Context: Recently, Australia's government has lashed out after a United Nations report claimed it had not done enough to protect the Great Barrier Reef from climate change.

• And UNESCO World Heritage Committee has recommended that the Australia’s Great Barrier Reef should be added to a list of “in danger” World Heritage Sites.

Background

• As many as 53 sites are currently on the List of World Heritage in Danger. 
• The latest recommendation by the UN committee comes as a setback as Australia lobbied furiously for years to stay off the endangered list. 
• The Great Barrier Reef losing its World Heritage Site status list could potentially reduce its attraction to tourists.

About Great Barrier Reef

• It is the world’s most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
• The reef is located in the Coral Sea (North-East Coast), off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
• It can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
• This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
• They are made up of genetically identical organisms called polyps, which are tiny, soft-bodied organisms. At their base is a hard, protective limestone skeleton called a calicle, which forms the structure of coral reefs.
• These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues. The corals and algae have a mutualistic (symbiotic) relationship.
• It was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981.'

What the committee said?

• In a draft report it said “there is no possible doubt” that the network of colourful corals off Australia's northeast coast was “facing ascertained danger".
• Scientists say that the coral reef ecosystem has suffered three major bleaching events since 2015 due to severe marine heatwaves. 
• Therfore, it was recommended to add to the list because of the impact of climate change.

Impact on Australia

• Australia, one of the world's largest carbon emitters per capita, has remained reluctant to commit to stronger climate action and its conservative government has cited jobs as a major reason to back the country's fossil fuel industries. 
• It has not updated its climate goals since 2015. But the threat of losing the World Heritage Site could also impact thousands of jobs dependent on about 5 million people who visit the Great Barrier Reef each year.

About the current scenario

• Warming ocean temperatures, a sign of climate change, is associated with the deteriorating health of the Reef. 
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which spreads across a length of over 2,300 km and is roughly the size of Italy, is home to about 3,000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 1,625 type of fish, 133 varieties of shark and rays and 600 types of soft and hard corals.

About Coral bleaching

• According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), when corals are stressed by changes in conditions such as temperature, light or nutrients, they expel the algae living in their tissue, causing them to turn white, hence bleached.
• Coral bleaching does not mean the corals are dead, but make them vulnerable, hence increasing their mortality. 
• Warm ocean temperatures are one condition that could lead to coral bleaching. For instance, in 2005, the US lost half of its coral reefs in the Caribbean in one year due to a massive bleaching event.
• Even so, NOAA says that not all bleaching events are due to warmer temperatures. In January 2010, cold water temperatures in the Florida Keys caused a coral bleaching event that resulted in some coral deaths.

How does it affect the Great Barrier Reef?

• The Great Barrier Reef, which covers an area of 344,400 sq km makes up roughly 10 per cent of the world’s coral reef ecosystems. Today, the reef is a Marine Park and World Heritage Area and supports a range of activities and contributes over AUD $5.6 billion each year to the Australian economy and is also responsible for creating over 70,000 jobs.
• In the 2019 Outlook Report prepared by the Australian government, it said that climate change was the greatest threat to the Reef. Other threats included coastal development, land-based run-off and direct human use, such as activities like illegal fishing.
• Significantly, coral bleaching events such as the ones that took place in 2016 and 2017 have had severe impacts on the Reef, causing changes in its ecosystem. However, some parts of the reef that escaped the impact of the bleaching and cyclones still remain in good condition, the report said.
• The 2016 bleaching caused by intense heat exposure affected the northern third region of the Reef, while the 2017 bleaching affected the central region.
• As per the latest Reef health update, while sea surface temperatures have remained relatively stable this week (until March 5, 2020), the temperature is still above normal for this time of the year. As of March 3, most of the marine park varies between 0.5 degree-1.5 degree Celsius above normal. In some inshore areas, the temperature is 2.5-3 degrees Celsius warmer.

Ways to maintain the balance between nature and human

• The world needs coral reefs, and decisive action will help ensure that we do not face a future without them.Adequate mitigation and adaptation measures must be put in place to arrest the effects of climate change
• We must devise policies to provide protection to existing carbon sinks such as corals like Reducing greenhouse emissions will be critical here.
• Effectively reducing local stresses to reefs, such as from land-based sources of pollution and overfishing.
• Increasing electricity generation from the renewable sources rather than depend on the artificial removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
• Conserving water. The less it is used, the less runoff and wastewater that will eventually find its way back into the ocean.

Educating people about why healthy coral reefs are valuable to the people, fish, plants, and animals that depend on them.

List of Initiatives to Protect Corals across the Globe
A number of global initiatives are being taken to address the issues, like:

• International Coral Reef Initiative
• Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN)
• Global Coral Reef Alliance (GCRA)
• The Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform

In India

• Similarly, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), India has included the studies on coral reefs under the Coastal Zone Studies (CZS).
• In India, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with help from Gujarat’s forest department, is attempting a process to restore coral reefs using “biorock” or mineral accretion technology.
• National Coastal Mission Programme, to protect and sustain coral reefs in the country.