is to ensure that corals are given
enough time to recover. Research have shown that when human disturbances are
reduced, corals can recover by themselves more quickly (Watts,
2013).
References
Butler, R. (2005, November 17). Coral
reefs decimated by 2050. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from
http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1117-corals.html
Chamy, A.
(2012). Globalization and the paradox
of ecotourism. Accessible
Sustainable Ecotourism: Necessary Market Adjustment in a New Age of Travel,
2. Retrieved October 4, 2013, from http://www.ecotourdirectory.com/ecotourism/articles/globalization-and-the-paradox-of-ecotourism.php
Lonne, T.
(2012). A scuba diver’s impact on a coral reef. Retrieved October 4,
2013, from http://www.dive.in/articles/a-scuba-divers-impact-on-a-coral-reef/#comments
Milman,
O. (2013, June 16). Great Barrier
Reef on the brink as politicians bicker. Retrieved October 14, 2013,
from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/16/barrier-reef-un-heritage-status
Australian Government, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. (n.d.). Great Barrier Reef tourist numbers. Retrieved October 24, 2013, from http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/visit-the-reef/visitor-contributions/gbr_visitation/numbers
Australian
Government, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. (n.d.). Visitor
contributions. Retrieved October 14, 2013, from http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/visit-the-reef/visitor-contributions
Wardell,
J. (2013, January 31). Australian government pledges to protect Great
Barrier Reef. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/01/australia-barrierreef-idUSL4N0B100I20130201
Watts, A.
(2013, April 7). Good news about coral reefs- they recovered from warming.
Retrieved October 4, 2013, from http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/04/07/good-news-about-coral-reefs-they-recovered-from-warming/
Whiteman, H. (2012, October 3). Australia
vows to reverse great barrier reef's coral decline. Retrieved October
14, 2013, from http://www.cnn.com.sg/2012/10/03/world/asia/australia-great-barrier-reef-coral/index.html
World
Wide Fund for Nature (n.d.). Coral reefs: threats. Retrieved October 24, 2013, from http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/blue_planet/coasts/coral_reefs/coral_threats/
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