Linking Land and Ocean – Managing Agriculture to Protect Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

Speaker:  Professor Iain Gordon (The James Hutton Institute)

Abstract

With increases in sea surface temperature and ocean acidification associated with climate change Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is likely to face increased challenges to its diversity and integrity. Globally we need to increase efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but as far as Australia is concerned the most effective action that can be taken locally is to reduce the pressure on the reef from land-based pollutants that flow out of the rivers into the GBR lagoon. The primary pollutants leaving the land are nutrients (N&P), sediments and pest/herbicides. The Federal and State Governments have recently implemented new funding and policy initiatives (e.g. ReefRescue), based on by good science, to encourage the agricultural sector to change management to reduce the amount of pollutants leaving farms and protect the reef in the face of climate change.