Protect Great Barrier Reef From Fossil-Fueled Bleaching

Target: Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Goal: Ensure listing of Great Barrier Reef as World Heritage Site in Danger.

Massive bleaching was recently observed on a global scale across the world’s coral reefs – the fourth such event in recorded history and the second in just the past decade. Heat stress typically causes the bleaching, and it often ends in coral death. The planet’s most famous stretch of coral, the Great Barrier Reef, has endured particular stress, with multiple bleaching events observed in recent years. These stressors put one of Earth’s majestic natural wonders – and the thousands of marine species that call it home, at imminent risk.

Despite the dangers, the 345,000-square kilometer expanse has been consistently omitted from a listing of endangered World Heritage Sites…at the behest of the nation that serves as the Great Barrier Reef’s guardian. Established World Heritage Sites that have a significant impact in science, culture, and history are supposed to benefit from legal protections and financial assistance, with endangered sites receiving even more global attention. Australia, which benefits immensely from the reef and the tourists it brings, has repeatedly lobbied the United Nations committee responsible for establishing and protecting World Heritage Sites to keep the reef from being designated as “in danger.”

The probable reason for this suspect move traces back to Australia’s abundant fossil fuel industry, which is among the largest in the world. Coral bleaching is attributed to skyrocketing ocean temperatures that are in turn attributed to global warming. And fossil fuel industries’ links to these events are well-documented.

As one critical politician put it, Australia is prioritizing coal over coral. Sign the petition below to demand the World Heritage Committee stop bowing to the same politicized special interests.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Director-General Azoulay,

The Great Barrier Reef – the planet’s largest and most iconic coral reef – just experienced its sixth mass bleaching event in only two decades. Each event results in the slow strangulation and death of significant amounts of coral, creating a chain reaction that imperils entire ecosystems. This reef is the embodiment of a World Heritage Site, but more so it is the embodiment of a World Heritage Site in danger.

At the World Heritage Committee’s next convening, please ensure that decisions made in regard to the reef reflect this imminent and ongoing crisis. Only acknowledgement and action will save an irreplaceable natural wonder.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Richard Ling