Reefs are suffering - go save Nemo

A friend recently returned from a holiday of sun, fun and snorkelling. Ah! I was envious seeing all those wonderful photos of colourful reef life - fish, coral, plants and so forth. But it also made me think of the threats the reefs - and economies reliant on them- are facing at the moment.

In Australian Queensland alone, it is estimated that the reef and rainforest collectively generates $7 billion yearly and employs over 60,000 people, so the health of these systems are extremely important to the local economy as well.

Local and international research has proven that climate change and human behaviour are linked to the degrading state of our reefs. Luckily, activists lobbying to save the reef have got a lot of politicians and the public involved and there has been increase in research and conservation investments lately.

'Treat the symptom' approaches have also been taken and trials of planting corals that adapt to higher temperatures are being researched. This is great to try to keep the coral alive, but shouldn't we look more into the real underlying reasons why the deterioration of reefs is happening and do something about the it?

This year is the 'International Year of the Reef' which includes events, competitions and a lot of international collaboration and research on the subject. The highlight event ,'International Coral Reef Symposium' is currently happening in Florida, and unfortunately the news emerging from there are not looking too good.

I have been lucky enough to snorkel amongst 'nemos' and friends and see the colourful Great Barrier Reef during 2006. Being an optimist I still hope that next time I get up to Northern Queensland, there will be tourist operators still taking us to see the colourful, living and diverse reef life.