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Tourism and climate action

October 11, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the foremost natural wonders of the world and is a major tourist attraction.  It is well-known that the changing climate is threatening the survival of the Great Barrier Reef as well as other coral reefs around the world.  A recent study by researchers at the University of Queensland looked at the reactions of tourists to being informed about the impact of the changing climate on the reef.

The Great Barrier Reef faces many challenges.  Unprecedented marine heatwaves have triggered repeated mass coral bleaching events over the past decade. These climate driven disturbances are compounding the cumulative effects of chronic problems such as unsustainable fishing, pollution, and sedimentation as well as acute disturbances such as tropical cyclones and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish.

Operators of five reef tourism boats assisted in the study.  As part of their boat trips, tourists were given climate information via a marine biology presentation and there were also posters around the vessel as well as regular mentions of climate change impacts and actions throughout the trip.

The tourism industry often has the idea that providing information on climate change might be detrimental to people’s enjoyment – basically a buzzkill.  But based on surveys conducted at the end of the trips, the researchers found that informing tourists about climate impact didn’t negatively affect their experience.  In fact, most tourists actually wanted more information, particularly about how they can take meaningful actions of their own.

The researchers believe that their study provides further opportunity to improve climate communication and effectively promote climate change engagement among tourists.

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Reef tourism encourages climate action

Photo, posted October 7, 2008, courtesy of eGuide Travel via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Some Good News For The Great Barrier Reef | Earth Wise

September 5, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

It seems like there has been nothing but dire news from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.  Earlier this year, there was yet another mass bleaching event – the fourth in seven years and the first ever to strike during a cooler La Niña phase in the Pacific.  But this bleaching event was less severe than other recent ones, which makes it possible for parts of the reef to bounce back.

In particular, in the northern and central stretches of the reef, scientists have recorded the most extensive coral cover seen in 36 years of study.  In areas where coral cover has expanded, it is mostly fast-growing Acropora corals driving the growth.  That isn’t the best outcome, given that Acropora are particularly vulnerable to strong waves, highly susceptible to bleaching, and are the preferred target of crown-of-thorns starfish.

Those creatures are a major problem for the Great Barrier Reef.  In contrast to the upper stretches of the reef, the southern third actually saw coral cover drop from 38 to 34 percent over the course of the past year.  Scientists blame the decline on an outbreak of crown-of-thorns starfish, which prey on corals.  The starfish grow faster and eat more in warmer, more acidic waters.   Carbon emissions are both raising ocean temperatures and turning waters more acidic.

The large increases in hard coral cover in the reef are certainly good news, but it is important to understand that they can be quickly negated by disturbance on reefs where Acropora corals predominate.  Warming temperatures and mass bleaching events continue to pose a critical threat to all reefs, especially when there are crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks and increasing frequency of tropical cyclones.

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Parts of Great Barrier Reef See Most Extensive Coral Cover In 36 Years

Photo, posted July 15, 2019, courtesy of Kenneth Lu via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Climate Change And Extreme Weather

December 1, 2015 By WAMC WEB

https://earthwiseradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/EW-12-01-15-Climate-Change-and-Extreme-Weather.mp3

Global climate change is predicted to manifest itself in many ways over the next 100 years as average temperatures increase around the world.   But we do not directly experience climate; we experience weather.

[Read more…] about Climate Change And Extreme Weather

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