Australia on Sunday pledged half a billion dollars to restore and protect the Great Barrier Reef in what it said would be a game-changer for the embattled natural wonder, but conservationists were not convinced.
The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change, AFP reported.
It is also under threat from the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, which has proliferated due to pollution and agricultural runoff.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said more than $400 million would go toward improving water quality, tackling predators, and expanding restoration efforts.
Turnbull said it was the "largest ever single investment to protect the reef, secure its viability and the 64,000 jobs that rely on the reef".
The reef is a critical national asset, contributing $4.8 billion a year to the Australian economy.
With its heavy use of coal-fired power and relatively small population, Australia is considered one of the world's worst per-capita greenhouse gas polluters.
Canberra insists it is taking strong action to address the global threat of climate change, having set an ambitious target to reduce emissions by 26% to 28% from 2005 levels by 2030. Turnbull said part of the money will be used to mitigate the impacts of climate change, but gave no details.
Biggest Threat
Conservationists said while the funding was "an important step", the biggest threat to the reef was global warming and not enough was being done to combat it by embracing clean energy.
"Our elected representatives can't have it both ways," she said. "Climate change is the number one threat to the Great Barrier Reef and only concerted action to cut pollution will fully protect it," Australian Conservation Foundation chief Kelly O'Shanassy said.
The bulk of the new funding—just over $150 million—was earmarked to improve water quality by changing farming practices and adopting new technologies and land management.
"The money will go towards improving water quality, working with farmers to prevent sediment, nitrogen and pesticide runoff into the reef," said Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg.
He said the government would work with traditional Aboriginal owners, the tourist industry, farmers and scientists, to save the reef, calling the commitment "a game-changer".
Earlier this month, scientists said the site suffered a "catastrophic die-off" of coral during an extended heatwave in 2016, threatening a broader range of reef life than previously feared. A study in the journal Nature said some 30% of the reef's coral perished, the first of an unprecedented two successive years of coral bleaching along the 2,300-km reef.
