The Great Barrier Reef: Vulnerabilities and solutions in the face of ocean acidification

• Published in: Regional Studies in Marine Science
• Main Authors: Pendleton, Linwood, Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove, Albright, Rebecca, Kaup, Anne, Marshall, Paul, Marshall, Nadine, Fletcher, Steve, Haraldsson, Gunnar, Hansson, Lina
• Other Authors: Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux - Centre de droit et d'économie de la mer (AMURE), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), The University of Queensland (UQ All campuses : Brisbane, Dutton Park Gatton, Herston, St Lucia and other locations ), Duke University Durham, CSIRO Land and Water, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Canberra (CSIRO), UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), intellecon, International Atomic Energy Agency - Environment Laboratories Monaco (IAEA-EL)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: [SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04197975; https://hal.science/hal-04197975/document; https://hal.science/hal-04197975/file/1-s2.0-S2352485518306959-main.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2019.100729

International audience As living carbonate-based structures, coral reefs are highly vulnerable to ocean acidification. The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) is the largest continuous coral reef system in the world. Its economic, social, and icon assets are valued at AU$56 billion (Deloitte Access Economics, 2017), owing to its vast biodiversity and services related to commercial and recreational fisheries, shoreline protection, and reef-related tourism and recreation. Ocean acidification poses a significant risk to these ecological and socioeconomic services, threatening not only the structural foundation of the GBR but the livelihoods of reef-dependent sectors of society. To assess the vulnerabilities of the GBR to ocean acidification, we review the characteristics of the GBR and the current valuation and factors affecting potential losses across three major areas of socioeconomic concern: fisheries, shoreline protection, and reef-related tourism and recreation. We then discuss potential solutions, both conventional and unconventional, for mitigating ocean acidification impacts on the GBR and propose a suite of actions that would help assess and increase the region’s preparedness for the effects of ocean acidification.